Help Identifying Engine Squeal/Whistle
- Thread starter ShredAZ
- Start date
Right?! I about choked on my drink. It'll take me 15 minutes with a simple hand tool to swap out the hardware. No way I would ever pay that.
I'm with ya on that one. I'm still leaning towards it being a pulley issue. Reason being is it ONLY happens when the fan clutch is locked up tight and I'm hitting high RPM's. I can peg that engine all day long. If the fan isn't cranking at 100%, the noise isn't going to be duplicated. I also have a HD fan clutch, so it tends to lock up more frequently.
When I get the water pump (re)fixed, I'll clean the belt with some dish soap and wipe down the pulleys with brake cleaner. We'll see if that changes anything.
Got the Jeep back home safe and sound.
I broke a spring clamp when I replaced the water pump and had to use a worm clamp until my new Mopar clamp shipped. As such, it started leaking at the water pump outlet spraying a fine mist of coolant all over the engine bay.
All the tech had to do was tighten the clamp. I'm of the belief that after having the rig for 2 weeks with little success, they just wanted to get it out of the shop. At least they didn't charge me anything!
Either way, here are my next steps:
I noticed with the HD fan clutch, it will stay locked up well into redline until the temps cool. The old Mopar clutch I had would disengage closer to redline.
My leading theory is at redline the engine is spinning at it's fastest and not getting a proper grip on the smooth fan pulley's surface due to the fan resistance. Hoping a new belt and proper cleaning will fix the issue. Stay tuned.
I broke a spring clamp when I replaced the water pump and had to use a worm clamp until my new Mopar clamp shipped. As such, it started leaking at the water pump outlet spraying a fine mist of coolant all over the engine bay.
All the tech had to do was tighten the clamp. I'm of the belief that after having the rig for 2 weeks with little success, they just wanted to get it out of the shop. At least they didn't charge me anything!
Either way, here are my next steps:
- Remove TB spacer & replace throttle body gasket.
- Replace Gates belt w/ Gatorback
- Clean pulleys with brake cleaner and brass bristled brush (remove any build up/glazing)
- If I can source an OE intake on the cheap, I'll also swap out the Banks ram air that came with it.
- MAYBE remove the HD fan clutch and switch out for a Mopar if sound still persists.
I noticed with the HD fan clutch, it will stay locked up well into redline until the temps cool. The old Mopar clutch I had would disengage closer to redline.
My leading theory is at redline the engine is spinning at it's fastest and not getting a proper grip on the smooth fan pulley's surface due to the fan resistance. Hoping a new belt and proper cleaning will fix the issue. Stay tuned.
SOLUTION FOUND!!
We'll sort of. It could have been any combination of the 4 mentioned in my last post (didn't touch the fan clutch), but the squeal is gone!
If I were a betting man, I'd say throughly cleaning the pulleys with 400 grit sandpaper + brass bristled brush + brake cleaner and a new Gatoback/Poly-V belt is what did it.
I had a Gates on there before, but before I threw it in the trunk as a spare, I cleaned it with dish soap and a nylon bristled brush. All sorts of grime came off. I suspect both the belt and pulleys were contaminated/glazed.
We'll sort of. It could have been any combination of the 4 mentioned in my last post (didn't touch the fan clutch), but the squeal is gone!
If I were a betting man, I'd say throughly cleaning the pulleys with 400 grit sandpaper + brass bristled brush + brake cleaner and a new Gatoback/Poly-V belt is what did it.
I had a Gates on there before, but before I threw it in the trunk as a spare, I cleaned it with dish soap and a nylon bristled brush. All sorts of grime came off. I suspect both the belt and pulleys were contaminated/glazed.
Justin03X
Member
I wish I had seen this post earlier haha. I literally had the exact same symptoms as you and I couldn't find where it was coming from. It only squealed at 3k rpms. I tried cleaning everything couldn't find it, if I could tell people not to buy the Gates belt I would. My belt was only 6 months old, changed it out with the Gatorback and it was fixed!
Good deal! So funny the common denominator was the Gates belt. They come so highly recommended by the TJ community too...
I was parsing through a Corvette forum about a similar issue. They too pinpointed the squeal to a Gates belt under high torque. Their solution: Gatorback/Poly-V replacement. I'll be a Gatorback/Poly-V user going forward.
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