spike2450

Hi
I see what you are saying, the bearing is noisy which i have tested with the belt removed.

It is really hard to isolate the noise even by vibration, it also felt as if it could have been the power steering pump.

The way i confirmed it was to look under the vehicle when the A.C. was turned on

When the compressor clutch would cut in (front face plate would spin) it was fine.

But then when the clutch cuts out i.e. spinning freely i would then get noise from the bearing.

Make sure you have checked your belt tension i.e. with two fingers spin the belt at the mid point and it should turn 90 degrees any more and the belt is slack any less and it is to tight. There is a tool that you can get over there for checking the tension.

When it is making the noise spray some water onto the belt and if it stops making the noise then you know it's the culprit.

If that doesn't work then i would start a new thread and describe exactly what and when it happens, there's some really switched on guys on the forum.

Good luck.

BlueXJ

This is a link to the belt tension tool that is being refered to.

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPage...+Tension+Gauge

catfish

hi, Spike, I got this thread through my friend google. Have you figured out the problem? I got the same problem on my wife's 1998 grand cherokee. It is very noisy. I am pretty positive it is from the compressor.

littleblueman

Just as a side note to an earlier observation, I believe that the a/c compressor operates while the defrost selection is operating whether the a/c button is pressed in or not. All of my past Dodge/Chrys. products did the same thing and ive heard of it on Chevy's. Not to derail the current discussion

BowtieGuy3

LilBlue is right, but you can disconnect the lil wiring harness to it so you don't run it while in defrost. (It will help with gas milage a bit too).

I say scrap the A/C and turn it into an OBA system...

elementsquared

Ok, im having the same problem.. does anybody have a instruction guide, or a diagram on how to disconnect the wireharness for the AC unit?

claygrassmann

look on the back of the ac its a "one wire" deal its super easy. i totally agree with bow tie tho just ditch the ac system all together and go old school. all you need is an ac compressor bypass pulley it just bolts in place of the ac compressor. i aint done it yet but thats just cause my compressor isnt squeeking

BuckB91XJ

Spike.....you have a bearing going bad in your A/C pump pulley. This is not something you can fix yourself with simple hand tools. Unfortunately you have few choices with A/C componants because Hazardous Material comes into play. You need to replace your A/C pump. Either take it in the shorts BIG on getting a new or remanufactured pump and then paying a shop to service it up for you or roll the dice and get one from a donor XJ in the local junkyard and buy the refrigerant at the local auto parts store and service it up yourself.

Emersondg2K

To spike Fdulax13 : Well I've seen what you and spike have going on. I believe I have a similar problem. Since the day I bought the Jeep, I have had a metallic grinding noise. It is really loud inside the car, louder then it is under the hood. Whether the A/C is turned on or off, the noise continues. I switch it on, and the clutch engages, but the noise does not change. I switch it off, and I can visually see the clutch disengage, but the noise does not change. When I touch the front of the clutch when A/C off and engine running, I feel absolutely no vibration. When I touch the back of the compressor opposite the pulley and clutch, I feel heavy grinding. That grinding noise is traveling down the pressure line, and into the condenser inside the dash area, and that is why it is so loud inside the cabin. I followed the lines to the firewall, and still felt vibration. When it gets to the condenser I believe the sound is just being magnified. But, I don't understand why the noise and grinding continues when the clutch is on or off. I believe that I am going to have to replace the compressor because I think something internally might have seized or is about to, but the mystery of the clutch not being stuck or anything, and it still continuing to grind, is just a small lack of understanding the mechanics of the actual compressor. It sounds like no one has any answers so far, and you swapped the compressor and had the same problem still, so I will post after my replacement compressor and let you know. I also know that when compressors internals go bad, you have to replace several things in your A/C unit, because of metal shavings and alien material that might be in other components due to the damaged compressor. I'm not sure exactly which parts have to be checked and possibly replaced also, but if it is not done properly and all at once, you can just cause problems again soon after the shoddy work. This comes from my brother-in-law who is ASE certified in multiple categories and works at an F.C. Kerbeck dealer as a mechanic. The source is good so I will follow his advice after I install the compressor. This information is for the people that only replaced one part and didn't have the rest of the system checked by a trustworthy mechanic or dealer.

elementsquared

hey bowtieguy,
is there any harm done if i disconnect the power to the compressor?

TRochester77

Hi, Ive had the same problem ever since i moved away for college. I noticed after the first trip here, my 01 Cherokee sport was struggling somehow, it would recover then after each trip it would act up again. This past weekend, my clutch on the ac pulley seized up causing the belt to slip. With my model i have to buy a new AC compressor to fix the problem. This is probably what the problem was with your jeep, im fixing the problem myself to save some cash, does anyone know how to completely replace the compressor?

surfmatto

Hi-
I believe I have exactly the same problem on my Cherokee XJ 2.5TD (VM Diesel). This grinding sound started first after a trip on the motorway. The next day it went away and didn't return until a couple days ago. It's now constant, and so bad I can't keep the engine running for fear it's doing real damage.
Just started it up, and saw sparks coming up from the rear left of the engine (looking onto the front). There are now metal shards/ swarf scattered all around that area.
The power steering reservoir then started spewing - this is after 30secs of running...!!

I'm new to this engine (only owned her 3 weeks!), so haven't a clue where anything is. It's now off the road, as I just can't run her like that.

Any hints or ideas would be wholly appreciated.....I'm pretty stuck.

Thanks, Matt.

RR 1982

What's swarf?