96XJ_Garth
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Washington DC Metro Area
Hello all,
I own a 96 XJ, straight six, selec-trac, and all OEM equipment (bought the Jeep new).
Several weeks ago I noticed that the engine temp gauge was spiking up. Needle normally reaches dead center ("210") and holds there. Instead, it was now creeping upwards during idling at stoplights after the vehicle had been run a while (15-20 minutes/5-10 miles.
Shortly thereafter I noticed a "grumbling" sound coming from the engine compartment. Again this would happen once the vehicle had been run for a few minutes/miles. It was limited to slow acceleration from either dead stops, or slow forward/reverse movement.
Thinking that the two were related (and that the higher temps being registered were causing damage to the engine) I took the Jeep into my local mechanic this past weekend. His diagnosis: fan clutch was messed and needed to be replaced. Which I had him do.
Picked up the Jeep yesterday and it's still having problems . Instead of a "grumble" during acceleration from dead stops it's now making this loud "fluttering" sound during acceleration at higher speeds (starting at about 25 mph and working up to about 45mph.) The closest thing I can compare it to is the sound made by taping a baseball card to a bike frame so it sticks through the wheel spokes and makes noise when the bike is ridden. The "flutter" is sensitive to both speed and the amount of pressure I'm putting on the gas pedal ... by changing the speed/acceleration/pressure on the pedal I can control both the amount/duration of the flutter and the loudness.
I've also noticed that this noise only occurs when the vehicle is in gear and moving. If I put it into neutral/park and vary the pressure on the gas pedal everything sounds just fine throughout.
Additionally, the engine temp gauge is behaving differently now. Where it used to spike up (during idling, usually) and remain steady, the needle now spikes up (again, during idling), but then drops down to it's "usual" ("210") position. In fact, I've noticed that when I turn the engine off and then move the key forward to the "on" position without restarting the needle spikes up MUCH higher than it ever is when the engine is running.
So, having said all of this (I've tried to be as detailed and specific as possible, sorry if it dragged on a bit), does anyone have any suggestions for this decidedly "non-gearhead" Jeep-owner about what the problem might be (is it really the fan clutch, could it be a botched fan clutch installation, etc), how serious it is (is it dangerous for me to drive my Jeep any further than to get it back to the mechanic) and any suggestions of other things that I might tell the mechanic to look at/for in attempting to resolve this?
Thanks for any help and suggestions!
--Garth
I own a 96 XJ, straight six, selec-trac, and all OEM equipment (bought the Jeep new).
Several weeks ago I noticed that the engine temp gauge was spiking up. Needle normally reaches dead center ("210") and holds there. Instead, it was now creeping upwards during idling at stoplights after the vehicle had been run a while (15-20 minutes/5-10 miles.
Shortly thereafter I noticed a "grumbling" sound coming from the engine compartment. Again this would happen once the vehicle had been run for a few minutes/miles. It was limited to slow acceleration from either dead stops, or slow forward/reverse movement.
Thinking that the two were related (and that the higher temps being registered were causing damage to the engine) I took the Jeep into my local mechanic this past weekend. His diagnosis: fan clutch was messed and needed to be replaced. Which I had him do.
Picked up the Jeep yesterday and it's still having problems . Instead of a "grumble" during acceleration from dead stops it's now making this loud "fluttering" sound during acceleration at higher speeds (starting at about 25 mph and working up to about 45mph.) The closest thing I can compare it to is the sound made by taping a baseball card to a bike frame so it sticks through the wheel spokes and makes noise when the bike is ridden. The "flutter" is sensitive to both speed and the amount of pressure I'm putting on the gas pedal ... by changing the speed/acceleration/pressure on the pedal I can control both the amount/duration of the flutter and the loudness.
I've also noticed that this noise only occurs when the vehicle is in gear and moving. If I put it into neutral/park and vary the pressure on the gas pedal everything sounds just fine throughout.
Additionally, the engine temp gauge is behaving differently now. Where it used to spike up (during idling, usually) and remain steady, the needle now spikes up (again, during idling), but then drops down to it's "usual" ("210") position. In fact, I've noticed that when I turn the engine off and then move the key forward to the "on" position without restarting the needle spikes up MUCH higher than it ever is when the engine is running.
So, having said all of this (I've tried to be as detailed and specific as possible, sorry if it dragged on a bit), does anyone have any suggestions for this decidedly "non-gearhead" Jeep-owner about what the problem might be (is it really the fan clutch, could it be a botched fan clutch installation, etc), how serious it is (is it dangerous for me to drive my Jeep any further than to get it back to the mechanic) and any suggestions of other things that I might tell the mechanic to look at/for in attempting to resolve this?
Thanks for any help and suggestions!
--Garth