at 66k?????? Whoever told you that is full of crap. I took the engine in my Pickup apart at 96k to do heads and a cam and the chain was like new. A chain shouldn't need to be replaced till WELL over 100k. Mike

 

I guess the reason I was told that is because on most cars a timing belt has to be replaced around 60-70k however i don't believe the Jeep cherokee has a Timing belt or at least napa said they didn't sell one.

So, you don't think this needs to be replaced? Also, there is a unique noise coming from the front of the motor near the belts, sounds like a squeaky noise when the cars AC is on, engine idle goes up and down at this point. I am not sure what it is.

Thanks for your help

 

The 4.0L uses a chain not a belt. The squeaking could be the idler pulley going bad.

 

Is the idler pulley hard to replace or expensive? thanks

 

Nope, just loosen the tension on the serp belt and unbolt the idler. Make sure that's it though.

 

the idler pulley is fairly easy and cheap, if it only make noise with the a/c on I would suspect the a/c compressor pulley/clutch making the noise.
The timing chain is good for pretty much the life of the engine, if you rebuilt your engine then go ahead and replace it while your there.

 

I am having trouble finding out which part on my serpentine belt is adjustable. I thought it was the altenator but it's too hard to see, does anyone know which is the easiest way to replace the serpentine belt?

thanks

 

If I remember correctly, on a '98 there should be an idler pulley near the power steering pump that is adjustable. You will need to loosen this pulley, and loosen the adjustment bolt to get the belt off.

On some of the earlier models (like my '94), the adjustment was with the power steering pump. Kind of a pain to get to all the bolts! I think they changed this to the newer setup after '95...but don't quote me on that. It has been a while since I've looked at a Jeep newer than mine...

Hope this helps!

 

Don't fix anything until you have found the cause of the squeak. Don't adjust the serp belt tension unless it is not properly tensioned. If you check the belt tension by hand and you are still unsure have a mechanic test it with a tension guage. It should be pretty tight; no slack.