Please Help! Engine Cut Out & Grinding Noise!

[jamesbeat]

Hi guys, I'm having trouble with my KJ, and it's my only car

Its a 2003 Jeep Liberty KJ with the 42RLE transmission.

I reversed out of my driveway this morning, and shifted into Drive, and I lost all power - engine just cut out.
It may sound dumb, but I can't remember at exactly what point the engine cut out - I just went to pull away from the curb and there was no power.

The oil warning light was on, but I know that is normal if the engine shuts off and the ignition is still switched on.
I checked the oil anyway, and it was fine.

I also checked the transmission fluid, and that is fine also.

A passerby helped me get the Jeep off the road and when the traffic died down a bit, I started it up again to get it back onto my (steep) driveway.

It pulled up onto the driveway ok, but there was a sort of grinding/groaning sound coming from the front end somewhere.

I have since started the car and shifted through the gears. The grinding sound has lessened somewhat, but it is still there whenever I'm in a drive gear.
It's not there in Neutral or Park, but whenever I shift to Drive or Reverse the grinding sound happens.
I haven't actually tried driving it because I'm afraid I will do further damage.

This is my DD, so I need to fix it fast!

I tried searching, but couldn't find any posts that seemed to match this particular problem.

Any ideas what it could it be?


Edit:
On a hunch, I removed the serpentine belt and the noise went away.
My guess is that I have a bad bearing somewhere in this area like the AC, alternator etc.

Is it possible that this could cause the engine to cut out if the power steering putting extra strain on the system just at the wrong time?

When I put the belt back on, the noise came back louder than before and I could see the belt vibrating back and forth where it comes off the tensioner.

I'm suspecting the tensioner at this point, but I'm not very experienced and I would REALLY appreciate some guidance.

 

[jamesbeat]

Ok, I'm guessing I'm not getting responses because my post was too vague.
Here's a list of everything that happened and everything I tried:

Jeep appeared to be running normally. Just completed a 10 minute ride and pulled over to curb to pick up a passenger.
Went to pull away from curb and engine cut out.
When the engine was restarted, very loud metallic grinding sound coming from engine when in any drive gear.
Pulled back onto driveway ok (except for grinding sound).

Grinding sound traced to front of engine, drive belt area. Only happens when in a drive gear, not in P or N.

Removed drive belt - grinding sound goes away.
All pulleys appear to be running smoothly when turned by hand.
Replaced drive belt - grinding sound returns.
Grinding sound worsens when AC is turned on or steering wheel is turned.

Used a screwdriver as a 'stethoscope':
Power steering bearing sounds a little suspicious to my untrained ear. All other pulleys except belt tensioner pulley sound like a smooth 'hiss'.

Belt tensioner pulley sounds very rough - can be seen rattling back and forth. Belt is also vibrating violently where it leaves pulley.

Tried steering again - belt vibrates even more violently in tensioner pulley area, and also starts vibrating violently around power steering pulley whenever steering wheel is turned.
It looks as though the power steering pulley is actually vibrating, although this could be an optical illusion because the belt is vibrating.


The obvious explanation seems to be that the tensioner is bad, and possibly the power steering pump bearings also.

I have a couple of questions:

Why does this sound only happen when in a drive gear?

Could a bad tensioner cause the belt to vibrate around the power steering pump, or can we safely say that the pump bearings are also bad?

Can a bad bearing in one of the accessories cause the engine to cut out? (it only cut out out the one time).
It was at low revs on a cold day, and I was probably steering when it happened. It's also possible that the AC kicked in at the same time (demister).

Why did the noise only start happening after the engine cut out?

 

[LibertyTC]

Start by replacing the tensioner assembly. There is a spring inside the tensioner to keep belt tight, it's weak/ failed. Nothing should be wobbling, the pulleys/bearings are shot.
See this link: http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/servicing-pulleys-serpentine-belt-61581/
See how it sounds after the tensioner is replaced, and post back findings.

 

[jamesbeat]

Yes, that's the first thing I'm going to do.
Unfortunately this has come at a really bad time, and I have no money until I get paid on Friday.

Could a bad tensioner really be the cause of everything, even the engine cutting out?

 

[jamesbeat]

I bought a new tensioner and a mechanic's stethoscope yesterday.

I replaced the tensioner last night, and I have both good news and bad:

The good news is that the grinding sound has completely disappeared.
I got my wife to start it up and everything seemed ok, so I motioned to her to put it in gear.
Nothing changed, so eventually I went around and asked her why she wasn't putting it into gear.
Turns out it was in gear the whole time, but it was running so smooth I couldn't tell

The bad news is that I still have a problem. The new tensioner is still bouncing around a little, so there's something going on somewhere else.
I used the stethoscope, and to my inexpert ear it seems like the power steering pump bearing.

I got my wife to turn the steering wheel back and forth and I'm getting some vibration of the belt around the power steering pump pulley, so I'm thinking those bearings are bad.
I also think that this may have in turn caused the tensioner to go bad due to the constant oscillation it was going through because of the bad power steering pump bearing.

I think that under normal circumstances the belt would have just broken, but perhaps because the belt was practically brand new and the engine was only idling, the belt held and the engine stalled instead.

Does this seem like the correct diagnosis?

 

[LibertyTC]

Sounds like bearings..probably time for new pump.
Loosen off the belt/ off the PS pulley. Grab a hold of the PS pulley pull up & sideways got any movement....??
Spin it by hand how does it feel ?

 

[jamesbeat]

Sounds like bearings..probably time for new pump.
Loosen off the belt/ off the PS pulley. Grab a hold of the PS pulley pull up & sideways got any movement....??
Spin it by hand how does it feel ?

That's the thing - I tried what you described and the bearings don't seem to have any grittiness or play.
The pulley turns freely in both directions, I can't pull it in and out or up and down or anything like that.

Having said that, I've never done this before, so I have no experience of what a bad bearing feels like.
I guess it sounds a bit off through the stethoscope, but I don't really know what I'm listening for.
The other pulleys sound like a smooth hiss, but the power steering one does have a few ticks and clicks.

The only other indication that I have is that the belt by the tensioner is vibrating slightly, and when the power steering is worked, the belt vibrates around the power steering pulley too.
The vibrations can be felt through the steering wheel.