I have a 87 cherokee that has major power loss and pinging like crazy, could this be a timing issue and what else could cause this problem? Any help would be appriciated!

 

It could be as simple as you bought some bad gas. Did it start all of a sudden, or come on gradually?

 

Unsure how or when it started, it was that way when i got it, im trying to contact the previous owner to see if the distributor was removed for any reason! Not much gas in it, will drain it and see if that helps, but it seems like a timing issue to me!

 

Is the gas old and stinky?

I woulc put a timing light on it for sure.

 

Tune up.. cap, rotor, plugs, plug wires. Check EGR, TPS, map sensor, etc. hve you checked the air filter yet?

 

What engine do you have? Pull the dist. cap off and look at the terminals inside and the rotor. What's their condition? Pull a spark plug. What color is the tip? Is it wet? Does it look speckled, sooty, or ashy? Throw us a bone here, we're trying to help.

 

Jeep has new parts, radiator, water pump, serp belt, egr, plugs ,wires, dist, rotor, battery, starter.

 

Gas smells fine. not sticky and seems ok!

 

Oh. its the 4 cylinder engine!