my xj is spittin and sputtering...codes read misfires on all cylinders...anyone have any ideas?

 

Have you gone through any deep water or steam cleaned the engine recently?

 

1. Tuneup hardware must be considered. Fresh plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, rotor. Basics first. Always

2. Test your fuel pressure. Must be done with a gauge. For a 96, you should have 49 psi plus or minus 5 psi at idle. Many big box parts stores will rent you this gauge.

Start there.

 

When I had a similar issue, random misfires on various cylinders it was related to the Distributor Cap.

One of the ears that the screw go through was cracked and the cap was not properly attached.

Once I tightened it down properly my issues went away.

I will not that my symptoms were not as severe as yours though, not running so rough but constantly throwing codes.

I also would look inside the distributor at the shaft the rotor sits on. If there is any side to side play, that could be a contributing factor. I actually bought a brand new distributor because of noticeable play on the shaft of the dist in the engine, but tightening down the cap resolved the issue so I put off installing the distributor.

 

so i changed all plugs and wires..opened the cap and cleaned off the surfaces of all the connection points and so far so good..its running without misfiring...soon i think i'm gonna change the cap and rotor