Yea, flowmasters sound good, but I don't have $80+ to put down for a muffler. It would just get wrecked offroad anyway. My Jeep is still stock height so it tends to bottom out a lot. I don't just drive the trails, I go through anything I think will be a challenge. Last time I took it offroad, I ended up tearing a hole in the body on the passenger side and smashing in the fender. It was my first time there and it was nighttime, so visibility was low and something smashed the side of my Jeep denting and pushing in the fender while sliding down the body and tearing a 6"x2" hole underneath the back window. I'm happy it didn't break the window though. So the flowmaster wouldn't be so great for me especially since it'll probably be wrecked real quick.

I can lift my truck up with a floor jack on the flowmaster 40. they're THICK. you're not going to break a flowmaster 40.

Well it's still out of my price range right now. I have A LOT of other things that need to be taken care of right now. I need to put down money for a new coil just to get the Jeep running, assuming that's the problem and put some in the bank for the next time something like this happens. Then I need to pay for the insurance to keep it on the road. And then I have to worry about the muffler. I have to do all this while working two jobs just trying to keep the darn thing on the road. I'm pretty much scraping by paycheck by paycheck so I have to go as cheap as possible.

I suppose.


...btw, junkyard coils are typically good, and $5 each.

I carry two with me as spares.

I'm real cool with the guys at the local junkyard so they usually only charge me for tires, never for odds and ends. I went there and got a coil from an XJ for free, but it was shot and turned out to be a waste of time, so this time I'm just going to get a new one so I know if I still have weak spark, it's not a problem with the coil. I'm getting 12 volts into the coil, that should be enough to produce a good spark, right? Because 12 volts goes in and a weak orange spark comes out. Just in case it matters I changed out the CPS because it tested to be bad and then when I went to start it my coil was dead. Then the junkyard one was producing a weak spark.

have you replaced plug wires, cap, and rotor yet?

if not, do that before you buy a coil.

Put new cap and rotor and the plug wires are fairly new. I'll tell you the story so you can get a better idea. I was driving home from work when I got the bad backfire. I tried to restart it and got nothing. I checked the spark and there was nothing. The CPS turned out to be bad after testing it so I put a new one in. Went to start it, no spark, but I had 12 volts to the coil. Put in a JY coil and got a very weak orange spark. And the I checked spark directly out of the coil, not by pulling a plug. So the spark should've been real strong, but it was pretty terrible. I pulled the wire off the top of the distributor, pulled the boot back and rested the metal on the distributor prong. My buddy turned it over and it was a steady spark, but was just too weak to start it.

I happen to have a thrush glaspack on mine now and it sound pretty good to me, but I kinda like the wild sound it has lol

just because your CPS is new, doesn't mean it's any good.

also, your cam position sensor on the distributor could be bad.

i got a flowy and love the sound

Yep a bud of mine bought one offline and it was bad from the start. X2 on the cam position sensor.

After a bad back fire you might need a new cat as well. The stock cat's are brittle at best. Check that too when you get the no start issue fixed.

I tested the resistance on the new CPS before I even though about putting it in and it was zero, so it was in working condition. And the distributor is not bad. I tested the spark directly out of the coil, I did not pull a plug. I popped the coil wire off the top of the distributor and grounded it out while a friend cranked it. The weak spark is DIRECTLY out of the coil. As for the cat, I'm getting a new one soon anyway, I think it's been toasted since I got the Jeep. It sounds like it might be hollowed, unless all XJs have that like ping and resonance when you give em a lot of gas. Like when I rev up, as the RPMs drop, it kind of does that little descending Pop-Pop-Pop. I don't know, I'm getting a new one soon anyway.

Oh I forgot the reason I came back to this post in the first place. I went to PepBoys today to get a new muffler, but all they had was a Thrush Welded, so I bought it, since I need to get this Jeep fixed soon. I also, picked up a brand new coil. Before I install it though, I'm just gonna plug it in and check for good spark. If I still have crappy spark, I'll return it and go back to the drawing board.

I didn't say your distributor was bad.

I said the cam position sensor (which is located on the distributor) could also be bad.

that would produce weak spark.

and how, exactly, are you gauging the quality of the spark?

I know, but the Cam Position Sensor doesn't even come into play because I am testing the spark directly out of the ignition coil. The way I am testing it is quite simple. Instead of pulling a spark plug and grounding it out to test the spark, I do it right from the coil via the plug wire. I pop off the coil wire from the top of the distributor and ground it, so the distributor isn't even utilized while testing the spark. Then I lower the hood so it gets nice and dark under there while my buddy cranks the engine over. I look at the spark and it's a really low orange spark. Orange will make you engine spit and sputter, but you need a good blue spark to make anything run. Do you understand what I'm saying now? That the spark is coming directly from the coil and not even running through the distributor so it rules out faulty distributor/cam position sensor.