So yes I am a newbie, but let me just say flat out I love this Jeep (my first). 96 XJ Sport L6 4.0HO.

Been working on cars since I was a child with my Dad who worked on cars with his Dad (Fmr NASCAR WC racer) and NOTHING I have ever owned is as easy or as fun as this new (to me) Jeep...that includes my beloved 86 442 I used to own. The former owner took care of the Jeep in the way of oil changes and the standard water pump replacement, but thats pretty much it. So I have a 96 with 216K on the dial and I am doing alot of replacments to things that should have been done before....in example there are 216K miles on the OEM spark plugs, wires, and shocks. While working on it I plan to change the distributor cap but I have never done that before in any car and quite simply dont know how.

I have searched this forum/others/Youtube and can't find information for it as it relates to my 96. If someone can point me in the right direction that would be awesome.
Again thanks for any help, this forum has been a plethora of knowledge since I have come to own this Jeep and I am loving all the cool things I am learning about it. Thanks everyone....off to the jy to find some old Dodge Neons.

 

Tune up (plugs, wires, cap and rotor) is a great idea.

You should also consider replacing ALL fluids and filters.
Fluids: oil, tranny fluid, coolant, transfer case, diffs. Brake fluid and power steering fluid if you're feeling ambitious
Filters: Air, fuel and oil

Grease all zerks on the front end.

Check brakes.

Do the standard check for worn parts/mounts in the steering/suspension/drivetrain.

 

It sounds like your previous owner took better care of yours than mine did. Mine has been nothing but one problem after another since I bought it. And were not talking about general maintenance. I'm talking something went wrong and they either ignored it or band aided it just well enough to not show up for a test drive.

I'm with 1996sportXJ. Anytime you buy a used vehicle, ALWAYS replace every single fluid, grease every single zerk, and check all the safety systems. Doing this helped me find many problems in my driveway before they became problems that stopped me 60 miles from the nearest town!

And make sure to follow the wise words in 1996sportXJ's sig... "If needed to replace, UPGRADE!!"

 

To change the distributor cap (Not the whole distributor but just the cap) is very simple to do if you know how. I would mark all the wires with numbers so you don't get any of them mixed up and then after you pull them all off the dis. cap there are just two screws holding the cap on. After you get those off pull the cap up and off. Then you just pull up on the rotor as well and replace them with the new parts. Very easy job after you do it once. I will try to find pics

 

First Pic: You can see the two silver screws on the cap and you might be able to see the tape I used to number the wires

Second Pic: The rotor may be stuck on there pretty good but it does just pull up and off

 

Awesome, thanks for the info. I will be tackling this over the weekend.

 

No problem. I remember doing the same thing not too long ago and also couldn't really find anything about it. Good luck!

 

If yours has never before had a tune-up with 216k, prepare to be blown away with the extra power! I did mine after 130k. Felt like about a 40hp difference! You'll also see much better mileage as well!

 

Disclaimer of the above: *most likely*

Of course, it's not guaranteed that you'll see a huge gain. Although you really should with that kind of mileage.

 

Don't tell the manufacturers this... if one paid attention to the advertising all the basic parts, one would think that simple tuneup would give you enough power to run Formula 1...

O2 sensors are a frequently overlooked wear item. NTK is the original manufacturer, I can't remember if '96 uses a downstream O2S in it's fuel calculations. Upstream is definitely a good one to replace.

 

Spent most of weekend wrenching on it with my 2 year old "assisting" me....she learned the word "alternator".

Power washed engine, changed oil, radiator fluid, rear end pumpkin oil, greased the steering, K and N filter, cleaned throttle body (almost 1/2' of gunk build up removed), Seafoam, new plugs, wires, distributor cap, fuel filter, cleaned NSS (we have reverse lights now), and blew 1 speaker....I guess 17 year old speakers cant handle the Crowes.

Fired her up and its almost like a super charger was installed she has much more power.

Confirmed a crack in exhaust manifold at collector...will look for replacement after I skim over some reviews on the forums. At jy picked up a 2000 intake manifold ($15!!!!) and found 5 Dodge Neon fuel injectors that I will install in the next few weeks.

Last night I pulled the front seats out and found $4.37 in chnage and a collection of Burger King chicken fries from a few years ago. PO did off road Jeep but aways power washed the bottom so the seat bolt came out with no breaking....steamed cleaned the seats and carpets....took 4 passes and the dirty water still came out the color of Jolt Cola.

Reinstalled seats and daughter and I cracked open a ice cold bottle of Sunny D. She looked at me and said "Alternator!" while pointing at air freshener.

Loving this Jeep!

 

Now that is a successful weekend of wrenching!