Hi, I just had my distributer, rotor, and cap replaced on my 96 xj 4.0. It had been ticking pretty badly. I brought it to a mechanic and they had it done in under an hour. I went to go pick it up and it started up and ran smoothly, drove about halfway home (5-10 min) and it stalled out sitting at a light. Wouldn’t restart for anything and we had to push it to a gas station and get it towed back to that mechanic. I’m leaving it there overnight since I picked it up soon before they closed. When I crank it there is a “catch” almost right away and it sputters a few times and dies, giving it gas while cranking didn’t help. Since I brought my own parts (they use some cheapo no name brand) I’m worried they might try blaming it on that. But to me it seems like they just didn’t install it correctly, what do you guys think? The whole reason I brought it to a mechanic was to get the top dead center right since I didn’t trust myself with that. And here we are.

Also, when I first messaged this shop about the job I asked if the rate they gave me included the replacement and setting the timing. He told me “the timing itself is electronic, part and labor only”, is he right in saying that? I’m thinking maybe he just threw the distributer in without setting it correctly. Would that cause what happened? Strange that it was running good at first though.

 

Is the trigger/power plug going into the ignition coil loose?

 

Yes they are correct about the timing, that is done PCM. I think either you have a bad cam sensor (it came with the distributor) or the connector has failed, or your coil is done. It was installed correctly if it did start up. One of the issues with these Jeeps is they like OEM sensors. You admit to a cheap version of a distributor, which means cheap sensor IMO. I would ask them to take your old cam sensor and swap them out and see if that takes care of it. If not, they will know what to check. If you are running the original coil it may be cracked and only grounds out after the vehicle has warmed up....might as well replace it while they are chasing down diagnostics...

 

Bruces answer says it all

I really hope you or the workshop retained the original distrubutor, so you can re-install the OEM cam sensor

One should never dispose of an older OEM part, unless it is utterly failed

I agree the vehicle would not have started and ran well if the dizzy was out of position

You have no alternative but to do the diagnostic work yourself, or have the mechanic rectify it for you

You cannot expect them to rectify on their time if you supplied the parts, except in the case of poor workmanship

 

So what part did you buy (and from where)?

Like the others said, there are plenty of ways to install the distributor incorrectly. The most often it's 180 deg out. However, improper install usually results in no start and/or poor running. Another potential error is connecting the spark plugs wires incorrectly resulting in the same no start/poor running. Since it ran fine when you picked it up, it sounds like they did it correctly.

Was the "ticking" coming from your distributor? Did the replacement stop the ticking?

You can check the plug wires to make sure they are fully seated in the cap and on the plugs.

 

Thanks for the advice. I have the Jeep back now, it’s running well, just as it did before but without the ticking. The mechanic’s English wasn’t great so to be honest I’m not sure I completely understand what he did. Something about taking a “part” from within the old distributer and putting it in the new one. The cap and rotor are the new ones I provided. I’m not sure what part he might’ve taken out of the old one that fixed it, but everything’s working.. any idea what it might’ve been?

I have to put some more miles on it to be completely confident, so I’ll update here if it dies or starts ticking again.

 

If you read back thru your thread you'll see that as others have pointed out "the part" you are asking about is likely the cam position sensor. The one in the new distributor was likely junk.

Likely the noise you were hearing was the cap or rotor. Don't throw away the old distributor, it's probably better than the new one.

 

The bush (or bearing), I cant recall which, in the base of the dizzy is prone to become noisy after long use, one of our members added a grease zerk, which stopped the noise, good idea

 

I should also clarify. I did as much research as I could about distributor brands, mostly on this site, before ordering. I didnt want a cardone so I ended up with a reman oem from a place called caltrade. Apparently it’s tested and working before being shipped, looked really good when I got it. I thought about telling them about my issues with the part, but now that’s it’s working I probably won’t if that would mean I’d have to take it out again.

Should I still swap the cam sensor as you guys said? I have my old parts still. Or since they’re both oem should it be fine?

 

Are you seeing issues after it warms up?

 

not yet no. I drove about 20 minutes up and down hills going home, probably 65 degrees out. No issues with that but I have to give it a good long drive still.

 

When It happens again try DexJeeps quick fix of dumping cool water on it. If that fixes the issue then yes, you'll need a new sensor

 

I don’t know if my old distributor was so bad it had to be replaced. The way it was explained to me was that it had too much play when it was spinning the rotor, which was causing it to tick hitting the dist. cap. Thinking back, it probably could have been re seated or greased instead, I figured it’d be better to just swap it out in case the part was done for. I’m not sure what to do with the old distributor or if it could be used still. I guess I’ll just hold on to it.

 

Let me clarify if the can pos is bad the cooling fix should get you started again

 

is that if it starts ticking again? In what situation would I pour cool water on it? That would be a good way to know if the sensor needs to be swapped out