This video solved a 3 month issue I had, I even had mechanics over at my house stumped. I ran across this video by accident watched it and even as simple as it is. This video made my jeep run right again. Thank you so much for this video!!!!!
This video was a lifesaver. I have an 83 CJ7 that had the HESCO Mopar EFI mod done to it runs and tunes like a 94-95 Wrangler. The original owner had a buttload of work done, all by an offroad shop, including the EFI, which includes a new distributor. I've had it 8 years and decided to rebuild it, with a shop doing a long block rebuild after I pulled it out. I shot detailed pictures of everything. On the install, I found the motor shop had left it at #6 TDC instead of #1... no problem, I should have checked it. The distributor was wired 180 out from the original EFI mod which kind of complicated finding and fixing everything as well. I originally left it as original, just swapping the plug wires and it started right up. Played with the dist for a little timing love, but it was all or nothing, and it would die with little adj's. Finally it ran smooth with not much in the way of power, I was still tweeking things making it worse, and decided to tear it back to the distributor reinstall. I'd found this video while searching for documentation on the EFI Mod since I didn't have much in terms of documentation other the my Haynes 83 CJ manual, which didn't cover this any of this. I followed this video to the letter. It was even a little challenging since my distributor didn't have the fork on the base to lineup with the hold down bolt. I used the casting marks on the distributor (comparing to the video) to figure the one o'clock position on the way in where the fork would have been and brought it down. I almost didn't buy it because to looked like the rotor was at 5:30 instead of 5:00. I went with it, got everything back together, and the thing started instantly and screams down the road. My guess is I was firing on the upstroke even though timing told me I was 2 degrees before TDC before I tore it back apart and used this video to get me home. Dallas... yer a stud. I owe you big for a well shot, well explained video. It gave me everything I needed to figure out what I didn't have, and it went in on the first shot. Way to pay it forward man.
I've been battling my jeep for 9 months now trying to figure out what's wrong. Replaced every part with electrical. Tried timing multiple times. Never knew this trick until I watch this video. I timed it according to this video and it finally ran! Thank you for the straight to the point directions because it worked perfectly!!
Thanks, that was a great tutorial. Just replaced my distributor because of chirping sound. I noticed something though that might help others. If you have the same problem I did or at least your engine is running good and you just have to replace the distributor and aren't experiencing any timing issues, you can just turn the crank manually until the rotor and that forth hole line up the way you showed, then insert the punch and pull out the old distributor and skip pulling the spark plug in order to confirm top-dead-center. -Again, thank you, thank you, thank you. superbly filmed and explained.
Thanks for taking the time out of your day to film and explain this. I've went through a couple instructional forum threads with write ups and it did noting but confuse. 5 minutes of this video cleared up an hour of reading. Thanks again for supporting the community.
Well this video saved another guy’s rear. I just installed a rebuilt motor in my 99 XJ 4.0. I tried to prime the oil pump by disabling the fuel pump and ignition and cranking the engine with the starter. It would not register oil pressure on the gauge. I tried about 7 -30 second cranks and no pressure. I had to pull my dizzy , cut a flathead screwdriver and stick it in my dewalt cordless drill. I got about three seconds of rotation when I felt some resistance in my drill and the speed bogged down and I heard (bloop) and the resistance was steady now. I had my oil filler cap off and could see oil flowing through the rocker assembly. I continued this for another minute or so then put my distributor back on after turning my crank to the timing mark at O. I could see my #1 piston at TDC -and I put the dizzy back in just like you said. Bolted it down, installed my plugs , fuel pump relay and my cape, rotor, wires and it fired up nicely. I also did a hard reset on the ECU. There are good videos of that out there too. Thanks man...got me going simpler than I could find in three different manuals. I hate friggin vague manuals dude.
I did this on my 98, just read the manual. But you did a better way of explaining this to ppl. Kudos. I'm showing this to my buddy at the moment because he can't picture what I'm telling him lol
I just picked up a new project, a 98 XJ. It didn't run due to a few issues, but after sorting out most of them I still felt it was just running "out of time" but knowing that I couldn't adjust the timing sent me on a search. That lead to indexing the distributor (not something I care about right now) and then looking up a proper install lead me to your video. THANK YOU for going into detail about the PROPER procedure with a disto install. I hope to have a well running Jeep tomorrow :-)
You are a life saver dude I am working on my 91 YJ for almost 2 weeks just to solve this issue and yet your explanation made it so easy that I was laughing on my wasted time and effort. thanks man keep it up
Dallas, After suffering for about six months with an annoying distributor squeak (my neighbors can relate), I took the plunge and changed the distributor on my 1996 Jeep Cherokee. Your video was very informative and having the engine outside the vehicle really helped me see what was needed to be done. I was able to swap it out in a couple of hours and it started right up, minus the annoying squeak. Thanks again and if you are in the San Diego area, i will buy you a cold one!
I would just like to say "thank you" for making this video. I did the whole rear main/oil pump/pan gasket change on my 200k '96 Cherokee Classic. Like a dummy, I forgot to place the engine in TDC mode and yanked the distributor out to prime the oil pump. I was totally lost, and freaking out a little bit, honestly. After watching your video, I put everything back together per your instructions and it started up and ran perfectly first crank. Again: THANK YOU!
Same here. I could not get this thing timed. Was about to give up when I came across this video. After watching the video it took about 15 minutes and the jeep runs perfect. I am a chevy man and I kept trying to time it like a chevy
This is video is a life saver!! The House Boss's XJ sat for six months over the winter. On days when the weather was decent I probed around looking for timing marks all over the harmonic balancer and found nothing. Today, I figured there had to be another way before I gave up and towed this thing to a professional.
Thank you for tho video...i just installed a new oil pump on my 98 xj and was nervous about pulling out the distributor to prime the pump but this helps me out well....will be pulling out the distributor tomorrow...
Thank you so much for this video, I kept looking but all I could find was other jeep videos with a different distributed where they use the wire on the side holes
Of course it helped out, thank you so much indeed! One important thing to add is that when Cylinder #1 is on Top Dead Center, it should be on Compression Stroke, and not on Exhaust. Maybe I missed it when you said it.
+Travis Burke I'm assuming you figured it out by now, but in case you didn't, you can put your finger in the spark plug hole and crank the piston up, and if air blows past your finger, it's on the compression stroke.
I bought a new cheap distributor and was able to identify that they didn’t index the cam gear correctly due to the information provided in your video. Thanks!
Love this video, I'm doing an ignition tune up today on my 97 grand Cherokee Laredo for to fix a multiple misfire problem and I'll be using this specific video as my walkthrough
I’ve been working on my timing for about a week now trying to get it down right the way that you show the timing to be done and explain the way the timing should be done and the way that you made this video this video really really helps out a lot of people on the way You explained it that and showed How to do it thank you so much for making a Excellent video l give this video a rating of 10+
Thanks for sharing , I've had so many problems with my daughters TJ and the dizzy is my last attempt at fixing it , you really did a good job explaining this , I've been looking for old school timing marks everywhere , I'm just going ahead with your simple method , thanks again for sharing
damn good video brother!!! i just bought a 95 jeep grand cherokee with 287 thousand miles!! im in the process getting it out of limp mode.only drives in 3rd, i can swithch manually but that way only engages two and three, od stays lit im at the point where i am going to buy all those sensors under the tranny pan and replacing them . I havent yet decided to replace the tcu, i tried resetting it, but its the same Im hoping it just the sensors that are clogged since its common. what sold me on the car was its immaculate leather interior and exterior was amazing as well. thanks again for this great video, i was going to change the distributar as well as the plug wires .but was waiting on a usefull how-to video, now i got it.
I just did a distributor swap on a 96, what a pain. Was hoping I could mark orientation of rotor on old one and line up new one to match but for whatever reason it would not line up the same. Took out #1 plug and turned motor over to get it at tdc but had the cam 180 deg out of phase since it is a 2:1 ratio on timing gears, Turned over but would not start since crank and cam sensors where so far off from each other. Took me longer than I want to admit to figure out what my problem was. Had to turn crank around another rotation then it worked.
Hey just want to say thanks for the video ive been massing around for a few days now and after watching this video I got it on the first try so again.... 👍
+Hons Barrera she runs great. I used a screwdriver to turn the oil plug until it was at 1 oclock. you have to take off the radiator fan and manually turn the belt to get piston 1 at the top of its turn or top dead center
+z0mbicidaI 11 o'clock. if you don't get the positioning in right it will run like shit or not at all. there is only one timing for the xjs motors from 95 to 2002
NOTE : number 1 piston is set at T.D.C. on the compression stroke ( where both valves are closed for no. 1) how to tell .. use your finger over the plug hole it should pressurize against your finger.
This is great to follow. Very clear, and makes the job seem fun. My question is what positions I need to get on my 5.2L 318? Do you have a video on that engine, or is it the same looking from the front?
i swapped my timing chain sprockets and chain and im not sure if i did it correctly i had the dots facing each other. ill be dropping in the engine tomorrow and fire it up. If it isnt timed correctly would i be able to follow this video and set the timing correctly without taking the timing cover back off?
pretty cool. ive spent plenty of years working on and building customers jeeps but finally have 1 of my own. been chasing small issues and bugs. never knew about locking in the distributor like that. my biggest question that i cant seem to find anything on is with the pcm controlling the timing, what do you do to put the computer into "timing mode" to verify the timing is at 8 degrees?
I’m doin every step right easy to follow but when I put the distributor in at the 1 o’clock and turn it in place it doesn’t want to seat properly like there’s a 1in gap. Any tips?
This video solved a 3 month issue I had, I even had mechanics over at my house stumped. I ran across this video by accident watched it and even as simple as it is. This video made my jeep run right again. Thank you so much for this video!!!!!
Thank you for the info I had been working on this 95 for 4 days you explained perficly keep up the good work thanks
Is this the same on the 2.5 engine?
Still helping people many years later! This was so helpful to me and my kid. I'd never done anything like this before. Thank you!
IF ONLY, everyone could make perfectly explained videos like this. Thank you sir.
Not everyone has a spare engine in the garage
Plenty of videos and this guy made it very clear. Others fall shirt every time. @@WhatTheHeckTV
Professionally done video, straight and to the point without stupit drama or stunts.
This video was a lifesaver. I have an 83 CJ7 that had the HESCO Mopar EFI mod done to it runs and tunes like a 94-95 Wrangler. The original owner had a buttload of work done, all by an offroad shop, including the EFI, which includes a new distributor. I've had it 8 years and decided to rebuild it, with a shop doing a long block rebuild after I pulled it out. I shot detailed pictures of everything. On the install, I found the motor shop had left it at #6 TDC instead of #1... no problem, I should have checked it. The distributor was wired 180 out from the original EFI mod which kind of complicated finding and fixing everything as well. I originally left it as original, just swapping the plug wires and it started right up. Played with the dist for a little timing love, but it was all or nothing, and it would die with little adj's. Finally it ran smooth with not much in the way of power, I was still tweeking things making it worse, and decided to tear it back to the distributor reinstall. I'd found this video while searching for documentation on the EFI Mod since I didn't have much in terms of documentation other the my Haynes 83 CJ manual, which didn't cover this any of this.
I followed this video to the letter. It was even a little challenging since my distributor didn't have the fork on the base to lineup with the hold down bolt. I used the casting marks on the distributor (comparing to the video) to figure the one o'clock position on the way in where the fork would have been and brought it down. I almost didn't buy it because to looked like the rotor was at 5:30 instead of 5:00. I went with it, got everything back together, and the thing started instantly and screams down the road. My guess is I was firing on the upstroke even though timing told me I was 2 degrees before TDC before I tore it back apart and used this video to get me home.
Dallas... yer a stud. I owe you big for a well shot, well explained video. It gave me everything I needed to figure out what I didn't have, and it went in on the first shot. Way to pay it forward man.
I've been battling my jeep for 9 months now trying to figure out what's wrong. Replaced every part with electrical. Tried timing multiple times. Never knew this trick until I watch this video. I timed it according to this video and it finally ran! Thank you for the straight to the point directions because it worked perfectly!!
Did it just not start one day? I'm doing the same thing with mine. I'm at 9-10 months of replacing things.
This video saved me from going insane, appreciate people like yourself to take the time and post up helpful videos. Thanks again
Thanks, that was a great tutorial. Just replaced my distributor because of chirping sound. I noticed something though that might help others. If you have the same problem I did or at least your engine is running good and you just have to replace the distributor and aren't experiencing any timing issues, you can just turn the crank manually until the rotor and that forth hole line up the way you showed, then insert the punch and pull out the old distributor and skip pulling the spark plug in order to confirm top-dead-center.
-Again,
thank you, thank you, thank you.
superbly filmed and explained.
Thanks for taking the time out of your day to film and explain this. I've went through a couple instructional forum threads with write ups and it did noting but confuse. 5 minutes of this video cleared up an hour of reading. Thanks again for supporting the community.
No BSing! Straight to the point! Thank you for this amazingly explained video!
This may be the best tutorial for this particular task I have ever seen. Thanks be upon you.
Thank you! I have read/watched several exlpanations and videos but this by far is the simplest explanation I've seen.
Well this video saved another guy’s rear.
I just installed a rebuilt
motor in my 99 XJ 4.0.
I tried to prime the oil pump by disabling the fuel pump and ignition and cranking the engine with the starter.
It would not register oil pressure on the gauge.
I tried about 7 -30 second cranks and no pressure.
I had to pull my dizzy , cut a flathead screwdriver and stick it in my dewalt cordless drill.
I got about three seconds of rotation when I felt some resistance in my drill and the speed bogged down and I heard (bloop) and the resistance was steady now.
I had my oil filler cap off and could see oil flowing through the rocker assembly.
I continued this for another minute or so then put my distributor back on after turning my crank to the timing mark at O.
I could see my #1 piston at TDC -and I put the dizzy back in just like you said.
Bolted it down, installed my plugs , fuel
pump relay and my cape, rotor, wires and it fired up nicely.
I also did a hard reset on the ECU.
There are good videos of that out there too.
Thanks man...got
me going simpler than I could find in three different manuals.
I hate friggin vague manuals dude.
by far the best explanation of timing a 95-98 4.0. great video bud thank you for the help
99 too.
I did this on my 98, just read the manual.
But you did a better way of explaining this to ppl.
Kudos.
I'm showing this to my buddy at the moment because he can't picture what I'm telling him lol
I just picked up a new project, a 98 XJ. It didn't run due to a few issues, but after sorting out most of them I still felt it was just running "out of time" but knowing that I couldn't adjust the timing sent me on a search. That lead to indexing the distributor (not something I care about right now) and then looking up a proper install lead me to your video. THANK YOU for going into detail about the PROPER procedure with a disto install.
I hope to have a well running Jeep tomorrow :-)
You are a life saver dude I am working on my 91 YJ for almost 2 weeks just to solve this issue and yet your explanation made it so easy that I was laughing on my wasted time and effort.
thanks man keep it up
Dallas,
After suffering for about six months with an annoying distributor squeak (my neighbors can relate), I took the plunge and changed the distributor on my 1996 Jeep Cherokee. Your video was very informative and having the engine outside the vehicle really helped me see what was needed to be done. I was able to swap it out in a couple of hours and it started right up, minus the annoying squeak. Thanks again and if you are in the San Diego area, i will buy you a cold one!
thank you very much for this video my Jeep was 1 more backfire away from headed to the scrapyard this video saved my Jeep thank you again
I would just like to say "thank you" for making this video. I did the whole rear main/oil pump/pan gasket change on my 200k '96 Cherokee Classic. Like a dummy, I forgot to place the engine in TDC mode and yanked the distributor out to prime the oil pump. I was totally lost, and freaking out a little bit, honestly. After watching your video, I put everything back together per your instructions and it started up and ran perfectly first crank. Again: THANK YOU!
Same here. I could not get this thing timed. Was about to give up when I came across this video. After watching the video it took about 15 minutes and the jeep runs perfect. I am a chevy man and I kept trying to time it like a chevy
Hey dude you think this will help if the truck idles roughly and turns off if i dont hit the gas???? its only smooth after 1500 rmps
@@alanhernandez8440 have you ever pulled the distributor? If not then it wouldn't be out of time
I wish everyone would make videos as clear as this one. Great job!
Thanks a ton bro! Took maybe 5 minutes to do, and fired right up. Greatly appreciated!
This is video is a life saver!!
The House Boss's XJ sat for six months over the winter. On days when the weather was decent I probed around looking for timing marks all over the harmonic balancer and found nothing. Today, I figured there had to be another way before I gave up and towed this thing to a professional.
Thank you for tho video...i just installed a new oil pump on my 98 xj and was nervous about pulling out the distributor to prime the pump but this helps me out well....will be pulling out the distributor tomorrow...
Thank you so much for this video, I kept looking but all I could find was other jeep videos with a different distributed where they use the wire on the side holes
Great information...Thank you for taking the time to show and explain the correct way to install these distributors. It is much appreciated.
Of course it helped out, thank you so much indeed! One important thing to add is that when Cylinder #1 is on Top Dead Center, it should be on Compression Stroke, and not on Exhaust. Maybe I missed it when you said it.
How do you tell which stroke it is on, exhaust or intake?
+Travis Burke I'm assuming you figured it out by now, but in case you didn't, you can put your finger in the spark plug hole and crank the piston up, and if air blows past your finger, it's on the compression stroke.
I bought a new cheap distributor and was able to identify that they didn’t index the cam gear correctly due to the information provided in your video. Thanks!
Love this video, I'm doing an ignition tune up today on my 97 grand Cherokee Laredo for to fix a multiple misfire problem and I'll be using this specific video as my walkthrough
I’ve been working on my timing for about a week now trying to get it down right the way that you show the timing to be done and explain the way the timing should be done and the way that you made this video this video really really helps out a lot of people on the way You explained it that and showed How to do it thank you so much for making a Excellent video l give this video a rating of 10+
Thanks for sharing , I've had so many problems with my daughters TJ and the dizzy is my last attempt at fixing it , you really did a good job explaining this , I've been looking for old school timing marks everywhere , I'm just going ahead with your simple method , thanks again for sharing
You are a fucking saint my friend, I don't think I've ever seen such a perfect instructional video. That xj is toooo clean
Well done, much more detail than the book provides. Thank you
By far the best explanation I've seen! THANKS!!!
Thank you so much you been a lot of help the truck is running now
im replacing my distributor in my 4.0ltr xj very soon..this video will be of great use to me...thank you.
damn good video brother!!!
i just bought a 95 jeep grand cherokee with 287 thousand miles!! im in the process getting it out of limp mode.only drives in 3rd, i can swithch manually but that way only engages two and three, od stays lit im at the point where i am going to buy all those sensors under the tranny pan and replacing them . I havent yet decided to replace the tcu, i tried resetting it, but its the same
Im hoping it just the sensors that are clogged since its common.
what sold me on the car was its immaculate leather interior and exterior was amazing as well.
thanks again for this great video, i was going to change the distributar as well as the plug wires .but was waiting on a usefull how-to video, now i got it.
This video was invaluable yesterday! Thanks
right i replaced my distributor this morning,using the guide from Dallas and all went well.thank you Dallas your video was a great help to me...;-)
A+ video, well done, great info and very easy to follow. Thank you.
Excellent instruction and camera work
I have a Chrysler jeep 4.0 instructional video that teaches techs to do this and that isn’t even as helpful as this.. well done sir
Perfect. RUclipsrs should learn from you. Thanks. Well explained
I just did a distributor swap on a 96, what a pain. Was hoping I could mark orientation of rotor on old one and line up new one to match but for whatever reason it would not line up the same. Took out #1 plug and turned motor over to get it at tdc but had the cam 180 deg out of phase since it is a 2:1 ratio on timing gears, Turned over but would not start since crank and cam sensors where so far off from each other. Took me longer than I want to admit to figure out what my problem was. Had to turn crank around another rotation then it worked.
This the best VIDEO on how to Distributor.. Thanks Hunter:)
Thank you for the information very useful as I just purchased in 1999 jeep Cherokee sport with the distributor and of course in-line six
Thanks ,great video ,showing the easy way to install and set the time
Excellent (accurate) and Detailed information! Thank you for doing this video!
Best DIY vid ever !! Thank you posting this.
Thanks very much for the video. Very well done and to the point, it helped me get my Jeep running.
Your at vice on setting distributor on Jeep was Money. Thanks for the help.
dear god man I love you
Hey just want to say thanks for the video ive been massing around for a few days now and after watching this video I got it on the first try so again.... 👍
awesome video man, this was a big help
You’re a god for this video. Thank you
Dude thank you so much for this video. Fixed my girlfriend's jeep that's been backfiring and stalling for 2 years. 💪👍👏👌😁
Nicely shot video and explanation. Well done sir!
Bravo! Very well done, Dallas.
Don’t be rude to Miss Darci!!! ASIAN MAKE UP LOOKS AMAZING ON HER
Thanks man. This video definitely helped me out.
Thank you so much you saved my Jeep.
Thank you very much this has helped me in my case, explained in detail
I missed that punch part...and I think that may be why my jeep isn't running. I'll let you know, thanks for the video brotha! XJ Life!
+Hons Barrera she runs great. I used a screwdriver to turn the oil plug until it was at 1 oclock. you have to take off the radiator fan and manually turn the belt to get piston 1 at the top of its turn or top dead center
+z0mbicidaI 11 o'clock. if you don't get the positioning in right it will run like shit or not at all. there is only one timing for the xjs motors from 95 to 2002
+z0mbicidaI and on top of the distributor it ended up being water in my gas rails
great video !
thanks that's a great video I'm doing a 4.0 head on a 258 and had a hard time to find info
Can't make it more clear than that. thank you
NOTE : number 1 piston is set at T.D.C. on the compression stroke ( where both valves are closed for no. 1) how to tell .. use your finger over the plug hole it should pressurize against your finger.
Thank you for stating what i was thinking.
Double check the timing marks on harmonic balancer too
Thanks bro
Thanks I I fix tne Grand after 3 years
Good video 👍 i fix my 95 jeep cherokee
Starting issue with timing"
Best video ever on this
Thank you so much for this video!!
Very well explained video thanks a lot!
I have a zj and this is very helpful thanx
Thank you for the excellent explanation!!!
Great tutorial thank you so much I really appreciate the information
Thank you so much! This was such a good explanation
This is great to follow. Very clear, and makes the job seem fun. My question is what positions I need to get on my 5.2L 318? Do you have a video on that engine, or is it the same looking from the front?
Very helpful and rescorceful!!!! THANK YOU!
Great job certainly appreciate it very through.
Awesome video man!!! helped me alot. Thanks.
Thanks for the video! Very helpful to anyone who has an xj. I'm assuming u just turned the belt assembly to line up the first piston?
Excellent video.
Your Video was very imformative. Thanks.
Great work my friend!
Great help, thank you.
This helped me out a lot
Great video
i swapped my timing chain sprockets and chain and im not sure if i did it correctly i had the dots facing each other. ill be dropping in the engine tomorrow and fire it up. If it isnt timed correctly would i be able to follow this video and set the timing correctly without taking the timing cover back off?
God Bless you man.. thanks!
Love you for this video❤
Honestly probs to you. That was an excellent explaination.
Thank you so much you save my life lol😁
thanks for your video it help me.
Awesome man. Thanks!
pretty cool. ive spent plenty of years working on and building customers jeeps but finally have 1 of my own. been chasing small issues and bugs. never knew about locking in the distributor like that. my biggest question that i cant seem to find anything on is with the pcm controlling the timing, what do you do to put the computer into "timing mode" to verify the timing is at 8 degrees?
Is this the same for a 1997 jeep grand Cherokee Laredo? it has a 4.0 inline 6.
I’m doin every step right easy to follow but when I put the distributor in at the 1 o’clock and turn it in place it doesn’t want to seat properly like there’s a 1in gap. Any tips?
thank you... worked out great
great video