couple problems...

aight first problem- took vent tube out of the top of valve cover to randomly check for clogs - now It refuses to go back on

2nd problem- noisey distributer, replaced rotor and cap 2 times already and the dumb thing still makes an awful ticking noise

3rd problem- ordered some 9" u bolts from RE- they are 1/2" thick and fit the 8.25 axel, well earlier today I went riding around trying to find some u-bolts before I oredered em, a guy at the local 4x4 place said I would have to do some modification to the plate that holds the u bolts down if I got those -whats he talkin about?

4th problem, lately I would be driving around and I would here this "click" around the area of the headlight switch- after the click the airbag light turns on- kinda freaky?

Well take your pic, any help would be greatly apprieciated!

What year is your XJ and what rear axle does it have?

97, 4.0, 8.25, 231tc

1 - Ummm...I'm drawing a blank here but I'm sure it's something simple.

2 - I'm surious how you determined it's the distributor. not judging your diagnosis, but I just wnat to know how you decided that one.

3 - The modification he's talking about is probably because he doesn't realize the plate has oval holes in it. They allow you to use the same plate with the 2.62" D35 tubes and the larger 3" C8.25" tubes

4 - That's one I haven't heard...but the mere fact that you've got a cannon pointed at your chest makes me not want to mess around with that one. What year is this, and what tranny? I thought they relocated the fusebox before airbags came onto the scene, but the manual tranny used to leak right onto the back of the fuseblock and cause electrical problems.

Edit: Okay...I took awhile typing and see that you have a 97. The fusebox isn't the problem. There is a history of an electrical connector problem behind the dash, but I can't tell you for sure what it was...I just know that it caused periodic blackouts on the dash, etc. Good luck with it

I hacked apart a stethascope to use to pinpoint the noise- I can also feel the pulses in the distribuitor while its runnin and it varies with rpm's- the same pulses can be felt in another area, I'll see if I can take a pic of it with my phone

anyone? I'd at least like to get the ticking noise fixed. That thing sound horrible.

dothedew24_7 said:

I hacked apart a stethascope to use to pinpoint the noise- I can also feel the pulses in the distribuitor while its runnin and it varies with rpm's- the same pulses can be felt in another area, I'll see if I can take a pic of it with my phone

Click to expand...

The bushings on the distributor shaft are worn.Look at the rotor and cap and you can see where it has been hitting.If allowed to wear long enough the pick-up in the dist can be damaged.That will let you sit.
A replacement is around $ 150 from jeep and will come with a new cap&rotor.Simple to replace,1 bolt and one wire connector,30 min job at most.
Did mine this summer,I,ll try to find the part #,mine was a 96.
Wayne
#56027028 List-$195,my cost $156

dothedew24_7 said:

anyone? I'd at least like to get the ticking noise fixed. That thing sound horrible.

Click to expand...

The ticking and rotor and cap wearing is most likely a worn out distributor. Remove the cap and try wiggling the rotor. My cap was worn right in the middle where the rotor hits it. After the distributor was out I could see how much play it really had. A word of caution, make sure you know what your doing before you remove the distributor. A good method would be to turn the engine by hand till the rotor pointed stright up (towards engine). Then don't turn engine untill a new one is put in and it's rotor is pointing the same way.

JoBo