timing help

i have put a 96 4.0 in my 98 xj and i think the timing is off but cant figure out how this could be every thing went great i did have to change the distributor do to the the plug that come off it would not match my wiring harness from the 98 now here where i get lost piston #1 is all the way up the rotter is pointing to plug wire #1 ,i have really good spark ,and she farts like she wants to start but nothing i thought i might be 180 out so i changed it but still nothing ,then i thought that i might need a new comp being that mine has been under watter more then once ,but still nothing , any help on this would be great i cant think of any thing else that it might be
thanks for the help
joedirt

Where in NJ are you?

Hard to say exactly without taking a look. You might want to try rotating the distributor a little bit. Make sure you have adequate fuel pressure as well.

hey eagle i aligned the notch on the vibration damper with the 0 mark on the timing chain cover so i think that is right i beleve that would put it in the up stroke but not shure . camshaft position sensor ? where is this at how can i change that thanks for the help

browns mills

Timing is not adjustable, it is controlled by the CPS and the camshaft position sensor in the distributor. One of those two sensors might be bad, either of which could cause a no spark condition.

Don't forget that the 4.0L is a 4-stroke engine, meaning the crankshaft goes around twice for one revolution of the camshaft and the distributor. This means that the #1 piston comes up once on compression to fire #1, and it comes up again on the exhaust stroke when #6 fires. You need to make certain that you're getting #1 up to top-dead-center on the compression stroke and not the exhaust stroke, then set the distributor in the correct orientation.

You had the distributor out right? If so leave the clamp bolt out so you can turn it and have someone crank it while you rotate the distributor one way or the other. You're most likely one tooth off on the distributor. Been there, done that...

JoBo