:screwy: :banghead:
My brand new... okay remanufacured 4.0 Ltr, I6 for my 1993 Cherokee Sport will crank and sounds like it wants to start, but just won't start. The Remanufacture company is RECON ENGINE REMANUFACTURERS, purchased through an ADVANCE AUTO PARTS store (major chain). THe same engines are also avail through AUTO ZONE STORES. I have replaced the CPS, distributor, full tune-up, checked every circuit I can thing of, have fuel, compression, spark, even replaced the coil. The computer (ECM/PCM) I even put in another '93 Cherokee and it worked fine in that Cherokee, started right up. I've not tried the compression leak-down test BUT did run a full compression test on each cylinder and each cyl. has compression (about 130 if I remember correctly). We've even used a multimeter to check most if not all of the sensors and have not found any faulty. With the fuel pump fuse removed, we sprayed STARTING fluid into the intake...Still won't start at all. Tried a squirt of fuel into the intake...Nope! I don't think the valves are not closing becuase a run of the compression check would have indicated this wouldn't it?!?!
The only thing I have not checked is if the manufacturer installed the camshaft wrong, putting it out of time some how.... I did have to remove the head after installing the engine because the remanufacturer (Recon Engines out of Pittsburg, Pa) some how managed to let the engine leave the factory with a broken off Temp. sensor in the Temp Sensor port of the Head.... what a dissapointment.
Finally, I just pulled some fuel out of the tank to check for water in the fuel... Nope! THere wasn't any water in the fuel sample I took.
I have nothing left to try except to pull everything off the front of the block until I can get the timing chain cover off and check to see if the cam was installed wrong.
I really hope some one has run into this and can help with some info.
I'm about out of options. :banghead: Please help!

if you have compression,the cam timing is probably ok.are you sure that you have the distributor timed correctly?I have seen a lot of so called professional technicians install the distributor either a tooth off or 180 degrees off.

I believe I installed the distributor correctly. The distrib. can only go in one way as far as I can see, due to the tab sticking out from the distrib. shaft that the bolt goes through, then into the block. Maybe it's off by one tooth but I don't think so. As for 180 degrees' off, No... I put the #1 Piston at TDC on the Compression stroke, the Harmonic bal. notch at "Zero" and the rotor pointing at the #1 plug wire position at the cap. Can you see anything wrong with the way I described this? Can you think of anything else it could/might be? I even had a local shop owner (with 20+ yrs experience) come to my house and work on it with me... he's puzzled too.

it sounds like you have done just about everything.one easy way to check the timing of the distributor is to remove the bolt that holds it down and have someone crank it while you hold the distributor and try to turn it back and forth to see if it starts or at least tries to.you have to really hold it down because it will try to pop up while the engine is turning.I would really hate to see you have to take the timing cover off unless you really have to but if thats what it comes down to,you gotta do what you gotta do.

I posted this exact same problem in 2003. Finally took it to a dealer and the distributor was in fact one tooth off. I had installed it just as you had, which works fine for any engine without a fixed distributor, but not for the 4.0. The advice from the last person should work fine; that is to take out the hold-down bolt and crank the engine while turning the distributor a few degrees, probably retarding it slightly. If it starts, shut it down and reposition the distributor, carefully.

Good luck.

Donnie

Do You have a spark?

I had a problem on my 94'. I had spark but it was week. My dist. pickup tested fine but I replaced any way and it worked.

My 90 was doing the same thing. I replaced the stator and when I put the distributor back in, the 4.0 would not start. Turns out the distributor was a little off. Here is what I did to fix it. I put #1 back to TDC, then removed the distributor. I turned the oil pump shaft with a screwdriver until it was pointing just past 11 o'clock. I turned the rotor to 4 o'clock and lined up the notch on the distributor base with the hold down bolt hole. Carefully slide the distributor down, when it seats the dist. should turn to about 5 o'clock and the rotor should be lined up #1 on the distributor or just past it. It started right up after installing the cap and locking down the dist.