I have an 87 Wrangler, and the engine has, for some time, felt like it is running against itself. By that I mean that whle I am accelerating (and the car is getting faster when I do it) it feels like there is something holding it back so that it doesn't run smoothly. It also idles rough, very rough. About 4 months ago I replaced the distributor cap, the plugs, the plug wires. The cap (the old one) had some white build up under it on the contacts that caused it to die or suddenly miss during acceleration, which was fixed when I replaced the cap.

Can these cars be timed? I know (I think) that everything is controlled by a computer, and the distributor cap is anchored down by a bolt, and there is no slot to allow for advancing/retarding the spark by playing with the distributor. I almost feel that this (timing it the traditional way) would fix the problem, but I can't.

Any suggestions?

well six have you looked closely at the dist? I don't think the 87 had the dist you describe.. All I have seen had an adjustable dist..
First thing I'd advise would be to take the hose loos from the vac adcvance and put it in your mouth and suck on it.. to see if the vac advance is working or has a hole in it..
If it is working then run the jeep with one cylinder at a time off the plug to see if you have a dead or partialy dead cylinder..
Also you could have a partially stopped up muffler or cat.. But from the missing at idle I'd suspect a bad cylinder.. could be either the plug. wire or even a burnt valve.
Big JIm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />