Anyone have a pic of a 1996 flex plate?

[xjTrent]

Does anyone have a picture of a flexplate out of their 1996 xj? I need to see what the timing windows look like. I'm going to replace mine this saturday but I have to make sure I have my jeep running by Monday so I need to make this go as smooth as possible. I ordered one for a 1996 from parts geek and it only has 12 timing windows. I feel like it should have more..

Thanks! Trent

 

[kastein]

It's the same as 91 through 01 flexplates. Not sure how many holes, but it's a rather low number compared to a RENIX one and they are much larger.

 

[xjTrent]

So it should be a direct swap. I've just read so many stories of how people changed their flex-plate and then couldn't start their jeep due to timing issues.

 

[NotMatt]

So it should be a direct swap. I've just read so many stories of how people changed their flex-plate and then couldn't start their jeep due to timing issues.

This is usually because they used a flexplate that was incompatible with the motor year in the Jeep while doing a trans swap from a newer rig. 87-90 used the RENIX fuel injection system and uses a completely different flexplate and crank position sensor than 91 and later models. If you're not changing anything in the drivetrain, you just need the correct flexplate for your year Jeep and everything should go smooth. It sounds like you have the right one to me. Here's a 96 flex plate I found doing a google image search...

And here's an older RENIX (87-90) flexplate...

 

[kastein]

There are also a LOT of reports of defective renix flexplates out there right now. One batch (at least) was so lopsided/offcenter it wouldn't reliably provide signal and would actually destroy CPS sensors iirc, the other had the reluctor pattern off by a significant angle and wouldn't run. Whoever is making them right now sucks at it.

Fortunately, I haven't heard of any reports of defective OBD flexplates.