What are the manufacturer specified minimum and maximum engine compression pressures for the 3.3 litre V6 engine of a Dodge Grand Caravan Sport 2002 minivan?
I don’t know what the factory specs are (and I’m very dubious about some of those I’ve heard of) but the pressure will vary a bit based on altitude, barometric pressure, etc.
A general rule of thumb is about 18-20 times the compression ratio (again, varies on certain things).
Since a 9.3 ratio is shown a normal reading would probably be in the 175 PSI or so range; higher at sea level, lower at altitude. Hope that helps.
What OK said, and remember one important thing to look for is uniformity between the cylinders. Often only one or two are the bad ones, and you can tell that without knowing what the specs are.
Remember with the old air-cooled VW, 120 psi was just great and 90 psi and below was cause for concern, the VW was the only car I always checked compression on before any type of driveability concern, (we didn’t say "driveability back then either)
I agree. Don’t worry about what the specs are. Remove all the plugs, wide open throttle, and check for uniformity. Record the results. A bad hole will jump out at you. Two adjacent holes usually indicate a bad head gasket.