2005 sxt cranking trouble, im stuck!
I have a 2005 neon sxt 2.0l (of course) 145k miles 5spd when i bought the car the guy told me it was hard to crank cold so i cut it off and it cranked right back up when it was warm so i thought no worrys seemed to run strong still. When its cold outside its real hard to crank even warm out is hard but not as hard. I have changed plugs and wires and found oil in 4th plug well but heard thats common for bad valve cover gasket and went ahead and did a compression test where all cylinder put out between 130-175. Anyone experienced this? Im thinking could be fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, crank sensor? help please thanks in advance
Oil in spark plug well: that is a bad tube seal; not valve cover gasket.
Compression test results: that is a 26% variance, and the numbers a bit low for the engine compared to what most generally get. Dodge doesn't specify anything other than "compression should not be less than 689 kPa (100 psi) and not vary more than 25 percent from cylinder to cylinder." The variance is more important generally than the actual numbers as long as they aren't lower than what the engine mfr specs.
It could be a fuel issue (the next logical step is a fuel pressure and fuel pressure bleed-down test). It could be a CMP issue and so on. A little more in-depth diagnosing is needed IMO; again, fuel pressure test. All that being said, if you want to try replacing a part, I'd go with a fuel pressure regulator. It isn't that expensive and supposedly only takes a small amount of time to replace (I haven't done it or looked at the procedure) and could very well cause the problem you are having.
Here's something else I found on the internet:
Compression test results: that is a 26% variance, and the numbers a bit low for the engine compared to what most generally get. Dodge doesn't specify anything other than "compression should not be less than 689 kPa (100 psi) and not vary more than 25 percent from cylinder to cylinder." The variance is more important generally than the actual numbers as long as they aren't lower than what the engine mfr specs.
It could be a fuel issue (the next logical step is a fuel pressure and fuel pressure bleed-down test). It could be a CMP issue and so on. A little more in-depth diagnosing is needed IMO; again, fuel pressure test. All that being said, if you want to try replacing a part, I'd go with a fuel pressure regulator. It isn't that expensive and supposedly only takes a small amount of time to replace (I haven't done it or looked at the procedure) and could very well cause the problem you are having.
Here's something else I found on the internet:
The fuel pump has an internal check valve that maintains pressure in the line when the engine is shut off. If fuel pressure drops off while shutdown, it will take a few seconds to pressurize the fuel line which in turn leads to longer cranking times.
Hook your fuel pressure tester up and start the car, shut it off and see if the pressure bleeds down, if it does you need a fuel pump module. The module includes the pump, sending unit, regulator and plumbing, I don't know if you can get just a pump alone.
Hook your fuel pressure tester up and start the car, shut it off and see if the pressure bleeds down, if it does you need a fuel pump module. The module includes the pump, sending unit, regulator and plumbing, I don't know if you can get just a pump alone.


