Please help... 2006 Caravan V6... 110k miles, maintained by book... excellent reliability until now... car turns over... won't start... towed to dealer... they called to request additional funds to check further as they can't determine why it won't start... today they called and said 40-45psi in each cylinder on a wet test... BUT just a 2k valve job might not fix as the "bottom end' could be bad too... i said wait a minute you can't tell me what caused ALL the cylinders to read low at same time...Car ran fine day before...now you want to sell me a used motor... looking for explanation why all 6 cylinders would read low... frustrated. i know something about cars and this doesn't sound right. please help

 

Welcome to DF
It sounds like either all the cylinders got wash down with gas or you have a timing chain problem. What do you think cause the engine run good one day and will not start the next day. And why would a dealer want to sell a used motor and not a reman motor? Do you have a compression gauge set? I would ask to recheck the compression with you standing there.

 

Agreed. Something isn't adding up. Only thing to do is get it out of that dealership and have other eyes look at it. A second tow is so much cheaper than an engine. I can't come up with any explanation why all cyclinders are reading low, especially that low. When you cranked it the first time, did it sound really bad? I mean REALLY bad.

 

timing chain broke bending all the valves is the only thing i can come up with but that would have been going down the road and more then what the torque of the starter can do. other then that i agree with Cougar get another set of eyes looking at it. or just put a motor in and get another 200k out of it. but i wouldnt pay the dealer another dime without answers.

 

If the timing Chain breaks, you should have no compression at all. Maybe his Gauge is Broken. Selling a Used Motor from a Dealership doesn't sound right to me either. Like Master Tech said, tell him to do a Compression test with you standing next to ur car, and do it again with a Different gauge from another Mechanic.
The 3.3 and 3.8 are fairly Durable Motor, I doubt it is Mechanical problem.
Get another Dealership to look at it.

 

thanks for all the words... really looking for ideas on what is really wrong... the idiot service writer (excuse me all the good writers) is just in my way... so what could it be...

timing chain
bad ecu
cracked intake
overlooked item like clogged fuel filter or?

I'm not the type to take things laying down... ready to go to chrysler if need be... willing to pay for real repairs...not i cant find the problem so lets sell this guy an used motor... that's like getting a heart transplant cause my fingers bleeding... thanks for all the support... it aint over yet!

 

update....

service writer trys to explain why he says a valve job will fix all, but cant guarantee so i need new engine... used of course... so i tell him i need to speak to service tech... today i speak to tech... did leakdown test on 3 of the cylinders.... says little compression... says valve job should fix... but cant guarantee... i told him again car running really well until wouldn't start... he said he checked fuel (ok) no antifreeze in oil (ok) pulled valve covers and everything rotates fine no visible damage to springs (ok)...said engine turns like there is no compression... i say if valve stuck on a cylinder engine should still run... but choppy, he agrees... what am i missing here... says he can't check some things without engine running... can he check all codes without engine running or? ideas? thanks

 

He doesn't have to have a running engine to check codes unless he disconnected the battery before checking. This clears the codes. If he did then yes, he needs to run the engine to get the PCM to detect the codes again.

 

well you would think they wouldn't do that... i'm thinking its a sensor or cracked something in the intake system.... any other logical items to discuss with them when i see them tomorrow...?? sitting with the service manager and tech tomorrow... service writer is out of the loop... thanks for the help... will keep everyone update...