Compression for ’97 3.8 Dodge Grand Caravan?

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I have a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan AWD with a 3.8L engine in it. Currently it only has 125k miles on it, but is needing a new transmission. So now I’m trying to figure out if the engine is in overall good enough condition to justify buying a new transmission and hoping the motor holds out another 4-5 years.

My question is, what is the factory compression for the 3.8L motor in this van? I have an alldata online manual for it, but it only lists the service limit at 100psi, it doesn’t give the factory new specs. I want to know how much my engine has degraded, compression wise at least, from factory new.

I recently did a dry compression test on the van and every cylinder comes in between 125psi to 130psi. It’s good news that all cylinders were almost the same as each other. However, it did concern me a bit that those readings seemed a little low and pretty close to service limit making me rethink spending $2500 on a new trans.

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In general dry compression should be between about 140 and 150 PSI. Considering that the engine is 20 years old, being a couple percent low isn’t an issue. They’re all pretty close, so nothing points to a cylinder having issues at this time.

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