Most gas engines I have done compression tests on (of normal compression ratios) test in the 150 psi range.
The JK factory service manual says 100 psi is the minimum it should be.

 

oh alright, nevermind then. i just know my 1.8t in my GTi was supposed to be around 195psi. my compression ratio was 9.5:1 on the 1.8t.

either way. get a 3.8 with no oil issue and do a test. as for the mechanic, go to a mechanic where you can watch him do the test, ok, maybe you dont trust him but you want to be there to confirm the results

 

I haven't read this entire tread but has anyone done oil analysis on these?

 

I'm gonna talk with a guy I work with tonight who used to be a mechanic for dealership about helping do my compression test. He was the one who recommended the test in the first place. He knows all the tricks that stealerships try and get money out of people and that's why he got out of that business. I trust him cause he's worked on other people cars and has 2 drag cars so he very knowledgable. Maybe if we can get together this weekend to do the test I'll try and get code for where the motor was made at. Will post findings asap.

 

awesome, all results should include the vehicles model year and mileage and whatever else info that might help. maybe its only a trend in '07 and '08s? i honestly hope since i have a '10

 

I do know that my jeep was born on 8-25-07. But Chrysler shuts down to retool every year in July. When they start back up after retooling any vehicles made after that fall into the next model year making mine qualify as an 08. So it very possible that a number of these early 08's engine would have been made in the 07 year. By the time they would have figured there was an issue many months and motors could passed by before anything was done to correct it in the manufacturing process but I think they may have corrected the ring issue probably before the 09 model year start (mid 7-08 and after).

 

Any other place to find out about the engine manufacture place other than the back of the engine? I tried a couple times to locate it back there with a mirror and flashlight and nothing??

 

I think the new vehicle window sticker shows country of origin for the motor, but the engine number is a direct indicator of where it was assembled.

The number is there. Did you clean the area with a rag before you looked? It took me several tries to get it clean enough to read the numbers.

 

bought it used. I will be out of town for work the rest of week, so I will try again on the weekend. And clean it first.

 

If 100 psi is the minimum that's a terribly low number. That's the kind of number you would expect from a 70's engine with an 8-1 compression ratio and a tight LSA cam(stockish). I really hope that was a guess and not what the manual really says. 150-200 psi would be good numbers. All readings should vary by less than 10%.