John/Horace

No yelling, just sympathy only. We all like to save a buck. Bricks and mortar places always charge more because of the overhead, they have to. Its easy to clean off a plastic part with engine cleaner to make it look new. Then sell on eBay; tough times and some people do desperate things. Might be a micro crack or other molding problem with the part they sold you. NIB from a reputable vendor aka probably dealer is the way to go. Mopar has lots of on line parts sites if you are really isolated. Too much labor on this type of repair to roll the dice IMO. When I see Mopar and China on parts bags sometimes , it makes me cringe. But it’s made to Mopar specs with probably more quality checks. Even with 200k it is still worth fixing; used car values are through the roof right now.

Looks like plug and play according to this guy. Mentions checking electrical plug carefully.

Welcome to forum. Sounds like a weird problem to have. I replaced this unit on my wife’s 2014 journey at about a 100k miles 3 years ago. No sign of cracks or damage on heat exchanger that some people have reported. Although it was probably only a seal failure, like your self I bought a complete dealer oem unit. Fortunetly it has been ok since that repair. After the part change I have watched the oil pressure more closely and have always stuck to 5W20 synthetic oil ever since. The oil pressure on these cars is the highest I have seen on any car I have owned. But after checking on forums, the variable pressure pump was designed this way and mine is within range. IMO is should be a double oring design with the 100 psi plus pressure on cold winter starts. With out seeing the car it’s hard to know what is causing your problem. I doubt rtv will help, a single oring in a properly machined housing can handle way more pressure. Rtv is good on valve covers and oil pans and other low pressure applications. It could just be an out of spec unit ; which should have a 12 month warranty. Because it wasn’t “professionally” installed dealer will probably refuse replacement. I would still ask for a replacement unit and see what they say.

Was the timing belt and water pump changed on the 3.5L ? It must have been.

Very limited for space on pedestal in fender, might have an inch in all directions. The AGM batteries charge faster and can sit and hold full charge much longer. More expensive to buy, but lots of cars like Lexus shipped from factory with them now. I installed one in fatherin laws car that was having battery issues, 2 years ago. Same size battery physically, but noticeably better performance so far. Costco sells them.

Wow. Original engine and tranny.? What displacement.

If it sticks then the mechanism is starting to wear out I think. Will need to be changed soon. On Ronnykbags car it seems like the main 95C thermostat is allowing some flow all the time; so engine doesn’t get to full temp. Then the second cabin thermostat can’t reach its designed max temp. He could leave main housing in place and just remove and replace the engine cooling thermostat. Cabin one is probably ok for now. But thermostats are a wear item. Leaks on this coolant manifold seem to be common. Dealing with it all at once probably better option.

Welcome to the forum. You have tried unhooking battery for an hour to see if it clears code. I found this info below on Ram forum about dealer can flash to clear code, maybe. Not sure about that. Remove all brake lines with a flared nut wrench, unbolt bracket holding module to sheet metal, then gently remove module around the unhooked metal brake lines without bending their approx shape from factory. If line gets mangled, buy nickel copper line, much easier to flare and install. I have a 3.6, module is crammed in place and very awkward replacement. Brake fluid excellent paint remover, be careful. 1. C2200 is internal module fault, known issue and TSB is out on it saying module is to be flashed by dealer ( never gonna happen ). 2. COde will not clear, you have to swap out the module and vin code it to fix the issue. NO RESET will work. 3. Never go to the dealer unless warranty covers all charges. They wanted $2200 to pull the dash for the ac motor replacement on a door. Part came from ebay for 17$ shipped and it behiind the glove box, with 2 screws - 10 minute job!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Use Utube and ebay and local repair shops --- .

Yes it is correct. If you read my post, I used the Gates from Rockauto and it fit fine but had a small drip, even after a retorque of the plastic housing. Moved both new thermostats to the old original housing and reinstalled it, no leaks in over two years now. Order the oring for cabin temp sensor mounted on the coolant manifold, new kit never had the small oring with it. The original thermostats were actually still ok, but one of gaskets was dripping over night. I bought Gates because they make lots of factory parts and I’ve never really had an issue with their timing belt kits, water pumps etc. Mopar Canada on line has about 25% off list price and will ship. Oem stuff is usually better stuff, guaranteed fit as well. But both thermostats, seals and a new housing I believe would be around $600 plus in Canada. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,2013,journey,2.4l+l4,1505072,cooling+system,thermostat+housing+/+water+outlet,10337

I agree with 2late4, change both if you have coolant manifold removed. Replace all seals if reusing the existing assembly, orings and molded flat seals. People often have leaks if they try to reuse compressed seals. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy the whole assembly which comes with most seals; the existing cabin temp sensor probe is then moved to new assembly, it also has its own oring. The 77C and 95C thermostats are designed to open at their rated temp, but with cycling of spring you can see a bit of variation around that number. I think the lower temp setting thermostat gets you faster heat into cabin on cold start ups, and the 95C is your engine coolant thermostat. If your cabin hvac air filter in dash is over 3 years, change that as well, it affects air flow into cabin. Gets forgotten. You may not be getting a code with your off the shelf cheaper obd scanner. They are mainly for engine codes. You need a very expensive higher end scanner like dealer ship or good repair shops have.

Congrats, challenging time for buying vehicles. Used and n/a is a good combo, don’t want to be swapping turbos if you can avoid it. Curious about the volt a bit, my brother has one and he loves it. I’m on their forums occasionally, decent crowd. Approx how many miles when leak happened? There will be a hybrid in my future so I’m trying to learn more about them.

Ask for another part, say it’s defective, should be warranty on it. Reman stuff can sometimes be iffy.

Was the original throttle body you removed doing same thing, lightning bolt and same code ? Was the second one you put on, remanufactured, or a new unit? Hitachi is the factory make, rockauto sells it brand new. What is the code that is now turned on since you drove car?

Good, great news. Thanks for follow up. Google interference engines, timing belt needs to be changed soon, if it breaks when car is running the pistons hit the valves. You aren’t over on miles, but you are on years. Unless you are sure it was changed out already.

Timing belt driven water pump pics. It’s hidden behind plastic covers on front of engine. Time consuming repair.

I’ve seen alternators work fine after cold start up, until heated up. Then they stop putting out proper current. How many miles on the car? Our Journey alternator started acting up at 100k miles, replaced it with a dealer rebuild unit with 2 year warranty. If you are beyond that milage I would consider changing it. Battery light comes on when alternator is not keeping up, usually. You can do your own load test. When battery light is on, use a multimeter on the remote contacts under hood. With heater, defrost, radio etc turned on you should be getting 13.2-13.8 volts. If below that your alternator is weak, not putting out 160 amps any more. Cleaning up main grounds, especially in salt belt areas is always a good idea.

It’s not the plastic cooler like the 3.6 that seems to have lots of issues (mainly around 2014 design change) with. The 3.5 is a stainless steel plate pack heat exchanger with a few gaskets, no plastic I believe. My brothers 3.5 went 330 k kilometres without heat exchanger issue. Pic of unit from rock. It’s timing belt engine, so water pump is often changed during belt change because it’s buried behind covers and belts. Timing belt is due for change, years and miles both call for it.

Which engine in car, how many miles. Any recent work done on car. Water pump failure sometimes has a knocking sound or bearing noise when it fails, along with seal leak. Aluminum engines very sensitive to heat, be careful not to over heat engine. Lots of hoses and plastic cooling system parts could be cause as well. If you were topping up glycol, there was an existing leak.

Fairly low milage. Was engine using oil when problem started.? I would check compression, leak down test as well. All wires under hood in good shape, no signs of chewed wire harness?

Threads are probably still fine. Dodge Lug nuts are chrome sleeve over steel nut design. Cheap design like Ford uses as well. Corrosion swells the sleeve and they start to distort and socket won’t fit over nut any more. Buy solid chrome nuts like McGuard or other brand names. You can file the nuts back to hexagon shape in the short term, but it’s only temp fix. Need to hammer socket onto nut sometimes to get them off car, frustrating if you get a flat.

The red oring is the throttle body gasket you should have changed when throttle body was replaced. Even mopar one is only $10.

Compression in cylinder 6 would be useful information. Intake manifold gasket leaks can create cylinder misfire sometimes. How many miles on this engine?

I posted a pic from rockauto on your other thread of intake manifold and gasket. With intake piping removed look in the intake with car running, have someone press gas and you will see see butterfly moving slightly open if the plug is properly connected. There will be a few codes probably triggered by doing this. Just turning on ignition and pressing gas pedal with car off might also move butterfly, not sure.

I think adding sensor at existing sensor spot might be easier. Looks like 1/8”” npt thread on oem. So a small 2-3” extension to a tee fitting where exiting sensor and a spot for second either analogue or digital gauge can go. Use t-tape or pipe dope on all connections. Pics of factory sensor and threads. Are you having oil pressure issues making you want second gauge?