John/Horace

Sometimes it’s not the destination but the journey (good dodge pun). Waste of time a little harsh imo. Hemi in a journey sounds like a really cool idea. Might need a few shoe horns to get it to fit. Up until 2012 it’s seems there was more mechanical issues on journeys. The 3.6 V6 used since them with a 6 speed automatic has tons of power so people don’t seem motivated for more power. A hemi in a journey does have a Holden type feel to it. Maybe next madmax flick could fit one in; someone contact George Miller. Fury Road was my favourite picture in 2015.

Spectra is an ok brand I’ve used them. Should be some kind of warranty on it. Fins can be brushed back a bit in a few spots without any issues, just looks bad. There are thin tubes atttatched to fins that carry the glycol, look for a kink in one of these. The older full copper rads were more durable than new plastic tank aluminum units . Smelling glycol after working on rad/water pump not surprising ; so many small recesses where glycol pools and sits. It can take 50 miles and several heat cycles to just burn off residual glycol from engine bay, fender skirts etc. I would borrow another pressure tester before taking anything apart. If hose rubber flattened out at connection point, shorten hose slightly so there is new sealing surface for spring clamp. Or switch to gear clamp if you suspect a drip from a weak spring clamp.

If made up means double gear clamps, good luck. Even return line is probably 150 plus psi, and gear clamps back off over time. Rough roads and cold weather rattles stuff loose, even parts with rubber component. My 2014 line was changed two years ago under recall, it wasn’t leaking at 123k yet. The new one has a coating of fluid Film rust protectant on it.

The pivot bar that goes inside is wider than the hole it’s going into, it extends across the inside of hole. Hate seeing China on a critical part but ....

Manifold cobra 500:psi hose and regular splice not good enough. Hydraulic power steering can peak at a little over 2000 psi for a few seconds, google it. A hydraulic shop can do a special splice that will hold, with metal or Kevlar strand reinforced hose . Even princess auto is set up for custom fabricated pieces. Power steering pumps have built in pressure relief valves so when steering held at full lock lines don’t blow. It’s possible your pump has an issue, decent mechanic shop would have ability to measure system pressure. Rockauto has hoses and cooler and it’s not $600 for parts.

It pivots to get it in and out, only takes a few seconds to remove. Old design around for years. No real pressure in oil pan. More of an emergency repair thing. My brothers 300 had the threads seize up at 300k on his aluminum pan. If you are comfortable using a tap, not a big deal.

When I changed my water pump I also replaced the thermostat. High milage vehicle and it can be a wear item and it’s cheap so I changed it out. Wrestling hoses and plastic parts and cold weather not a great combination. Entire plastic housing and thermostat with new oring flange gasket and bleeder screw built in for $24 approx from Rockauto, oem part. Look for a drip over night maybe, put clean cardboard under engine.

There are cheap bung type repair plugs you can install yourself without any threading needed. Buys you some time. I had one on a crappy beater car for three years without any issues, Pan got so rusted out and I eventually replaced complete pan. If you have access to use of a large set of taps and a tee tapping handle you could try to clean out the threads. Not much material there and avoid going too deep into pan with tap, oil pump pickup might be close to pan bottom. https://www.amazon.ca/Dorman-HELP-65109-Drain-Plug/dp/B000CO96CM/ref=asc_df_B000CO96CM/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=335246916381&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6248474367925628452&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9000883&hvtargid=pla-570913404624&psc=1

Thanks for the update. Aftermarket or Mopar, just curious.

There are battery senors that are tied to ecm, it’s possible the bad connections or battery failure triggered some weird stuff. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,2014,journey,3.6l+v6,3300354,electrical,battery+temperature+sensor,10478 There is also an electronic battery curent sensor that links to a battery management system. Not all journeys have this option. My 2009 ford pick up has one of these type of systems, shuts down power if you leave stuff on. If battery Is replaced there is a relearn procedure that occurs. Lots of complaints about this system acting up causing problems on F150’s.

Actually having two in family not a liability; especially if you are capable of trouble shooting and turning a wrench or have a mechanic you can trust. Cheap purchase price and fairly cheap parts make DJ a decent car buy imo. Battery cables are multi strand wires so a nick in the plastic can allow corrosion to work it’s way around. Could you just remove the ends buy new ones and silver solder them on; yeah sure. But the time involved and fairly cheap part price and nasty location makes hard to argue about replacing parts. Especially people in rural areas with no mechanic around the corner. Mecahnics use to rebuild starters and alternators etc, now they are parts changers with labor rates being so high. Waiting for complete failure on battery for example can be a real pain if you aren’t prepared for it. Ive spent a warm week in Newfoundland in July, beatuful rugged place, but not a place to get stuck in a 50cm plus snow dump.

No the vent cap just pulls out of the vent hose by hand. I removed the lower drain plug first and dumped oil, then using a transmission funnel added oil to vent hose to flush a bit. All car systems like automatic transmission are sealed, so refilling through dipstick needs to be done at room temperature, slowly. The PTU vent hose is 10 times larger than the tranny dipstick, so I found refilling easy. It’s only about two thirds of a quart. Fill funnel 1.5” then lift it out of hose slightly so air can escape as new oil going in, refill funnel 5-6 times after it empties each time. I tried to remove lower heat shield for refill plug access; it’s impossible without wrecking shield and too awkward/time consuming. My ptu oil was past change interval (used vehicle purchase) at 125k kms, but the oil was not that bad really.

He shows Atlantic provinces of Canusckistan. If right close to the ocean driving location and salt used on roads, everything could be corroded around battery. My cables and daughters 2012 were showing signs during battery change. I soaked everything with rust check spray after installing battery and cleaning up connections. Wheel well plastic needs to seal better IMO. Northern rust belt states/provinces not a great place to be a mechanic. Sometimes can’t wait for complete failure, need to replace stuff showing advanced wear, my 2 cents. Towing not cheap either.

New battery should be nice clean terminals. Maybe connectors or clamps if not starting under load, but car was shutting off after starting? Is it a push button start model, was their a security symbol flashing when it shut down. Does vehicle have remote start option and is it functioning still. Lots of missing info.

I believe there is a learn procedure run with a scanner after replacing cam sensor. There is a a way to do it your self without one, I’ve seen utube videos describing how, search.

Adding through the vent is quite easy, just let the car cool down after draining. Warm engine creates venting issues. I was able to add the correct amount in about 10 mins no problem. It doesn’t hold very much fluid.

But it was never flashed by the trailer wiring guys, interesting.

Did they have to flash (programm) the ecm to enable trailer harness wiring to function on vehicle? Usually dealer needed. Glad you got it sorted out.

Maybe try swapping window relay with other identical relay, often there are several the same. Mark before switching. Fuse would probably be in passenger front kick plate panel.

Are you using parking brake when this is happening.

Water pump covers large part of front of engine not internal. So motor mount etc has to come off, surpentine tensioner etc. Time consuming job, took me about 3 hrs and I’ve changed pumps on quite a few different vehicles. I wouldn’t change anything until leak isolated. That’s over a thousand in parts alone, approx. for the stuff you mentioned. How fast is pressure dropping in rad, just temp cooling off will drop pressure by itself.

There are thermowelding kits available for plastic. Walls kinda thin on heat exchanger housing for threading IMO.

Just temperature can cause 1/4” glycol drop so can’t really go by that. Any time I have seen glycol in an engine its a real mess. Try putting a few ounces of oil and mixed Chrysler glycol in a container and stir, would confirm it. Even bad cap on pressure reservoir could drop pressure. If rad pinhole leak, it will gradually increase. Glycol around front pulleys points to water pump. Need to not beef too much on oil filter cap, follow torque spec stamped on cap. Some people are blaming over tightening for heat exchanger failure; usually oil leak, but could be glycol to. I think design is not great. Dealers use a bulk oil from drums, probably not synthetic unless you are paying for upgrade.. Good quality but not the best. I would use 5w20 synthetic from now on, great for extreme cold starts and high summer heat. Transmission is not tied into radiator tanks on 3.6 engine. There is a separate finned heat exchanger in front of a/c condenser. Probably the only cooling/heating.

Need to watch glycol and oil levels closely, one of them needs to be going down. When glycol gets into the oil you can really tell; water based and oil based fluids mixing is messy, foamy brownish. Engine oil heat exchanger mounted on top of engine has glycol going through to cool/heat. It’s made of plastic and there have been failures, mainly of oil leaking out on drivers side where oil pressure sending unit is mounted. The way engine casting is built the oil I think will always leak on this side. Glycol could also leak from unit, only one case on this forum so far. Changing oil disturbs heat exchanger a little, oil filter housing is part of assembly so leak could be triggered by oil change when oil cap removed/torqued to 27 NM. Cooling system could be pressure tested to see if it’s losing pressure. But location could be tricky, rad or heat exchanger, water pump etc. Put clean cardboard under car over night and try to find exact location if possible. Bright orange liquid, no oil smell as you know. Glycol could even come from various hoses. Rad/heat exchanger could be fine.

Navallacrosse needed to include a few mates in the Canuckistan translation; he was originally from New Zealand. But the Royal hiway was a nice touch. I have family who live in the prairies close to kiwiinsask’s location. My favourite Canadian joke is about how flat the prairie landscape is. You may have heard it. Only part of Canada you can watch your dog runaway.....for half an hour. Cheers welcome to the forum. I still have my gas pig pickup.