09RT

I've been looking at timing belt kits all morning and the reviews of the part quality in the kits do not make the kits look like they're worth it. Almost all of the kits with reviews featuring pictures showed the replacement tensioner pulley for the serpentine belt broken in two after 'x' amount of miles and trashing the engine. Considering the pulley tensioner on my Journey made it past 100K with no issues, I think simply replacing the bearing in the pulley wheel itself and keeping the stock tensioner is a much better idea. I'm not as sure about reconditioning the water pump - I may try to find that separately somewhere.

@2late4u - The transmission is also on my list. The original pan was damaged, broke the seal and the fluid leaked out. I have a replacement pan and new filter. I just need some RTV sealant and transmission fluid for that job. Is there anything else with the transmission I should look at? @OhareFred - Good call on the timing belt. I just watched some videos online and it looks like I need a whole kit (timing belt, hydraulic press, tensioner pulley and water pump + gasket). Any recommended kits? Any to stay away from?

I have to replace the condenser / radiator support which will involve tearing down quite a bit of the front-end. While everything is apart, what are some other things I should tackle? My journey is a 2009 3.5L V6 with about 120K on it. Some things I've thought about are: 1) Engine mounts 2) Spark plugs (I've already replaced the forward 3 - I just need to get to the back 3). 3) Belts Anything else that should be added / removed from the list?

I have a 2009 R/T 3.6L and I'm looking at the full replacement kits with struts and springs. Are there any strut manufacturers that are recommended for the Journey? Any I should definitely steer clear of? I could probably get away with reusing the springs and just get the struts, but if I already have it taken apart, I figure I might as well update everything as I think everything's stock and the car is 11 years old now. Thanks!

@DeanC1985 - Good timing - I just started working on this again. I pulled the fender off last weekend and removing it is fairly easy. There are a few bolts on top, on the side and a couple underneath that are a bit tricky to get to if you want to use a socket. You may want to use a wrench so you don't have to remove the skirt that runs the length of the car. I still need to get the paint issue sorted, but the actual disassembly / assembly is very straight forward. Like @NavalLacrosse suggested, check online and local yards for a color matched fender to save yourself money / time. I did this for some other parts that needed replaced and even though the parts were a model year apart, they were a perfect match color-wise - just a color-matched fender has been harder to find for my Journey.

My 2009 3.6L Journey has sat for about 3 years now. When it was parked, it had about 3/4 of a tank of gas in it, so there should still be about that much in the tank that definitely needs replaced. I found a couple of videos online: How To Recover Gas From A Dead Car Dodge Journey How To Disconnect Fuel Line I'm in the dark on newer fuel systems, so can someone either correlate those two videos or explain how I could jump the Journey's fuel pump to drain the system (if that's safe / won't damage the pump) or if there is another safer / preferred method, what the process for that is on my specific model Journey. Thanks!

Read through this thread here. It looks like there are several issues. The first, as you suspected, is it looks like only the USB port on the dash can read video files. The second is there appears to be a maximum width / height the video can be. Also, ensure that your MP4 is using a compatible codec. The manual should provide specifics on the supported file types, etc.

The TCM was replaced under warranty, so I'm not sure what the actual cost would be. I had the same waiting period problem as well. Usually letting it sit overnight would fix it. This was also during the winter time, so, before I knew it was TCM, I thought it was a wiring problem where the day / night shifts in temperature were causing thermal expansion problems. I was also randomly experiencing total loss of power to the wheels from the engine and hesitation when shifting. Since what you've described so far doesn't sound like you have a lot of transmission-specific issues, your starting issue may be completely unrelated to anything transmission-related, but one thing I did that did fix the issue immediately after a non-start event was to rock the car back and forth. If you have flat land to try it on, put the car in neutral and move it forward a bit and see if it will start after that (if you're on a grade, then stay in the car, put it on neutral, let it roll a bit). I was only able to try that fix once before it was repaired, so again, it may have been unrelated, but it's worth a try if you're stranded.

Any error lights on the dash? I had a Ford randomly stop starting. It turned out to be the Transmission Control Module. Given the age of your Journey, it could be something similar. Have you noticed any issues with the transmission (odd shifting, etc)? The first thing I'd recommend is getting it to a local parts store that does free battery testing and have it tested to eliminate the battery. If it's holding a good charge, then you know the battery is good and the alternator is doing its job. While you're there, they can also run a scan tool diagnostic to let you know about any hidden errors codes. When you turn the key over when it's not starting, do you hear the starter relay click?

Happy to see this thread resolved. I wanted to reply to the quoted post in case the solution in this thread doesn't help. I think you're referring to my thread here.

Thank you for the suggestions. Unfortunately, local isn't an option as my only options are the main chains and they're asking twice as much as online. The 500235 ones can be purchased on Amazon right now for $25 each (Prime shipping included), so that should get here quick enough and also be an easy return if necessary. I wish Rock Auto was a more affordable option. While their item prices are sometimes lower than, say, Amazon, once you go to checkout, the paid shipping makes it cheaper to shop elsewhere. Thanks again for your help!

I have a 2009 R/T 3.5L V6. I need to replace the ball joints, but I'm getting some conflicting information about which is the correct replacement. I'm looking to use MOOG ball joints. JC Whitney is saying the 500120 is the correct replacement, but everywhere else is saying it's not compatible. The alternative seems to be the 500235. Which one? 500120 or 500235? Thanks!

I need to replace the fender on my Journey and the one I'm ordering says it comes primed. When I called a body shop to get an estimate, I was asked if it was a "three-stage" paint, but I wasn't 100% sure. The quote for materials / labor was almost $300 which sounded like a bit much to cover a single fender, in white, no less. Am I correct in thinking the "three stages" are primer, paint, and clear, or is it another process that may not apply to my R/T Journey and may have caused a higher than necessary quote?

Thanks for the confirmation.

Can someone identify the black corrugated plastic (guards?) behind the front bumper cover and on each side of the radiator / condenser? Replacements are needed for a 2009 3.5L Journey. Thanks in advance for any help offered.

I have a 3.5L V6 2009 Journey. Repairs are needed and I want to do the work myself. The condenser is disconnected from the low / high side lines, but the oil cooler attached to it is still connected to its respective lines. Is it safe to drive without the condenser connected? Does the condenser help the oil cooler or does it just share space with it? Thanks in advance for any help offered.

This is a follow-up to say that the problem appears to be resolved, but I can't definitively say what fixed the problem. It could have simply been a pinched wire that was fixed as soon as I removed the door panel. The problem could have also been due to one of the connectors not being firmly seated and was fixed as a result of disconnecting / reconnecting the door module. If none of those were the issue, I would definitely say it was related to the extremely poor QA provided by the manufacturer of the door module. Note: If your door module board looks like the picture posted above and you want to add more solder then be sure to note that the connector pins sink a lot of the heat. I had to use a desoldering iron to keep the pin I was resoldering heated enough to allow the solder to flow onto both the pin and pad.

Cart7881 - That was my thinking as well, but this lock issue has been such an inconvenience, any component that's a part of the lock / unlock system is worth checking at this point.

I had a chance to take the door panel off. I located the described door to the door ajar switch (located on the left below the door locking plunger), but the switch looked like it was too far to reach without taking the door apart further, so I focused on the door module itself. The attached image shows the solder bridge I found on one of the pins. While the bridge isn't touching the pin next to it, it's close enough to arc. Additionally, there is hardly any solder on ANY of the pins that go to the connectors - even the ground pins. It is so bad, you can see the light shining through the through-holes (pictured). Other than that, the large capacitor on the board didn't show any physical signs of damage (no bubbling, etc). All of the other components seem to have been soldered adequately and looked OK. I'm going to fix the bridge, properly solder the connector pins, and test it tomorrow.

Cart7881 - Excellent information. I will look into that. DodgeCares - Yes to both. I will update the initial post to note that I've also had the key fob recall completed recently and they tried to diagnose it then and couldn't figure it out (to clarify, this has been a problem before and after the recall repair work was completed). Additionally, if my vehicle was part of the wire harness recall, it might have already been completed since it wasn't mentioned while the key fob recall work was being done. I think the most important thing to note is how temperature / use seems to affect whether or not all doors unlock, so I'd say this is more so a hardware related issue than a settings one. Since the doors can always lock, it seems to be an issue specifically with the unlock circuitry as if there might be a failing component (capacitor, etc), cold solder joint, or bad connection (like the switch Cart7881 mentioned) somewhere. Especially since repeatedly locking / unlocking the doors eventually causes the driver door to stop responding for a few minutes, something somewhere doesn't seem to support / sustain the current draw required.

Thank you all for the suggestions so far. I will try to locate the door ajar switch and test it. I've read the manual front to back hoping to find something, but nothing worked. I even purchased an ODB2 scanner to see if there might be a fault code and nothing was returned; not even in the history.

I can lock all of the doors with the key fob and cabin button, but only the driver door unlocks. I thought it might be a setting (click once to unlock driver door, click twice to unlock all doors), but all of the doors do unlock sometimes, but only when it's cold outside leading me to believe it's an electronic component failure. Symptoms: If all doors are manually unlocked, they always lock regardless of the temperature. If all doors are locked and vehicle / outside temperature is warm, then only driver's side door unlocks. If all doors are locked and vehicle / outside temperature is cold, all doors almost always unlock. Pressing lock / unlock too many times in quick succession eventually causes driver-side door to stop unlocking. * note: "all doors" includes all passenger doors and rear hatch. Remedies Tried: Disconnecting battery to reset computer (doesn't work). Checked for pending fault codes or codes in the car's history with an ODB2 scanner (none). Everything in the manual (nothing worked). Key fob recall completed (problem existed before repair and still exists). Wire harness recall possibly completed (need to verify). I have called Dodge and been to several dealerships, but no one knows what's going on or seems to know where the computer controls are in the car so I can diagnose the problem myself. Any suggestions or help in identifying / locating the actual components that control the lock system is greatly appreciated.