John/Horace

Any decent mechanic shop should be able to change out a bad half shaft lip seal. No actual dipstick or pan drain plug on the 6 speed. Remove plastic cap on dipstick tube (with comes with no dipstick in it)and fill through that with a funnel. There is a Dorman aftermarket dipstick unit for measuring fluid level. Mechanic shop will know how to refill properly. Drop pan to drain and put in a new filter at same time if it’s over 100k miles on the oil. Or if oil and filter not that old, top up the lost fluid. Mr Dangerfield…he abides.

Remove power cable on battery for 5 mins. Try clearing codes. It was the correct part number for your year ?

If you read CLR instructions they specifically say not to use with brass, copper or aluminum. It’s very corrosive stuff. Have used it with hard water stains when I lived in a house on well water. As a last resort to get heat back I guess. But only through core, stay away from everything else. I wonder long term if pin holes develop. New core might be safer alternative long term, even with extra clamped connections. My 2 cents.

From the old post it sounds like there is no threaded hole for the hook. On some vehicles (usually moved by ship) It is a drilled hole with a captured nut behind it. Car carrier trucks just strap the wheels. An auto recycler would be the best place to get a good look at metal bumper support with plastic cover and foam crash guard removed. If there is a captured nut that could be drilled out you need accurate dimensions for drilling. Another option would be talking to a body shop. They deal with type of stuff all the time. Let us know if you figure this out.

Snap a tape measure on the upside diameter. I doubt reg tire fits, very little clearance around plastic hoop. My donut just fits around my trailer hitch , have to fiddle a bit. Deeper reg tire would not clear hitch. Plastic surround hoop is only held by a few 10 mm bolts. Try removing for a little more room. Even if the diameter then fits, the extra 6” ish depth will be very noticeable hanging below vehicle.

Most of us don’t have the first version interior like yours. That dash might be shared with Avenger or other models. The whole cover is probabky pried loose with the vents and facia trim as a complete assembly. Auto wreckers often have torn apart cars. Good place to practise on removal, see where the hidden screws are. Use a set of plastic trim pry tools to pop apart some of the snap together trim.

Could dump rear diff oil into a bucket and check for metal with a magnet. It’s just less than 3 litres of 75w90 oil IIRCC. Drain plug is magnetic, there is always some fur on it during dump and fill. It’s larger chunks that can be a concern. At a minimum confirm oil level is correct through fill hole.

Good point, OP might not realize there is a 3/8” square cut out for a ratchet drive to fit in on tensioner. But very tight space to work in. I use a pipe extension on small ratchet. Need some of the plastic removed to even swing a tool. Pulleys are almost right against cross member on transverse mount engines, as you know. I replaced with a RockA Gates when bearing went, then belt squeeling.

Piece of 2x4 on the oil pan and lift engine a little bit, maybe 1.5”. Helps create room for tools. A ratcheting box end wrench is helpful working in tight like that.

Damning with faint praise is the interpretation….I think. But it’s my thoughts too, capable and I would even add reliable. My brothers 2017 ram has a 3.6 with 8 speed ZF transmission and over 100k miles without any issues. Can’t tow a 30’ plus airstream trailer, does everything else fine. No hemi exhaust manifold bolts breaking or MDS cylinder deactivation issues to be had.

I assume the new bolts on rear shaft didn’t back off again ? What torque in inch pounds was finally used, curious. With awd all tires need to have close tread wear depth, same size as well. The viscous coupling is a known wear item on the rear diff. Maybe unplug the electric solenoid plug on rear diff. See if disabling its engagement changes anything. May get light on dash but still helps with trouble shooting. Easier than dropping entire shaft.

Which engine ? It’s a transmission input shaft seal.p or C/V shaft lip seal, various names used. They are around $25 shipped on Rockauto, the largest on line parts site. How many car repairs have you completed; around same difficulty as a water pump replacement. New seal can be tapped in with a very large diameter socket that is same size OD as the seal. . Specialized seal driver set not really needed if your careful. Lubricating new seal with Tran fluid is critical before new shaft is installed into tranny. A few uncommon things like a 32 mm cv shaft axle nut socket will be needed.

Search this site. People had changed the TCC torque control solenoid going through side cover. Around a $50 part. Sometimes it fixed problem.

Is this the filler neck part you mentioned. Hasn’t been changed on ours yet, I should grab one maybe. The 2013 is the older HOAT coolant so do a full flush when possible.

I have been looking after daughter in laws 2012 Journey 2.4 for about 6 yrs now. She bought it new using uncles FCA employee discount. I have driven it for a half hour a few times, yeah sluggish and fuel economy only a little better than 3.6. But good reliable transportation. And easier to work on than 3.6 by far. Use copper spark plugs if you want ; but platinum seems to work fine with no side affects. And copper no longer available cheap. CPS sensor, electronic throttle body and cooling system (both thermostats and plastic heating manifold with gaskets) were all done, common not expensive fixes. Recalls put a new cat and rack pressure line on. Hers has just over 100k miles, tranny and engine and a/c all work fine. With crazy new car prices, lower cost functional used cars are still going to be in short supply. Affecting price imo.

Yeah my Ram has the oil life monitor, Journey has a change oil warning that pops up randomly. Seems like around 7,500 miles. I keep log book with all maint and milage listed in glove box anyway. But there isn’t any program to turn on I think. Would need to add a new program to the speedo cluster. Not just enable a default function. Journey seemed like some forgotten vehicle they never updated because they were going to discontinue it. The old mitz world engine 2.4 never went to newer Tigershark 2.4, fortunely Underpowered but never an unreliable oil burner like Tigershark. In 2016 when updated 3.6 went into Ram/chargers/Jeeps etc, Journey never got it either. Last year didn’t even have 3.6.

Thermostat codes don’t prevent starting as far as I know. Not starting means turns over but doesn’t catch, correct. CPS sensor is a wear item that usually sets a code, but not always. Will crank without starting. Not expensive, around $35 for dealer part. Easy to change, one elect plug and one 10 mm bolt. First check engine compression to make sure over heating didn’t damage anything, should be around 150-165 psi.

Used cars are still pricy because of short supply. If your van buddy can do the safety seems like all the bases covered. Nothing wrong with making a few bucks.

Lots of shifters have an interlock switch that uses 12 volt battery power. So an electrical issue causing a mechanical latch to lock and prevent car from being driven. Bring car to an electrical specialist shop. Changing whole wire harness is likely not needed.

Two quarts is not a little. Maybe last change it was under filled. The plastic oil cooler/filter assembly is know to leak oil if the seals start to fail. Watch closely where it is parked for signs of oil on the ground. With the beauty cover removed shine a light down into the valley right at base of oil filter. Shouldn’t be more than a few drops of oil down there, investigate if there is a puddle starting to form. Common failure item on the 3.6 engine. Some people switch to all metal assembly.

Always start with scanning for codes. All the coolant leaking could have damaged an electrical part preventing it from starting. Or overheating could have damage the engine, need to trouble shoot problem.

Right side you mean drivers side, correct. If so it sounds like a stepper motor for rear hvac is acting up. Small little motors used for moving flaps controls inside heating/cooling hvac systems. The plastic gears strip and they can lose track of their position. Need to be changed out to stop noise and keep hvac functioning. Probably two or three in the back, I don’t have rear hvac. Hopefully Someone with more knowledge answers. Parl looks something like this, undoing plug will stop noise, but actuator door will stay in one position afterwards. Losing some functionality. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,2013,journey,3.6l+v6,1505070,heat+&+air+conditioning,heater+air+door+actuator,10721

On the 2.4 engine which is drive by wire, the electronic throttle control starts to act up with the lightning bolt and driveability issues. There are plastic internal gears that start to stick intermittently from wear on the servo motor. Eventually a code comes up pointing to that part with one of several codes. Sometimes a simple calibration procedure clears issue for a little while. Auto parts stores will often scan for free with one of their units. Could be better than yours. Trouble shooting is better than random part changing. The oem part is Hitachi and Rockauto sells it at a good price. A new base gasket should be used during install. Do not use a reman or cheapo aftermarket China part for a critical item like this. Four bolts and a few clamps, not a tricky job. Free advice is worth everything you pay for it. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,2016,journey,2.4l+l4,3353539,fuel+&+air,throttle+body,6472

Fuel, spark, compression and timing are the main critical items. Have you scanned for codes with the replacement engine.? VIN shouldn’t really matter for starting, it is the fob remotes that have the security features. A flashing yellow symbol can prevent starting. Bad CPS sensor as well.

Cool you figured it out, very useful for people on this site. Are the 12 and 8 cables jointed together on harness and you just T in. Or are they plugged into modules, just curious. Can you just add remote start option now if the hood switch is there and remotes have the capability? Might be rf modules, antenna wires etc that have to be there too. My wife’s Journey already has it, nice option at times. There are posts on this site from a guy who added this option and others to a base model Journey. Crazy wire harness work involved. Think he was retired.