Swerv

Hello everyone,
Sorry to be absent.
Took the car to a few places and lo and behold, everyone seemed to have the same opinion. Even had the luxury of taking it to the "family mechanic" a ways off and got the same response.
Final verdict - Thermo out, fan out, radiator cracked, overflow tank cracked, head warped, pistons fine and gaskets gone (obviously) and water pump.
They did not find any water in the engine so he advised not to replace the entire engine as I "roll the dice" buying a used engine. With there being no water he said all of the bearings and what not will be fine.
He said their diagnostics found a good amount of engine exhaust in the head which tells them the gasket is blown. He did say I could continue to operate but it is a potential hazard if it decides to heat up again.
At this point I am making the repairs and reaching out to Chrysler to see why no light was thrown and why my temp gauge never climbed higher than normal. Will keep you guys updated as best as possible!

Hey guys,
Last week I noticed coolant leaking from the front of my car. Figured a faulty or worn radiator had finally decided to give out.
Seems that the thermostat malfunctioned which caused the radiator to pop, cracked the overflow tank, warped the head and pistons and blew the head gasket.
The mechanic is a friend of a friend and said to replace the thermostat, coolant overflow tank, radiator, new head gasket, machine the pistons, new main belt and water tank was going to be between $3,400 to $4K.
I NEVER got any warning indicator light to say the thermostat malfunctioned or anything. The temp guage never went past half way ever....
Does this seem right to you? Should I have gotten a warning indicator light for faulty thermostat?
Does this price seem fair?
Should Dodge pitch in if no warning light was present?
Its a 2009 Dodge Journey SXT V6 with 60,000 miles. Always took care of her and ran synthetic. Did suspension on her and everything.
Please help

Radrob can you tell me if this is like the intake you purcahsed that fits the journey?
http://www.autoanything.com/air-intakes/61A1915A0A0.aspx?kc=MERCSHOP&from_search=1&mr:referralID=286164e6-7004-11df-a41e-0026b95a1734