Parz1val

First off, my problem ended up being a valve seat. Rebuilt a head and put it all back together. Two months later a new nasty noise, sounded like a very bad rod knock...ended up being a busted flywheel. I just finished getting the vehicle back together and it has passed it's test drive.... Didn't think the old Mopar flywheel gremlins existed these days! This was not a fun job to do in the gravel!

This is exactly what I am experiencing. The flex plate does make a little clanky noise when moving it by hand from underneath. I need to go get some oil to put back in her before firing up again, but I think its going to be the culprit... Dodge Chrysler Caravan making ENGINE FLYWHEEL NOISE and Transmission whining noise. 3.6 Pentastar - YouTube 2014 Dodge Caravan Flexplate Clattering Noise - YouTube

finally got a chance to start ripping into it again. Intake manifold , driver side valve cover, spark plugs, nothing found inside the cylinders so far. The coolant is draining at the moment, then I will take the passenger side engine mount off to gain access to the cam chain cover on that side of the head. Will see what this can tell me here in a bit.

Hey, thank you for the heads up. I am leaning towards the timing chain/guides area but that whole kit will include a new waterpump as well. Lets see what I come up with today after some more testing. Has anyone here witnessed a rod knock that would act like this? I would think if it was that big of a problem, I would have looowwww oil pressure, and it would run pretty terrible.

Hey thanks both of you again. I am oncall right now for work and well, it called lol I havent been able to dig in past the serp belt test yet and she is closed up for the night. I do not have a stethoscope unfortunately. I do have some new oil lines and heater hose, I could give that trick a try! This sing sounds so horrible it draws the attention of EVERYONE that is outside when the vehicle is at idle....Normally a sound this nasty to me leads to near catastrophic failure if you attempt to keep driving it. This thing has not lost any power. still drives smooth, heck, she commutes roughly 100 miles for work each way, each day, and has been driving it like this for about 3 weeks. This one is driving me nuts! This sound is one that your neighbor heard you coming before you even came round the corner, it is not quiet AT ALL lol.

Thanks for the tips so far both of you. I had to take break for a bit, the sun in Ohio today has been getting me! I did get the serp belt pulled and let it run just enough to hear it at idle and unfortunately the sound was still there. I havent found anything loose yet but Im working my way through still. My brain keeps wanting to go to the cam guide that I moved over from the original head. I had the valve cover off yesterday and couldn't feel any looseness, but it still is stuck in my head to check it better...

Of course it's John to help out here! Good to see you are still around. I uploaded another video, from inside the cab trying to give somewhat of a sound profile. I know its terrible, its always been hard to hear these kind of things over recordings from our phones. If I let is settle down to idle and blip the throttle, i can make it "rattle" like that gggggg sound when you dry gargle your throat (cant think of another way to describe it, lol). Another video/audio clip from the cab. Oil pressure settles between 65 and 70 at idle. I have not drained the oil yet. Wanted to get a little more testing ideas out of the way before I dry her out. Oil level is good, oil does not appear to be thin. There is just shy of 90k on this car and the front (driver) head I ended up replacing because of the valve issue on Cylinder 1. I ended up replacing it instead of rebuilding so I had a second head to rebuild to help someone else with if the problem over came up. No fault codes, double checked, no historic codes either. No codes since they were cleared back when I replaced the head. I was definitely in there working with the chain and guide as I had to completely remove the old head, and even moved the cams over to the new replacement head. All this was finished up I want to say near the end of last year with no rattling noises or any weird noises for that matter.

Well, she brought the car by today and this happened. I know the audio isnt the greatest but maybe there is enough info there. So, she has been driving it for over 3 weeks like this with the only complaint being the noise. This thing is LOUD at idle. so much that people ask at the stoplights if everything is ok. It goes away the second she raises the idle. It seems like a rod knock but those usually rattle the whole way up, show low oil pressure, and dont run well. I replaced the driver side cylinder head last year to fix the infamous cylinder one misfire issue. No noises till a few weeks ago. I have done a basic once over on the pullys, belt, and hardware. It really sounds like its coming from the area between the the trans and block but if I go up top, it sounds like it may be coming from the intake. I am getting ready to drain the oil to see if that may give me a hint but....any ideas? I thought i read something before about some purge valves or flaps somewhere that could be causing this. Thanks!! Please have a listen if you dont mind. 2017 dodge journey low rpm knock

Bryan, Have you been able to check for a possible wiring issue? With the problem route you described I would check it. I'm not sure what the reading are supposed to be but someone here might be able to give the info. It could be that you have a corroded wire, slipped pin in a connector, something along those lines. It's worth a check. Also, possibly check for a big vacuum leak.

Thanks John, Glad to see you are around. Had me worried yesterday! The vehicle has a clean title and has no reported accidents...(we know how that can be sometimes) but I have not found any damage at all or repaint/bodywork. A Little history on the car. It started its life on the west coast, in the Valley, and was used to commute about an hour and 45 mins each way monday-friday for a couple years. From the weather it lived in about half the year is at least 90 Degrees out and about 90k on it now. It now resides in central Ohio, big weather change. The problem didn't start till after its first winter here. Could just be coincidence, idk. There is also cracking on the #1 Cylinder runner of the intake where it is tightened down to the lower half. Not on the runner itself but the cylindrical tube that holds the tightening bolt. Someone had this engine at least semi open before I did it seems. The Valley is nice and dry so that's a plus.

As you can see here, not only was the hardware fairly loose but there is no...bounce to the old gaskets and you can see blow-by on all of them. Versus the new gaskets below. I have not decided yet if I should seal them even better with some type of rtv/gasket sealer. I would prefer not to use any unless others have experienced issues if you don't.

I think I may have found the issue and wish I would have pulled the lower manifold sooner.... All hardware holding it down was very loose, secured, but loose. The first picture is number 2 cylinder showing blow-by, top left corner of the runner. That whole side of the intake, (2-4-6) has grime and oil between the heads themselves and where they make contact with the gaskets of the lower intake. and yes, I realize the second picture is 1-3-5. Its mainly there to show how gritty everything was.

Well, I am working on this video again. We had a few family emergencies this past year.... Anyway. P302 still persists, I can reset the ecu and it idles/runs fine for sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes a day, before it returns. I did end up doing the rear crank sensor hidden behind the t-case, I was able to disconnect it just enough to rotate and get a wrench to the sensor. I have pictures and plan on putting a guide together for those that need to get to the sensor. (on a AWD 3.6). Replacing that sensor had no affect however. Today I have the intake manifold removed, and am trying to check it for a leak on that runner that maybe i have not been able to hear or see. I am fully open to more ideas that people may have. Compression test passed on all cylinders. Swapped spark plugs from other cylinders. Installed new factory spark plugs. Installed NGK Iridiums. Installed new fuel injectors, Tested circuitry according to ALLDATA. Swapped cam position sensors from each head, Tested circuitry according to ALLDATA. Swapped, then installed a new coilpack, Tested circuitry according to ALLDATA. Installed new Crank Positioning Sensor, Tested circuitry according to ALLDATA. I have not removed the LOWER intake manifold yet and am getting ready to pull it off and check for cracks/damage.

Well, I got my hands on Alldata for the vehicle and it states if its awd you have to remove the t-case as well.... But, now I have the factory diagnostic information to follow.... so hopefully I wont need to go that far. I will post an update after I dig deeper Edit: we bought the vehicle from a Chrysler dealership, it was previously a rental vehicle and we got it with about 27k on it. No faults since until recently (about 84k miles now).