x_orange90_x

On 3/12/2024 at 9:49 PM, x_orange90_x said:

Just finished replacing the #3 injector. Also replaced the o rings on 1 & 5 while the rail was off. Ran smooth at idle and was good on a test drive. But then again it was the other day too, so we'll see. 

 

As for the coil I got, it's a Blue Streak from Advance Auto. Made in Poland if that makes any difference. The injector I got was a Carquest Remanufactured, which was actually a Mopar part. 

 

I'll update when I have some results.

I've driven about 1.5hrs yesterday and this morning and so far it's still running great! The CEL went off on its own yesterday. It's running better now than it did before the misfires started. 

When we went to remove the injector it was loose/wiggly. The other two were nice and solid. My buddy says too much pressure may have been building up behind it when it wasn't working, which could have started pushing it out some. 

Thanks for the help guys! 

Off topic question: what engine/trans mount typically fails on these cars? I know I have at least 1 bad one because the engine shifts forward/backward shifting, and while driving it will jerk left slightly if it shifts too hard.

2 hours ago, 2late4u said:

i was just going by what you said i just put in 30 gas and then it started misfiring,, i would concentrate on bad gas before throwing money at parts... like i said add some gas treatments for water in the gas and try to run it all out and then add some injector cleaner as well i like using chevron brand myself, and like others have said switch the injector/coil to a different plug to see if the code changes of course on a 3.6 this involves a lot of work to check but would be the cheapest way to start,,, and as tsteves5 mentioned the new coil could be bad ...i have been watching a lot of you tube mechanics i follow and almost all of them have been saying lately to stay away from amazon ebay and all mail order part suppliers due to cheap chinese junk parts

Just finished replacing the #3 injector. Also replaced the o rings on 1 & 5 while the rail was off. Ran smooth at idle and was good on a test drive. But then again it was the other day too, so we'll see. 

As for the coil I got, it's a Blue Streak from Advance Auto. Made in Poland if that makes any difference. The injector I got was a Carquest Remanufactured, which was actually a Mopar part. 

I'll update when I have some results.

16 minutes ago, 2late4u said:

I would def remove as much fuel as possible/and or add a dry gas additive to help before i would throw any expensive parts at your journey,,, i am assuming you have the 2.4 eng,might not hurt to throw in some new plugs as well since they are easy and cheap but if you do only use the OEM plugs..good luck and hope it was only some bad gas...........sorry just seen where you said you did just replace the plugs.oh well

3.6L. I previously put Champions in but my buddy laughed when he pulled one out. I replaced them with NGK per his recommendation. I checked the gaps and they were all correct. 

I did add an octane booster and 5 gallons of premium the night I started having issues in hopes of "sprucing" up the alleged bad gas. When I got down to about 1/4 tank I put in a water remover. 

If it really is bad gas wouldn't I have issues with ALL cylinders, all the time?

Last Wednesday I stopped at my local gas station and put $30 in the tank. 10 minutes later I noticed the idle was a little rough, and later that evening getting off the expressway it started shaking badly, making a strange sound under acceleration, and the CEL started flashing. 10 minutes later it was back to running smooth. I checked the code and it was P203 and P303. The light went off on its own the next start up and it ran fine for a couple days, then Saturday it started misfiring horribly for about 5 minutes and then smoothed out again. The same codes as before plus a P202 this time. Got it home and replaced the spark plugs and Cylinder 3 coil on Sunday. Ran really smooth and idled steady at 625rpm. Drove it yesterday for about 20 minutes with no issues. I started it up this morning and from the get go it was shaking, sputtering, and overall really rough. I backed out of the driveway and pulled forward just a few feet before deciding it wasn't going to stop so I pulled back in and parked it. 

At the very beginning i swore it was just bad gas and I even talked to the owner of the station a couple days later and he said no one else complained, and if his gas was bad he would've voluntarily shut down.

My buddy who has worked on dozens of these engines said the P202 was likely only caused by cylinder 3 running so rough. He said if the plugs and coil didn't fix it then we would likely have to replace cylinder 3 fuel injector. He also recalled changing that exact injector on a lady's caravan after plug and coils didn't stop her misfiring. 

I can't afford a shop bill, and we can tackle the injector in the driveway no problem. My question is does this really sound like the issue? I still have an 1/8 tank of that gas so that's still a factor, but I'm not seeing issues with the other cylinders (besides what I stated above). Can the injector cause misfires for a short period of time then go back to normal for one or more days? If it's plugged, it's plugged. Shouldn't come and go from what I'm thinking. Could it be electrically failed and cause this? We've played with the wires and they don't change current run conditions at all. My buddy also noted how clean and like new the valves and seats looked, so there's that FWIW. 

I was not able to pull the codes this morning, but I imagine they are the same.

Fwi, the spark plugs I just replaced only had about 10k miles on them. I replaced them last spring. 

Here is the old fluid. The jug is 1 gallon (4qts) and is nearly full.

I'm thinking of unplugging the battery and resetting the TCM so it can learn new shift points. I understand it's supposed to be adaptive and relearn on it's own, but I feel like that's not really possible when it sets the points too high. It will always be waiting for the rpms to be about "x" before shifting, even if I want it shifting much lower. Like it would really need to "unlearn" instead of relearn. 

9 minutes ago, 5rebel9 said:

Can you post an APPROXIMATION of the amount that drained out when you did the job? For those of us that have done this job, tour posting of 5.5 quarts seems a bit high. BUT yes you may have been low, that's why I ask about what amount drained out.

Good job tackling this yourself!

Thanks! I have the pan still in the garage. I'll transfer it into the gallon jug later and post  couple pics. I went with 5.5qts because it's what I found was required for a drain and fill via several online sources.

My fluid level was at almost the exact same spot as in that video. So I must've been low? I'm going to recheck it later today and see if it's up in the hot range. 

Just now, 2late4u said:

if you used you oil dip stick it should bottom out as it cant be put in to far,if your not sure if you marked the dip dtick right them you can buy a test stick from a part store............

 

I'm pretty certain I marked it correctly. It went pretty far down in there and I DID get fluid on it. See attached picture.

Finished up tonight. Everything went smoothly as far as I can tell. I'll be driving it in the morning to work. I couldn't get a good reading on the dipstick when I started, the level was way off the mark. So either I didn't get the stick all the way in our the fluid was really low. I put exactly 5.5qts back in though. 

Attached is a photo of the filter and magnet. The fluid was very dark, like a deep red/black color. 

1 hour ago, 5rebel9 said:

Yes a pan drop and filter would only require about 5 quarts MAYBE 1/2 quart more, NO matter of what drained out if less of the original. I've had good luck with Walmart ATF+4, particularly if you drop the pan again soon after the initial drain. It's also less expensive!

I've found that at operating temp {fully warmed up} that right at 1" reading on the CLEANED OFF engine oil dipstick is a proper fill level on these trannies. 

I go back over 30 years with driving Dodge/Chrysler products, maintained properly and NOT ABUSED they do good service in return. NO VEHICLE is a living room couch that needs no maint., treat any car as they should and they will perform as designed.

 

You will probably find the pan is sealed with RTV when you go to lower it, a 2"wide paint scraper and light tapping between the pan and trans . will get it free. AFTER you drain a second time after a couple k miles, I would use RTV rather than a premade gasket... less chance of developing seepage or leak. 

I was actually looking to get Super Tech but the Walmart website isn't showing it. Only regular ATF and motor oils. Should I unplug the battery and let the trans relearn shift points, or just leave as is and let it correct them as I go?

I will report back my findings sometime this weekend.

12 minutes ago, 5rebel9 said:

Great! Make sure to use ONLY the ATF+4 that is called for. 

Yes if the trans has to be removed for MAJOR work, it is a BIG JOB and lots of $$$$

And yes the 2 of mine are repaired and doing fine. One needed the valve body replaced and the other needed a torque converter. I got these with over 150k miles and fluids were done, but not until I got them! Yes times are tough, but most people just don't want to do preventive maint. as called for.

I'm going with Valvoline ATF +4 Full Synthetic, Carquest filter, and a Fel-Pro pan gasket. 

Any tips or additional info I might need? I looked up how to mark my oil dipstick. Looks like I just need to drain, change filter and fill? 

I see online the trans holds 9qts but you can only drain out a little over 5qts. Is this why some people recommend doing the job twice consecutively?

27 minutes ago, 5rebel9 said:

YOUR procrastination to doing anything is doing the car more harm. Take it from a guy who has 3 of these. TWO of which developed trans problems. Is the check engine light on when you drive the car??? IF soo even an autozone store will scan it for free and could point to what is going on. CHEAPEST WAY to figure out what is going on after a good scan IS to drop the pan and change the filter and oilAND looing for any metallic grindings in the pan. YOU have been given good advice on your posts, stop procrastinating!

I'm actually picking up everything today to change the filter and fluid. You're right about it being the cheapest option and I have a strong suspicion that the filter is plugged. As for a CEL, no it's not on nor have I seen it on since I bought it in the spring.

Here is a video of it shifting through all the gears as I drove this morning. Steady acceleration, no stopping, just shifting from 1st through 6th. You can see how high the rpms go before it shifts, and also the hesitation before going into gear. You can also hear how loud it gets. Sometimes I'll even hit 4500rpm before going into 5th gear. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HX9x8NjhaSG6PvrQdAVNDlZdJlDglVSb/view?usp=drivesdk

26 minutes ago, 2late4u said:

if you mark your dip stick like in the video OR go by a test dip stick that the part stores sell for our journeys when you add the fluid you go by the dip stick,,,i marked mine before  i had the dealership change it and it came out right in the middle where it should be......and NO you will never remove the same amount of fluid every time, you could catch it all in a pan then measure it minus what you cant get out off the pan, and always use the correct trans fluid,not sure of what you are asking about cheap trans fluid if it is the correct type....as i said before fix your eng mounts BEFORE you mess with the trans just to see if it helps but you are coming due for the trans service.... JUST wondering have you had the journey checked for any set codes that might be in the memory?   also why not have the trans looked at by your after market warranty for any info they may give you as well

What I meant was put the cheapest ATF 4 fluid in and drive for a few miles then drain it and put in higher quality fluid for the long haul. That's IF I needed to do it. 

I know I'm due for the fluid and filter change now, and I don't think bad mounts would delay my shifting into 6th great as I stated earlier. For those reasons I think I should just change the fluid first and foremost. 

I would actually love to have it checked out but I'm not looking forward to trying to make a claim on the warranty because of the horrible reviews I've read. I don't want to get stuck paying thousands of dollars because someone tore it apart to look at it.

I just watched a video on this. I will go ahead and do it myself. My only concern is the level of fluid. If I use my oil dipstick to check the level before and after, how do I know I have the correct levels? Shouldn't it be a set amount like 5qts just the same as motor oil? If I am for some reason low to begin with and I only put that much back in then I'd be low after as well.

Also, if I decided to do a change, drive, change again to flush it out, could I use a cheap fluid for the short period of time and then put the correct fluid in the second time?

21 hours ago, tsteves5 said:

If it were mine, I would drop the pan, change the filter and replace the 4-5 quarts of fluid that is possible with a pan drop.  Depending upon how dark the fluid is, I might drive it a while, then change the fluid a second time too.  You can suck it out with a hand pump through the filler hole.  You need an after-market dip stick and the temperature fill chart to do this on your own.

 

If you take it somewhere, avoid anywhere that will "flush" out the system.  It's too hard on transmissions and will most likely cause more problems than good.

I've seen others in the forum talk about changing the fluid themselves and using some sort of makeshift dip stick. Kinda scares me. Is this a difficult task to do? What materials would I need?

On 7/23/2023 at 12:07 AM, tsteves5 said:

Under light acceleration, my 2011 shifts into 6th gear at about 45 mph and 1500-1700 rpm.  It looks like it varies a little bit.

That's quite a bit different from mine. I don't know if I should get my fluid changed or just have the trans looked over. I have an extended warranty through WYNN but I've heard they're not good when you actually try to make a claim ?

34 minutes ago, tsteves5 said:

That's a lot of movement with no real load on the engine.  I would definitely check/replace the motor mounts.  Could be more than one that needs replaced.

 

I had a bad mount in mine and the engine would twist back so far during hard acceleration from stop that it would make a buzzing sound as the back of the engine touched something on the firewall.

I thought it seemed excessive. Just imagine how it feels when I accelerate hard! I kinda drive this like a grandpa because I don't like the hard shifting and jerking it does if I get on it. It will sort of shimmy too going into 6th gear. Which btw I have to ask, is it normal that it absolutely refuses to go into 6th until it hits 2000rpm? I will be cruising at 55 and it will be in 5th gear until I go over 2000rpm, then it goes into 6th.

I have 95k on it and I know I'm about due for a fluid change, but I think mounts may be half of my problems.

Here is another link to the video:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F87myKe4FoIzdnhywZ5rlrdLRLm75rU-/view?usp=drivesdk

This is my 2017 DJ AWD with a 3.6L. When shifting I get jolts and hesitation. I had my wife record the engine bay while I shifted through all of the gears manually. It looks like it moves a lot but I'm not an expert. Also I'm hearing some strange noises in this video (other than my daughter ?). 

This is the link to the video. It's only available for 2 days tho, but I'm trying to upload it to my Google Drive.

https://streamable.com/s8479y

Can you guys tell me what you think? 

I am looking to get my fluid and filter changed on my 2017 Journey with the 3.6L AWD with 93,500. My local Dodge dealership quoted me over the phone about $300. I also asked about updating my computer and they said if there is an update they won't charge me, they'll just perform it as a recall. I can get in at super convenient times which is awesome. Is $300 a good price for this? I don't like the idea of doing it myself. 

Haven't had the funds to do the fluid change yet, but I am thinking of buying plugs and doing those very soon. I got the service history from the shop the previous owner frequented, and in the last 60k+ miles it hasn't had them replaced, if ever. I'm at 93,440 now and I know the mark is 96k on the v6, but I have hesitation shifting in the higher gears and also some hesitation in the low gears taking off from a dead stop unless I really get on it. I'm sure new plugs will alleviate most if not at of that.

On 4/5/2023 at 8:25 PM, 2late4u said:

B.S.  You need to find a new dealership,,,,,,there is no reason they cant get you in within 2 weeks max, and you are almost at the req time to change the  trans fluid... i had mine changed at 60 k and then again at 100 k along with the coolant service and plugs as well,,,yes kind of pricey but well worth it............ preventive maintenance will help you get longer and better life out of your journey

Ya I'm going to call another dealership. I'm thinking between the software update and fluid change I'm looking at about $400. I'll do the plugs myself as I've watched the video on it and it's not too bad considering how much they'd probably charge me.

I called my local dealership yesterday and described my problem to one of the service techs. He said it sounds like a software issue rather than fluid or mechanical. He said to flash the PCM would cost $163 including the diagnostic fee, but they couldn't get me in until almost July! ?

I really hate to revive this old thread, but I have the EXACT same issue as the OP... Literally to a T. Going between R to D is absolutely the worst. It shakes the whole car and feels like something is about to break. But shift between them a couple more times and especially after driving, and it's smooth as can be. 

I have about 93k on my 2017 Journey 3.6L AWD. I don't know if I should call a dealer and ask about a reflash or update, get the transmission fluid changed, or take it to a transmission shop for diagnosis.