Locosiete

WOW !  3 years? Normal struts and shocks don't last much longer on any vehicles up my way. And yours is just a minor rub problem that WHO CAN KNOW from under WHAT conditions they rub. Raising/lowering and driving/cornering all come into play on when they might have been rubbing.
   One thing I'm finding out with all 3 of mine is that all 3 camber/toe and control arm bushings are definite wear/weak links in maintaining "tight"suspension geometry to keep all "lined up". 
From watching shows of doing car mods with "bagging" a suspension, it is very important for a very liberal clearance room all the way around, and usually VERY HARD to determine when inflated and weight put to the car on the ground.
As I said before, you have done some pretty special upgrading to do this and 3 years use is a nice return. NOW a bit more "engineering" and make the system last longer.

Well got started this weekend and didn't get as much as I wanted accomplished. Found rear passenger had been rubbing and rather then putting it back on and replaced it in the near future just ordered a replacement one. So needless to say that puts a slight delay in plan. 
 

 
The other delay is waiting on my Cadillac to finish getting the seats redone. Which is a good since this leave me extra room in garage while it being done but bad cause I am using the air manifold from that car to put in my dodge so i can then upgrade the Cadillac. I'm upgrading my Cadillac to 1/2" lines since the 3/8" setup works but not as quickly as I want, Cadillac is not a skinny girl ? ? ? ? 
 
Side note if anyone needs to replace front struts I found a bungee cord works perfect to hold brake assembly in place. I'm sure others know this but thought I'd share while I was at it. The jack is just there to keep it from sagging too much. Car is currently on 4 jackstands.

 
Other hiccup was I need to either trim the spring perch in rear or add a spacer. Rather the possibly ruining the rear struts went with a 1/2" spacer. So it won't sit as low now by 1/2" but I don't think it will be too noticeable when it's parked and layer down. Without the spacer the fittings would hit the perch and break from the weight. 
Man that took way too long to make by hand using a pipe cutter. One of those times I wish I has a bandsaw! 
 

And those rear bags have lasted how long? You have done something that FEW have done with a Journey, and I know there is not much room to visually see for clearances of the rear strut perches. You did very well on the initial air system install! Now it's time to "fine tune" fitment to take care of the slight rubbing and make your planned  "upgrades" you posted of.
 Don't get discouraged and keep on going. Looking forward to more updates!
 

With my luck the FIRST TIME I'd use the horn...... I would be caught and ticketed.    

Rather own a good running car then a pretty brick lol
But in all honesty I've never been the type to want the best just different then others is all. Plus if I can do the work myself I would rather be proud of something I made with my own hands vs something I bought already done. That all said the Journey gets no love from people when I pull up until I either raise or lower it or crank up the stereo. Gone to more then 1 car show and they tried turning me away saying sorry spectators park over there. 

Awhile ago I watched a video on how to replace the power steering pump and all i can say is wow. That engineer must have been pretty mad at the world when they designed that. 
 
Last year I had to replace a broken lug nut on my son's car. It broke just right where you couldn't get any socket to hold or fit. I ended up just getting a good drill bit and drilling out center of the lug. Leaving enough meat on it that I could just snap it off with some pliers and then I just replaced the lug and lug nut. This way it didn't damage the wheel. Luckily this was all done in my garage and not in the middle of who knows where due to a flat tire.
 
Which brings up a good point of not buying cheap lug nuts off ebay or Amazon. It's worth the extra $5-10 to not have to deal with this. 

Here is a couple videos I originally made about this. It was on this forum but was removed by accident 
 
Part 1
 
 
and part 2
 
https://youtu.be/mt2TkpJbZAQ?si=q0D_x7_0D2Ve5x9b
 
 

Rather own a good running car then a pretty brick lol
But in all honesty I've never been the type to want the best just different then others is all. Plus if I can do the work myself I would rather be proud of something I made with my own hands vs something I bought already done. That all said the Journey gets no love from people when I pull up until I either raise or lower it or crank up the stereo. Gone to more then 1 car show and they tried turning me away saying sorry spectators park over there. 

So anyone who remembers me recalls I put air ride on my Journey a couple years ago. It was a simple front and back setup with 1/4 lines. Well fast forward a couple years and I have decided to update it to individual corners running 3/8 lines. So it will move a bit faster and give me more control due to weight displacement being able to adjust each corner independently. This weekend plan on running the lines and replacing the fittings. From there need to start planning where to place tank and compressor. Think this time i will hide it under a raised floor. So... here I go. I will post as I go.

What really surprised me is when they first quit offering it with the V6, and never offered a SRT option. They made a SRT in almost every other vehicle so kinda surprised they never made a Journey with it 

This is TOO COOL! You have done amazing things already with your ride, looking forward to how this next "upgrade" goes!
Me, well I am stuck just maintaining and keeping them running correctly.

So anyone who remembers me recalls I put air ride on my Journey a couple years ago. It was a simple front and back setup with 1/4 lines. Well fast forward a couple years and I have decided to update it to individual corners running 3/8 lines. So it will move a bit faster and give me more control due to weight displacement being able to adjust each corner independently. This weekend plan on running the lines and replacing the fittings. From there need to start planning where to place tank and compressor. Think this time i will hide it under a raised floor. So... here I go. I will post as I go.

There was a dealer recall on the leaking power steering lines.  Several years ago, search this site.  Mine 2014 model was changed in 2018 by the dealer no charge. Check if yours had the recall done yet.

Random update on the power steering cooler.  All is working well, no leaks.
 
In cleaning out my notes, Plews & Edelmann make an aftermarket p/s cooler for the DJ - P/N: 58040.  Its approx $130 from Summit.
I would have gone with it as it appears to have the correct mounting brackets, but I needed one fast and it was not in stock.
 
Have a safe Summer.
 

Been a member here for a while (lost original account due to email loss, this is 2nd account) but don't visit the forum much but probably a good thing as I think most people come to forums for 1 of 2 things.  1 for the banter and 2 because you have issues with your vehicle.  Not many issues so I don't visit much. 
 
Anyway, we bought a '14 RT  (6cyl, awd) back in late 2013 or early 2014, can't remember exactly.  We needed a reasonably priced 3rd row car and there just wasn't much out there at the time so we ended up with the Journey.
 
Fast forward somewhere around 9yrs 137k miles and here I am, and we still own the same dodge journey and it's carrying on quite fine and I'm not ashamed to admit that I like it.  
 
Only issue we ever had with it was the navi went out pretty early during ownership and the dealer wouldn't do anything for it but I never really use navi so I didn't care all that much.  Other than that wear and tear maintenance here and there throughout it's life.  It has needed it's fair share or replacement parts but most of that was within the last year and since we paid it off ages ago as long as the repairs per month are cheaper than a car payment I'm happy to do them.
 
One complaint about the car, the front brakes just never seem happy.  Not sure if it is how we drive, design, something going on somewhere but we went through front brakes on this thing way too quickly and it just never seemed right but every brake job everything always looked good, everything cleaned greased IDK?  Whatever.
 
So  maintenance over 9 years.
 
One of the front bearings went out fairly early at like 60k maybe?  The other 3 bears were replaced at some point between that one and 120k  All been good since.  I think the early replacement was about the only repair that was kinda disappointing.  The others seem reasonable while living driving in the NE with road conditions.
 
In the last year and a half it has received quite a few repairs but luckily I have a good mechanic that does good work at a reasonable price, and I do some things myself, mainly pads and rotors.  I do oil and oil filter like clock work at 5k, no questions asked at the dealer. 
 
List from last year and a half
Front struts replaced
crack in thermostat elbow (replaced)
Leak in power steering cooler (radiator) replaced
driver side tie rod replaced
tranny pan leak, fixed
passenger side diff output shaft seal leak, fixed (no wonder, the exhaust runs too close and no heat shield). Recommend a DIY heat shield or maybe wrap the pipe there to help. Anything is better than how it is)
New battery (battery lasted a long itme, a little over 7 years.  it is a bit of a pain to change though and the long anchor rod/bolt was completely rusted and could not be reused and needed replaced) 
 
That might be about it and I consider most of that stuff fairly normal wear and tear for the year and milage so I can't knock any of that stuff.  
 
Some rust in the wheel wells has started to rear it's ugly head but can't say i've been nice to the car and the salts and stuff on the roads here take a pretty heavy toll on vehicles.  I should have done more preventative measures earlier on.
 
Now vehicle use?  Not gonna lie I am not easy on this thing, drive it/ drove it pretty hard for many years commuting small mountain back roads, I tow with it, small trailer but it gets loaded down with anything and everything from motorcycles to landscaping stones/boulders, firewood, appliances, building supplies you name it.  It's been on 8 hr round trips to pick something up.  Drove it 4 hr round trip this summer pulling a 12ft trailer to pick up a backhoe for a tractor.  Pulled like a champ on the highway in 90 degree heat on the way home.  Fun note, you can easily get 10ft long boards or whatever into the journey.  Loaded from the rear gate up tot he top of the passenger side dash.  Just make sure you put some cushion down to rest things on and keep them from directly contacting the windshield.  Securing them to something inside is not a bad idea either. 
 
What I like about the vehicle
   The AWD system is pretty decent and feels balanced, with a decent set of tires I really like how this car handles any kind of snow, mud you name it.  The tires are key though.  Those stock new tires are terrible.  When car first came out there was not a good selection of 225/55 -19s out there, most people opting to go 235 and even that wasn't great.  Now there is a few all terrain tires available in these sizes that are super good all purpose tires that can be run year around here in the NE and still get decent wear.

So cabin is a bit tight for lots of people, we have small kids so it's not a huge deal and both myself and my wife are not large people or tall whatever so it does work for us.  I would find it hard to believe someone big frame, 6 foot tall being comfortable in the journey though.  YMMV
 
I like how the journey handles, it feels like a car because it is so small but you know you have the power and traction to do more with it.
Gas milage could be better but that is probably a bit dependent on drivers and area you live ect... it is what it is.
 
I like the back up camera, it is great.  Not goofy distorted fish lens feeling, you know where the car is and where it is going.  I also like the manual rear gate / hatch to oepn. We have a '19 Chevy traverse and i can't stand the backup camera in that thing, to the point ic an barely use it.  It is also electronic only rear gate open I hate that.  More on that vehicle in a moment. 
 
All and all it seems the Journey gets a bad rep for various reasons, being cheep, a kid carter, "uninspiring", not having latest tech ect... but let me tell you, that is part of the reason I like it.  It doesn't have 100 bells and whistles, all this electronic garbage.  I want a vehicle that is easy to maintain, one that my basic mechanic and or I can work on and one that is reliable and dependable that isn't overpriced crap because it has all this electronic gizmo crap.
 
This dodge journey has been one of the better vehicles we have ever owned.  It will be sad to see it go whenever that happens. 
 
Let me tell you a story now
 
Bought a '19 chevy traverse in Jan 2020, new.  25k on it and that thing has been nothing but a total pain for the last year and a half.  It was fine for about the first year and a half then all this stuff just started happening with it.  Mostly electronic stuff that nor I or my mechanic can really do anything about, or the dealership for that matter, they will just keep making you pay to replace things until they finally get whatever is wrong to go away.  I don't like this method of "repair". 
 
The car has tranny issues, had the torque converter replaced already, they replaced the fuel pump during that debacle, said it was bad but I have my doubts, had to fight with them to get it covered under warranty.  Then it gets random electronic gremlins which can leave the car in a practically useless state.  Electronic parking brakes are the dumbest thing ever.  If there is anything wonky in that circuit, tiniest little hiccup it will kick on all these service issues, put the car in limp mode, or lock the brake you can't release it, do anything, you are screwed just hope it decides to kick back off and stay off for no reason.  Same with the traction control AWD system, will kick everything off and un usable randomly.  Really sucks for living in remote areas during winter.  This car is a big heavy pig and without legit winter tires you are not going anywhere with just the FWD and no where without the traction control working.  The acceleration of it is bad and the pedal feels removed from the performance of the engine.  It's way bigger heavier than the dodge and you really feel it at stops, like a lot.  It does have way more space inside which is the main nice thing about the whole car.   It's not designed for cold weather areas at all, no thought was put into this thing about ownership where routine snow occurs.   What to change your own rear brakes, too bad unless you have a scanner tool to retract the electronic parking brake, now you can just take it to your dealer and they get to charge you $600+ for a poorly done brake job.  What a crock. 
 
Take all your electronic bells and whistles and shove'em.  Looking to get rid of that thing asap while it's still worth something, maybe another Journey  JK....but seriously I'd probably consider it.  
 
 
 

I definitely get it about all of the computerized bells & whistles.  I don't even care for the electric stuff, like power window winders.  I know how to roll a window up & down, no problem.  Personally, having learned to drive w/o even power brakes etc, I also have a strong dislike for ABS.  Our small street empties out on a larger street on a fairly steep down-hill slope.  When there is heavy snow fall, the township usually only gets the center of our street cleared.  So descending to the stop sign, the right wheels are both on packed snow, while only the left wheels have traction.  So the ABS senses that the right wheels are sliding while the left side wheels are still rotating, and shuts down the brakes.  So then you just go right on down the hill into the cross traffic.  My wife just takes the long route, out the other way.  (I do find that it stops better if I put it into neutral going down that hill.  Something about having the main braking wheels - the front - being the powered wheels as well just doesn't help vehicle control on slippery surfaces.  The wheels that are expected to do the majority of the braking are trying to spin at the same time.)

Experience the same thing on occasion, similar with TC too.  One side has good pavement bite and traction but the computer doesn't send enough power to that wheel to make it go because the other side is on ice and spins with the slightest bit of power.  Computers can be pretty dumb sometimes lol 
 
Had a '10 civic years back and the ABS would kick on when braking over bumpy bad pavement.  It was a little unnerving at times in traffic.  ABS kicking on in the dead of summer because you hit a few cracks in the road. 
 
In theory all the fancy computer safety feature make a lot of sense, I just think the execution has a ways to go.  Might have something to do with budget on these general consumer cars IDK?  Never drove a 150k + purposefully designed vehicle to see if there is a difference. 

150 k for me on my 2014 still waiting on the abs module from the dealership (on backorder for over a yr+ as of know) just the 3  lights with the cruise control inop is the worst part of this...LOL,,, like you still loving my journey shame they discontinued it....
 

Well, it finally happened - I hit the 100k mark on my girl. After 8 years of ownership and many long trips, I am still happy with my DJ. She gets me where I need to be and runs as smooth as the day I brought her home. Other than a sensor going out at the 90k mark, I've just had to do regular maintenance. I have also completed the 100k mile service, which was a bit pricey but well worth it. Here's to another 100k with no major issues...?

When I did struts, I replace the whole thing. I did double check the axle nuts and they were tight. I think I saw that video where the guy jacked up the control arm too. I also forgot to do that. Maybe I will have to try that.

I know mine is definitely an issue currently but I only hear it when I turn the wheel 

schalid when you replaced your struts did you use the complete strut or just the cartage that goes inside the spring,,,,journeys have been said that the upper strut bushing /bearings have been found to be the problem of the  noise/clunks that mostly journeys owners complain about,,( me as well)

I recently had a similar experience with my 2011.  I replaced the control arms, inner and outer tie rods, sway bar links and ball joint boots.  After the replacement I had a lot more noise that before, like clunking from both sides of the front end when changing direction, starting/stopping quickly, and going over large bumps.
 
Part of the problem was the new sway bar links.  They were junk.  I replaced them with a more reputable brand and it solved the noise while going over bumps.  But I still had the clunking when changing direction and starting/stopping quickly.
 
I was watching a YouTube video about the control arm replacement and the guy on the video used a jack to raise the suspension to approximately ride height before he tightened down the control arm bolts.  When I did mine, I tightened everything down with the vehicle in the air and the front suspension down completely (not at ride height).  I jacked it up, used another jack to get the suspension into approximate ride position, loosened and re-tightened the control arm bolts at ride height.  All of the clunking went away, and now my front end is completely silent.  I'm still not sure why this worked, but it did for me.
 

I just got to watch your video with the volume turned on. WELL, you definitely played the right song for my tastes!
I've never seen roof panels vibrate so much!...you may end up relaying the sealing caulking in it if you go "whole guns" too long....LOL
I take it that while driving that the volume is turned down much lower???
My wife will not let me have volume turned up higher than 10 on the stock radios in our cars. I can barely hear the songs, or is it that I'm constantly more attuned to listening for vehicle noises??
She loves her '13 RT AWD with 19" rims. They do ride and corner so much tighter than the 17's on our other 2 Journey's.....just not looking forward to new tires for it when the time comes. She also misses the sunroof that she had in her old ride....08 Pontiac G6gt. I told her that like another old rock song....YOU CAN"T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

Hey it gets cold here. Just the other morning it was 63° outside lol
Ya there was a mixup and I was banned by accident. I finally got around to asking why and it was discovered I was removed in error. 
Otherwise how you been. Miss anything fun.