lemdog

i had this issue,  you may have seen me post recently in other threads.
 
i fixed it last night.    i read about tapping it to "wake it up".   it was the only one not moving and i had AC driver side,  heat on passenger side.
 
as soon as i started tapping it with butt-end of a long screw-driver,   it woke up and started moving again.    now everything works normal.
 
not sure how long it will last but if it can last all summer,  i will be happy enough.   then find time later to replace it by winter.

So i am following up on my post,

I spoke to my neighbor (mechanic for Dodge/Chrysler) and he suggested i go after the calipers and change them out.  We had a long discussion about it all and his experience in almost all of these cases have been calipers over anything else.

So i picked up some calipers and changed them Sunday night and bled the brakes.    All seemed well cept i still had some vibrations and heat still producing from front.   Hotter than what should be expected.

I then decided to replace rotors as i am sure they were pretty much ruined and about a year old.    (they were pretty much CRAP especially on the inner side)
 
Yesterday I replaced front rotors, ensured the slide pin bolts were bolted (keeping inner nut stable) and could move the caliper to-and-fro on the glide pins,  and also,  managed to safely get a screw driver into the clip the flex-hose runs through and opened it slightly just to avoid any pinching.

once all had been done and after  a few good drives between yesterday and today......... no vibrations, no heat,  seems to be normal operating temperatures.
 
BUT i do want to add,  that since i did change many things,  its hard to tell exactly WHICH one fixed the issue.    I can say that i have experienced the vibrations before under braking and it had to do with how you tighten the slide pin bolts.   you NEED to make sure you hold the inner nut with a 15mm wrench while you tighten the pin bolt and ensure you can move/slide caliper to and fro.

I say this because I experienced this before on our 2010 caravan (same brake design) and fiddled with the pin bolts and inner nut and it did solve the odd vibration issue.

i believe that if the slide bolts/caliper bolts are NOT properly tightened,  then it will be incorrectly mounted causing the caliper/pad to be against the rotor at all times,  causing wear, heat and vibrations once you hit the pedal.

next..... two rear wheel bearings and a set of 4 new tyres. (when $ permits).

So i am following up on my post,

I spoke to my neighbor (mechanic for Dodge/Chrysler) and he suggested i go after the calipers and change them out.  We had a long discussion about it all and his experience in almost all of these cases have been calipers over anything else.

So i picked up some calipers and changed them Sunday night and bled the brakes.    All seemed well cept i still had some vibrations and heat still producing from front.   Hotter than what should be expected.

I then decided to replace rotors as i am sure they were pretty much ruined and about a year old.    (they were pretty much CRAP especially on the inner side)
 
Yesterday I replaced front rotors, ensured the slide pin bolts were bolted (keeping inner nut stable) and could move the caliper to-and-fro on the glide pins,  and also,  managed to safely get a screw driver into the clip the flex-hose runs through and opened it slightly just to avoid any pinching.

once all had been done and after  a few good drives between yesterday and today......... no vibrations, no heat,  seems to be normal operating temperatures.
 
BUT i do want to add,  that since i did change many things,  its hard to tell exactly WHICH one fixed the issue.    I can say that i have experienced the vibrations before under braking and it had to do with how you tighten the slide pin bolts.   you NEED to make sure you hold the inner nut with a 15mm wrench while you tighten the pin bolt and ensure you can move/slide caliper to and fro.

I say this because I experienced this before on our 2010 caravan (same brake design) and fiddled with the pin bolts and inner nut and it did solve the odd vibration issue.

i believe that if the slide bolts/caliper bolts are NOT properly tightened,  then it will be incorrectly mounted causing the caliper/pad to be against the rotor at all times,  causing wear, heat and vibrations once you hit the pedal.

next..... two rear wheel bearings and a set of 4 new tyres. (when $ permits).

@2late4u

yup,  definitely drive in some harsh salty winters thats for sure!!   Rust proof my car every fall.

i inspected the rubber lines last night and there is a metal clip the hose runs through that is bolted to ......something,  i forget what and cannot picture it but the clip does look like it "Could" cause a pinch of some type.   was tempted to see if i could open that clip a bit to relieve any squeezing,   but i didn't touch.
 
the hose route is the least expensive and i have priced it out already.

funny enough,  i just found out my new-ish neighbor is a mechanic......... for Chrysler!!!!!!    Bro,  why didnt i know this a year ago when they moved in!??  haha!

i still plan to catch him and have a chat to get his thoughts.    thanks for your feed back.

i will post back later as i like to update to give others information.   i am not a one post wonder and find it annoying!!
 
 

just following up for the benefit of others,

i ordered the actuator from amazon (half the price from what my auto parts retailer was selling it for) and replaced it last night.

its a finicky job,  i had to contort myself across the center console and put my head down to the passenger foot-well to get a proper angle on the 2 screws.

after determination, moving stuff around and scratched up hands,  i replaced the actuator motor and the problem has been fixed.
 
here is a link to the one i purchased for reference:

https://www.amazon.ca/Dorman-604-029-Air-Door-Actuator/dp/B00HRSP2A6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518548970&sr=8-1&keywords=2011+DODGE+JOURNEY+HVAC+HEATER+BLEND+DOOR+ACTUATOR&dpID=41bZSMp5cQL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
 

just to update,   I checked the fluid level and it was at or just below the "min" line on the reservoir.   so I added more fluid to the "max" line (proper fluid) and about a day or so later,  the noise has now disappeared.  All seems ok.
 
   maybe took a bit of time for extra fluid to get into the system.   who knows.
 
anyways just thought I would update this thread for the benefit of others.

just to update,   I checked the fluid level and it was at or just below the "min" line on the reservoir.   so I added more fluid to the "max" line (proper fluid) and about a day or so later,  the noise has now disappeared.  All seems ok.
 
   maybe took a bit of time for extra fluid to get into the system.   who knows.
 
anyways just thought I would update this thread for the benefit of others.

hello all,
 
for a little while now,  I get an odd noise when making left turns at low speeds such as through a subdivision/parking lot.

it almost sounds like a power steering whine as if when making the left turn the fluid sloshes over and is low enough to make the whine.  (make any sense?)
   I do know what a power steering unit sounds like when its low or out of fluid from past experiences on other cars.
 
its just briefly until the turn is over and I am in a straight line again.   not SUPER loud or anything but just enough to either indicate what seems to be low-ish fluid or like the engine shifting and pully's out of alignment.(??)

I checked the fluid level but the reservoir has some in it but not sure if it requires more up to the 'fill line'?   hard to determine the fill line.
 
also would like to mention that during the winter in extreme cold mornings,  during startup,  there is a TREMENDOUS whine which also makes me think of alternator and/or power steering pump super cold and not pumped through the system yet.
the sound is SO loud until about 30sec into warm up.    I've never heard or have had a car make that loud of noise on super cold mornings during initial startup.
 
just wondering to myself if they are related.
 
any thoughts or comments are welcome.
 
thanks!
 

Yeah I noticed they do look like stickers.
I had some Mr clean magic erasers so I gave it a try.
It got the gunk off but you can see where it's more scrubbed "clean"
Oh well. As long as it's not rust and that it's clean for now.
Here is the after results. I could scrub the rest of the pillar to blend it all in.
Who knows.