Rebelbrat15 Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 Hello. First time posting here and hoping someone can help with my situation. I have a 2012 Dodge Journey Crew that keeps overheating. It seems to really only overheat when I drive on the freeway or go up hills. (I live where I have to go up hills to get home). The first time I noticed it I was driving on the freeway when I heard a ding and the light came on. I turned the heater on full blast and got off the freeway. I had it looked at and they said they couldn’t see any leaks and was told that there could be bubbles in the system. So, they bled the system and ran it without the cap on to burb it. After that I really didn’t drive it besides going up the street to drop my daughter off at school so never noticed any overheating. Then I had to go somewhere and took the freeway when it decided to overheat again. The temp went up to the red and my heater started to blow cold air. I got off the freeway and notice smoke coming up and the strong smell of antifreeze. I opened the hood and there was antifreeze everywhere. I had it looked at again and was told my radiator was bad. So, I had the radiator and thermostat replaced a couple of days ago. Driving home from the shop it seemed to do just fine and then it started to overheat again and heater started to blow cold air. Had it looked at again and still couldn’t find any leaks. Was told that maybe the shop didn’t get all the bubbles out so this mechanic hooked it up to a machine and got the bubbles out. We took it for a test drive and I was hopeful that was the cause. But it then started to do the same as before. He checked again and said maybe the water pump because the bottom radiator hose is cold to the touch. But another mechanic said that the hose felt just fine. I have replaced the thermostat 3 times now 1st time in March 2020 because it set a code off. 2nd time October 2021 because the housing was leaking and the last time was just a couple days ago in (December 2021) because I was told to replace it with the radiator. The water pump was replaced March of 2021 due to it leaking. It was noticed by the mechanic that it was leaking when I replaced the oil pump. Someone mentioned that maybe the coolant temp sensor but I have also replaced that when I replaced the oil filter housing. (Had a lot of problems with oil issues too). I am at a lost cause here and frustrated of what could be causing these issues. Please help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 Welcome to the site, sounds very frustrating. Which engine 2.4 or 3.6 and mileage would be helpful. Is your electric cooling fan coming on when the engine is over heating, seems like only part not changed. Easily checked by mechanic normally. My concern is the source of bubbles could be a head gasket problem. Expensive and hard to diagnose sometimes. There is a dye or test kit that can be used with glycol which will show if combustion gas is leaking into cooling system. Hope it’s not that, not a common problem. Big repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebelbrat15 Posted January 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 Sorry. It is 3.6 with only 105000 on it. The fan does come on but it is very loud. The coolant just disappears and not moving through the system. They pressurized the system and the coolant came up to the bottle like it never disappeared. And it is leaking anywhere. Someone did mention the head gaskets but wanted to try other things first before going down that road. I truly hope it’s not that situation. It doesn’t blow white smoke or have coolant in the oil. I know that those don’t always show up as a symptom for a bad head gasket though. I was told to change the water pump again to see if that will help but other than that I have no clue and it is getting extremely frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 i would be suspect the fan to see if it is coming on correctly ,,,and also you say it is loud that right there is enough to check it out before replacing any more repetitive parts like you are doing now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebelbrat15 Posted January 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 For this year when should the fan come on? Cause now it won’t turn on. The water pump did get replaced under warranty but didn’t overheat this time but no heat coming through the heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 10 minutes ago, Rebelbrat15 said: For this year when should the fan come on? Cause now it won’t turn on. The water pump did get replaced under warranty but didn’t overheat this time but no heat coming through the heater. Rad fan should come on by itself at about 216* by digital temp gage in the info pod. Try turning on the A/C on mid range cabin temp setting and see if radiator fan come on. THAT IS IF YOU KNOW the A/C functioned before this all happened. This will tell if the rad fan itself is working. Cabin heat blowing cold indicates air entrapment in the heater core and that will "shift thru" the system(engine) and cause problems also. Try taking the cap off overnight and check and top up coolant in the morning. You could also take the cap off and open the bleeder port on the thermostat housing to help bleed out air, When no air bubbles out, close and top up the res tank and put cap back on. 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 also check the connectors on the fan wiring for a bad connection or shorted wires,yrs ago my daughter had a dodge car and was overheating and the cause ended up being a bad connection from the wire connector going to the fan thus letting it to sometimes work and then not work (was melting/shorting out on the inside of the connector we hard wired it back together and all was fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebelbrat15 Posted January 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 I’ll have to have someone check the wiring. It is now not overheating like before but once the temp gets to 215 or so, the heater stops working and blows cold air. In the morning I hear fluid rushing through the system whenever I stop then go again. Been told I might have to get my cylinder tested. Really hoping that is not the cause of all this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted January 3, 2022 Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 Sadly it does sound like a cylinder head/ gasket problem. Your description is pointing that way. Good luck and let us know how you get this resolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agm2112 Posted January 4, 2022 Report Share Posted January 4, 2022 Check the thermostat valve. You can even try to run without it if the weather is no so cold for testing purposes... Or just replace it, is a cheap and important part. I had to replace mine with lower mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebelbrat15 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 Well….I took my Journey in to get diagnosed. When I called in to price out head gasket job, they said it sounded like a bubble was stuck in the system and to bring it in and they will see what they could do. I took it in and 10 minutes later they said that it was definitely the heads. I told them I figured it was and asked when they could get it in and fixed. They said they could start that day and have it done at the end of the week. I got a call the next day with bad news that my block has a crack in it. They said that someone tried fixing it with silicone and the head bolts were loose and 1 was stripped. So, I’m getting a new engine put in and hopefully have a car that will last a long while after all this. larryl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 Thanks for the follow up, helpful info for the site. Tough time for this kind of major expense on a low mileage car really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appalachian Journey Posted January 19, 2022 Report Share Posted January 19, 2022 Where did you buy the car? Who is doing the work, dealership or independent? 2012 was a year some Pentastars had bad heads. Dodge extended the warranty to 10 years / 150,000 miles. If it was first sold and registered later in 2012 and if there is a record of Dodge replacing or repairing the head and if an indy shop hasn't scrapped the engine you may get some help from Dodge. Don't tell the dealership why you want a service/repair history. If you aren't past the 10 years and Dodge did a repair contact Dodge through the link at the bottom of their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5rebel9 Posted January 20, 2022 Report Share Posted January 20, 2022 OUCH !!!!!! Thanks for the update, sorry it's SO major a repair on your particular circumstance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryWatson Posted February 4, 2022 Report Share Posted February 4, 2022 Thanks for the advice looks like I have a same problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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