Hey Guys!
I have a 99 Durango, 5.2. I've been having issues with it sputtering after driving for more than 30 min. One of the suggestions was to replace the Crankshaft Sensor. So I was attempting to locate it when I found this below!



Coolant in/coming from this tube/shaft. What is this? I am not able to get a chilton manual right now, and I'm not familiar enough to know what this is.

Pic 2 below gives a better idea of where it's at. Thanks for any help.

 

I see the main wire harness, transmission dip stick tube and the heater hoses going to the heater core. Did you pressure check the cooling system to locate the leak?

 

Not yet. I'm going to get a pressure tester on loan from the auto parts store tomorrow.
I'm confused as to what that open tubing in pic #1 is, where the coolant appears. Not sure if there should be a hose there or what. The opening is coming out from the firewall.

 

There should be a tube near the bottom of the bulkhead/firewall and the the A/C drain tube. But if you have coolant coming from that drain. Order a heater core. Are the floors wet or do you smell a sweet smell from the heater vents?

 

A strange smell, yes. Sweet, maybe? Could a bad heater core be causing the sputtering I described above?

 

The sputter maybe a different problem. Did you check for any stored codes.

 

Codes are:
p0132(O2 Sensor Curcuit High Voltage)
and
p0304(Cylinder #4 Misfire)

 

The o2 sensor code as well as the misfire will cause a sputtering problem.

 

Changed the O2 sensors and flushed the heater core today. Going to see how it behaves tomorrow.

 

Everything seems great! A couple of 30-45 minute drives and no issues. Also, the heater core flush got rid of the smell and film.