The tooling, machinery, personnel in the manufacturing plants, etc., etc., doesn’t just change overnight, with any mergers/acquisitions of the holding/parent company. :)

If/when/then - You don’t just throw away all that top level brand value you paid to acquire. :)

Those two are made by the same company. Who is also the oem Ford manufacturer.

Definitely… Once stuff reaches a certain age / conditions that any rubber/plastic stuff starts breaking down, it’s entirely possible that the metal stuff like piston rings may be “past tolerance” as well.

Do what you have to do to keep it going, but also try and make sure that there’s not something “simple”, that is causing oil to enter the system where it shouldn’t be.

Oil “consumption” / burn, is a separate issue than an external oil seep/leak. In that, it’s internal systems vs. external seals…

If more oil is “evacuating” the system than the volume an external leak/seep could justify, the oil is being “consumed” / “burning” internally.

It “can’t” go anywhere else… :)

If your emission systems are functioning “correctly”, that should “burn” off those emissions by the CAT. But, the more you make any component in the system work, the more likely that specific component is to fail.

So - At the air filter, is it oily on the incoming side? If there is evidence of a bad PCV, replace that wearable component, and retest.

The aftermarket parts that pop up have the petcock in the place the video u/conspiracy_troll cited. Bottom passenger side of the radiator.

However… Like u/RickMN said - If there’s a high likelihood of that petcock breaking, removing the lower hose is a safer/less likely to break stuff way of going about it.

Why are you “flushing the radiator”? Is this preventive maintenance, or is there an issue you are trying to identify/resolve, relating to the coolant system?

You don’t know yet… You have to go a bit further to find out how extensive the damage is.

Where are you at with it / what have you done/checked/tested to this point?

Year/make/model/engine?

Call it “five” years now, and that’s only like 9K/year. So, on the regular alignment check schedule, it would be a full year, before you would get another check.

If you get an LOF/alignment at six months, twice this year, you would have three data points/inspections for the current age of the vehicle.

If because of age, not miles, the “rubbers” are starting to wear out, that information helps inform the decision of if you might be looking to move on to another vehicle, sooner or later. Like 2% at most of the miles have the trailer on it. Sure, additional weight/stress will exacerbate wear. But, at about five years is when you have to start doing some preventative “repair/replacement”, just for maintenance, to keep the vehicle operating at it’s best.

Have you replaced the battery yet? Are they still the OEM tires? Average miles for a five year old vehicle would be about 65-70K, so what is the recommended maintenance for that “mileage”, given the age? Do you live in a slat corrosion/rust environment?

So, remote as the only electrical signal, and manual/safety release.

Mechanically / manual release - Get some grease on the striker/bar, and slowly close the trunk. When you open it again, look to see where that grease went into the latch / lock lever. You are also looking for any wear that might suggest a misalignment. If, it could be that the latch isn’t fully locking sometimes, and a gust of wind comes up, the trunk could potentially blow open?

Electronically / fob: As long as the passenger compartment lever is an actual manual cable lever, and not an electrical switch, then you should be able to disconnect the harness to the lock/actuator, and eliminate any electrical signal from the equation. The remote is going to activate a module, and the module itself is going to send the signal to unlock the door/doors/trunk. Eliminate a false signal from the vehicle or remote, and if it happens again, something mechanical is going on. That might keep the trunk warning on, but you can at least try and make sure that the trunk is staying closed, and/or confirm/deny a mechanical issue.

Don’t go to a parts store for diagnosis.

If it’s still the original battery it’s time to replace it regardless. Any corrosion/bad connections will also need to be sorted.

Do you have a battery / electrical shop in your area?

No, not safe. You need four new tires, and alignment check / suspension/steering work.

The two in the foreground may have been over-inflated / not rotated to wear evenly. But, the two in the background have uneven wear, and past serviceable tread depth. All four are bad, and there’s “evidence” that there are some other repair/maintenance concerns.

What’s the situation? Did you just swap on a set of winter wheels/tires?

Does the vehicle have a convenience package for proximity/no touch entry / trunk open?

Like u/DukeOfAlexandria said, once the plastic is brittle enough to break like that, you most likely have to replace it. Even if you could cut that nipple out, and epoxy it back on, it’s likely to just snap or crumble when you try and get the hose back on. Odds are the whole nipple is just going to crumble to dust trying to get it out of the hose…

If the radiator is degraded, hoses are likely bad/need to be replaced. If there’s a plastic thermostat housing, etc., assuming those pieces are degraded as well. If you have to replace the thermostat, assume the housing is bad so you have the parts for it.

If it already passed… What problem are we trying to solve here captain?

Why can’t you get new tags for this vehicle you own, and passed emissions/inspection, to get maximum value out the resale of the vehicle?

Keeping it charged is an issue, if you just leave it in the trunk for emergencies…

Just sitting in the trunk does not maintain the battery.

That’s the entire point…

If when you need it, it doesn’t “work”, because it doesn’t work like that, then that thing does not “work” for you, if your intention is to use it like that…

I’m assuming you are running the charge line to the DC:DC / Iso in parallel to the vehicle starting battery?

Dodge uses/used externally regulated alternators, controlled by the vehicle’s modules/computers. The starting battery is a primary signal of the vehicle field, to control the output of the alternator. Adding the aux bank in parallel doubles the battery resistance/state of charge demand signals. Add in additional variables such as lights and HVAC, and the vehicle field sense can “cycle” up down like that, as it would to equalize the starting battery, if it were discharged.

Even if the alt max output is doubled, the vehicle itself is still based on that 100A alternator. Alternators are designed to only output up to about 60-70% of their max, for the specific vehicle. So that 200A alt is still “limited” by that vehicle system, only designed for maybe 60-70A constant current, for a few minutes at a time. So if you add up to 40A of draw from the DC:DC, the vehicle senses that load is over what the vehicle system is rated for. So it cycles the amperage down to reduce heat, then back up to equalize, relying on the starting battery as the uninterrupted power supply in the system.

In short, the vehicle doesn’t know that it has this auxiliary battery system.

How that system “talks to” the vehicle is another variable. Assuming Lithium with a full charge / no float duty cycle, that’s the draw the DC:DC charger is going to put on the system. Which, the vehicle’s lead acid system isn’t designed for. Dodge (and/or Bosch) systems in particular, which tend towards higher amperage/lower voltage can be difficult when adding to the stock systems.

How old is the starting battery?

Are you using the vehicle chassis as common ground for the house/aux system?

What aux battery type/size?

What gauge cable to the DC:DC, and are you running any breakers/fuses (of what amperage) in that line?

What’s the total mileage on the vehicle?

How many alignment checks since new, at what intervals? (Every LOF?)

If all the lights worked before replacing them all, then connections would be the first thing to check.

Don’t go to a parts store for diagnosis.

Do you have an actual battery / electrical shop in your area?

Get at least two more quotes.

What state/province do you live in / what are the emissions/inspection laws for registration/plates?

If you don’t keep whatever jump pack charged, it’s not going to work.

Does the unit have a 12V charge port? Do you have an auxiliary 12V port that is only powered with the key you could leave it plugged into?

If so, it’s essentially a “plug in” aux bank. If not, then it’s a tool that you have to keep charged outside of the vehicle, and take with you anytime you think you might need it. Which, isn’t practical, in comparison to a good set of 4 AWG, extended clamp, 16’ (or more) cables you can just keep in the vehicle.