Anyone know where to find a rack and pinion?

[Jeepwalker]

It's been known (by other users) that the compartment can fill partially up with water. Probably entering from the sides of the rack. Even though the board is usually covered (protected) with a plastic coating (which this one doesn't seem to be very thick)... plastic coatings aren't 100% and water could still damage where pinholes exist, or where there wasn't full coverage. Which is why I suggested right away to look at the circuit board.

Most electronic failures are bad solder joints, dried or popped electrolytic capacitors, or another physical issue. Component failure makes up a low percentage of electronic failures.

Electronic failures are well-established:
If you look at the first chart below, Circuit board/Capacitors & solder joints & connectors (all easily testable and usually detectible by eye), make up almost 3/4 of electronic failure points.


The second chart on the Rt. shows why it's probably a terrible idea to put a circuit board down on the rack in a tightly enclosed housing. Heat/cool cycles in a tightly covered housing. Temperature/Vibration & Humidity which could all be present represent the bulk of normal electronic failures. Have mercy on the Ram owners who make frequent water crossings!!

You can google this. That's why NASA and the military rigorously test various hardware before putting it to use. If it can survive shock and keep the temp the same (hopefully not high), and keep moisture out, you can eliminate a lot of common failures. And use high quality capacitors (they also dry out and overheat in high temps ...so don't overheat!)

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[Jeepwalker]

And really when you look at the first chart above, Bad Solder Joints, Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), and Capacitor ...all have to do with a 'valid' electrical path the other components receive.

Along with that ...and even before those, factor in: electrical connectors and grounds (to the boards/device). Which is why the very first thing at the top of about any factory electrical trouble-shooting tree is "Check all associated connectors & grounds". Just some troubleshooting tips to keep in mind.

...which the OP did a great job checking right away (Kudos!). Of course the circuit board is just one part of the EPS puzzle.
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[Yardbird]

I've been thinking about the water intrusion. Unless a boot is loose or torn/cut, water seems unlikely to come on there.

The cover seals and screws are suspect, as are the heat/cool cycles.

What is causing this? Driving through heavy rain? Going through automatic car washes that have undercarriage wash?

What years are mostly affected? Is my 2018 prone to this also?

This should be a recall item, or at least a 150k+ mile warranty item.

Maybe if everyone that has had their steering fail would report it to NHTSA something would be done about this dangerous and expensive problem.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Short answer is IDK... I'm speculating based on sound fundamentals of electronics and hydraulics. It tracks with what information is out there. A couple forum members over the last few yrs have removed the cover and a whole bunch of water came out. I remember one guy indicated they determines water was intruding via the drivers-side of the rack. One guy indicated there was a water line that was about half way up. And a forum member a year or two ago who indicated if he heated the housing with a heat gun in the winter, the P/S would work again. That to me indicates probably a flaky solder joint that would "make" when it was heated up and the circuit board 'expanded'. Circuit boards and solder joints don't like dramatically heating and cooling.

I suspect another possibility that could allow water inside "could" be built-up condensation. Numerous heat/cool cycles off the board during humid times. Sort of like a double-pane window that's lost is seal will *pump* humidity inside itself from the daily heat/cool cycles *breathing effect*. Esp in the winter if some sun gets on it and creates more heat and cools down a lot. They'll actually get a lot of condensation between the glass. Maybe you've noticed it. That's just speculation.

But think about it, if a guy lived in, say, the northern half of the USA and drove regularly and over the course of the day there were 5 cycles where the compartment and the circuit board would heat and cool, heat and cool. 5 x 365 x 7(yrs) = 12,775 possible heat/cool cycles. Solder joint which are weak could turn 'cold' or crack pretty easily. OTOH, it gives Chrysler the opportunity to see the problem and make corrections too.

There are also, fuses, relays, connectors to the Rack, wiring to the motor, the motor itself, perhaps a sensor or two(??), the belt, seals, and of course the hydraulic pump. Those are other points where something could go wrong.

The "word" based on what "seems" to be the case is after 2017, failures don't seem to be great ....yet. Seems there were some changes around that time. As reported by other forum members who've gleaned info from various mechanics as they were installing a new rack in their truck.

I wish I had one to dig into. My tk's a 2012, last yr for hydraulic steering (1500). Obviously there is a lot of speculation on my part above but it's all based on sound fundamentals and parallels with what others are finding and numerous electronic problems/repairs I've made on automotive components in the past. Pretty soon, hopefully, there will be reliable videos where crafty people nail the problems to a few common critical failures which we can all benefit from.

 

[Jeepwalker]

An ESR Tester like THIS is almost an indespensible electronic tool for not a lot of $$. If guys want to get into basic electronic repair, or even home/automotive circuit board troubleshooting, it's a must-have. Ditch the aligator clips on the ebay one linked above and get some longer quality leads with sharp tips. I have the old-school famous Di¢k Smith Capacitor ESR meter from way back when. "On-board testing" is the key. I've repaired so many things with it. One of the best tools I've ever bought. Now there's a lot of inexpensive asian testers. THESE work too, do more, clumsy to use, but have their place. There are some really cool testing devices out now. And a million ESR /circuit testing videos worth watching. Just a few suggestions....

That and a regular (decent) VOM meter and good eyes & smell, a guy can do a lot. As you see from the charts above, it's usually not individual electronic components (besides capacitors) which fail.

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[Hemi395]

So wait, the electric racks have a hydraulic pump? I thought it was just a motor with a belt?

Honestly I would take a power steering leak or two over this...

 

[Jeepwalker]

[Edit] No pump --threaded rod. I mis-spoke ..my apologies.

One reason for the move to electric is to have crash avoidance and lane-keep ...and self-driving features. Not things I particularly want, but I guess some people must. Last car I drove (for a couple weeks), Audi A6, would almost put ya in the ditch if you made the simple maneuver of swerving to avoid a dead animal in the road. This was a brand new loaded A6 in 2021. Literally the car would try to muscle the wheel from your hands and you ended up over-correcting A LOT to muscle it to make certain avoidance corrections. Honestly, it was stupid. Certain other drivers I bet would end up freaking out and possibly get into a accident for no reason. VWs system needs a lot of work IMO. I drove a Toyota last year which wasn't very aggressive.

But that's the reason for "progress".

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[Nodnarb]

I don’t believe there is any hydraulic pump or fluid at all. It is a motor that turns a belt that drives a screw back and forth. When I took my cover off, there was no noticeable moisture inside and it had been hot and rainless here in Texas for the prior 3 weeks to failure, which makes it more odd. I did frequent car washes with undercarriage wash, but I don’t see how that would be a problem especially with how sealed they had that cover. I had to pry very hard to get that cover off with the adhesive. I still have it the old one sitting around for a recall if anyone wants me to post more pics or take multimeter measurements of different things inside.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Honestly I would take a power steering leak or two over this...

Still havent had any issues with my PS rack on MY12 . My lines are just now starting to sweat, and I wont be changing them until they actually leak since my truck is a certified Sh!tBox.

I never understood why the auto industry would take something as simple as a steering rack and **** it all up with ******** electronics.

 

[Jeepwalker]

You're right ...no pump. My apologies. I did some more investigating into them tonight.

One other advantage I can think of, the EPS is a modular unit. From a factory install perspective, it's only 2 bolts to install, one guy. Just two bolts and steering shaft. Snap the connector on ...DONE! No hoses, no pump, no fluid to install or leaks to check during the inspection phase. The factory probably put 2 union guys on the bench by going with a modular steering unit. And reduced several items that needed to be inventoried/warehoused & kept track of. Every little bit helps to keep initial costs down.

Hopefully they'll nail the reliability so they can last 200k mi+ ..or maybe they have already.

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[DILLIGAF]

Hopefully they'll nail the reliability

Dodge cant build engines that dont tick after all these years... Don't hold your breath

 

[seahawkdodge]

I finally got one on order. Parts geek had one pop up as in stock (one available).

You can't order the Rack and Pinion from any parts house (Napa, Advance, O'Reilly's), and all the local dealers that showed one in inventory didn't actually have one.
I even called Ram Cares, which was a waste of time.

I have spent less money on junkyard engines and transmissions than I did on this steering rack. Hell, I have bought plenty of running and driving vehicles for less than this part.

 

[Hemi395]

How hard would it be to convert a 2013+ to hydraulic power steering? Besides buying the pump, lines and rack I mean...

 

[seahawkdodge]

How hard would it be to convert a 2013+ to hydraulic power steering? Besides buying the pump, lines and rack I mean...

Honestly, I am not sure. I would need all of that, plus the serpentine belt system would have to be adapted. And then there would be the Canbus errors and the power steering warning.

 

[Hemi395]

Honestly, I am not sure. I would need all of that, plus the serpentine belt system would have to be adapted. And then there would be the Canbus errors and the power steering warning.

Yeah the mechanical parts wouldn't be too bad, all you would need is pre 2013 belt/rack/lines/pump.

Yeah the canbus situation is what I think would be the issue. You might be able to do something with alfaobd to make it think the bcm is a 2500/3500 with hydraulic powersteering...

 

[seahawkdodge]

The awesomeness continues. I ordered the part 11/7, it was shown as "label created" 11/8 at 9am, on FedEx's website. It still shows not received by FedEx, as of today. I contacted Partsgeek, now I get to wait 7-14 days for FedEx to investigate.

 

[Jeepwalker]

The word from some Forum members who've talked to service and parts guys ...seems to be the latest revision Mopar EPS is more stable than the early units. Only time will tell.

But even so, just by nature, there are more parts, a motor, sensors, a control module, all down low, which are potentially subject to moisture, heat, cold, shock and so on. Go deep muddin' or water crossing with an EPS unit and who knows what'll happen?

Hope your replacement EPS ships soon!!

 

[seahawkdodge]

I finally received it yesterday. Holes in both ends of the box and both tie rod ends had minor damage to the thread ends. No caps or anything to keep them from poking through. Hopefully I can clean up the threads with a tap.
But at least it showed up.

 

[PoMansRam]

It's amazing to me that this EPS shortage has been going on for something like 6yrs. I first read of this situation in the pre-COVID days. The factories were somehow able to keep pumping out Ram 1500 classics, yet spare EPS racks are non-existent.

Last I researched it, the part was interchangeable for 2013-2020+ Ram 1500 classics.

Rock auto used to offer a return for rebuild or replacement service. Apparently that's gone now.

This system has been in rams for 11yrs now and countless units are on the road. This is going to be real problem. You're not going to find a general repair shop that will be willing to open one up to troubleshoot. They just want to swap parts. There are shops that fix instrument clusters, ECMs, BCMs, etc all day long. Hopefully one of them will pick up these EPSs soon as well.

FWIW, I'm kind of glad my 2022 Nissan Frontier has old school hydraulic rack and pinion steering.

 

[DILLIGAF]

edit, im a retard