2013 Power steering rack failure and replacement

[loopless]

I had the power steering rack on my 2013 Outdoorsman 5.7 dump its hydraulic fluid guts on the driveway at 105K miles. As anyone unfortunate to know, knows, the racks are not user serviceable and new ( not remanufactured) ones list for $2500-$2600. Do the math on how much this cost me

I had the rack replaced by my local shop ( not the dealer) and I am finding the steering is weirdly sticky and inconsistent around the the straight ahead - very different to how it used to be. Hard to keep it on the straight and narrow on the freeway.
I will be going back to the shop but I "read on the internet" that it can take a bit of time for bubbles in the fluid to disappear and that this can cause issues for a few hundred miles.
I want to be forewarned before going back to the shop and declare the rack they got is defective. Anyone had real experience with replacement steering racks?

I see a lot of discussion here https://www.ramforum.com/threads/dreaded-eps-failure.219820/ that seems to apply to my year , I see EPS is the keyword!

 

[Ken226]

I had the power steering rack on my 2013 Outdoorsman 5.7 dump its hydraulic fluid guts on the driveway at 105K miles. As anyone unfortunate to know, knows, the racks are not user serviceable and new ( not remanufactured) ones list for $2500-$2600. Do the math on how much this cost me

I had the rack replaced by my local shop ( not the dealer) and I am finding the steering is weirdly sticky and inconsistent around the the straight ahead - very different to how it used to be. Hard to keep it on the straight and narrow on the freeway.
I will be going back to the shop but I "read on the internet" that it can take a bit of time for bubbles in the fluid to disappear and that this can cause issues for a few hundred miles.
I want to be forewarned before going back to the shop and declare the rack they got is defective. Anyone had real experience with replacement steering racks?

I see a lot of discussion here https://www.ramforum.com/threads/dreaded-eps-failure.219820/ that seems to apply to my year , I see EPS is the keyword!

EPS stands for Electronic Power Steering.

There are no bubbles because there is nothing for there to be bubbles in. It's electronic.

You got a bad rack. Have them replace it with a new, OEM Mopar unit, and use the part number that I recommended in the thread you linked above.

 

[loopless]

EPS stands for Electronic Power Steering.

There are no bubbles because there is nothing for there to be bubbles in. It's electronic.

You got a bad rack. Have them replace it with a new, OEM Mopar unit, and use the part number that I recommended in the thread you linked above.

Some confusion, mine for sure is hydraulic (HPS) . The dump of fluid on my driveway is proof
Part number confirmed by VIN is 68536637AB
Apparently in 2013 they used both EPS and HPS. According to ChatGPT they used HPS on ..

Most 4WD models

• Most 5.7L Hemi models
• Tradesman, SLT, Big Horn, Express, Outdoorsman

 

[Ken226]

Some confusion, mine for sure is hydraulic (HPS) . The dump of fluid on my driveway is proof
Part number confirmed by VIN is 68536637AB
Apparently in 2013 they used both EPS and HPS. According to ChatGPT they used HPS on ..

Most 4WD models

• Most 5.7L Hemi models
• Tradesman, SLT, Big Horn, Express, Outdoorsman

You should physically look. I wouldn't trust Chat GPT. Or, is your truck a 2500?

 

[Ken226]

When you crawl under to look, It'll be obvious.

The symptoms you describe are exactly the symptoms described by others who have tried aftermarket Dorman EPS racks.



Electronic




Hydraulic

 

[Wild one]

Some confusion, mine for sure is hydraulic (HPS) . The dump of fluid on my driveway is proof
Part number confirmed by VIN is 68536637AB
Apparently in 2013 they used both EPS and HPS. According to ChatGPT they used HPS on ..

Most 4WD models

• Most 5.7L Hemi models
• Tradesman, SLT, Big Horn, Express, Outdoorsman

If you're referring to a 1500,1500's in 2013 were electric as Ken stated

 

[loopless]

Ok, you are correct, ChatGPT was hallucinating. It's obviously an EPS rack. The lack of a power steering fluid reservoir was the clue

So does the EPS rack have any fluid inside it at all?
Because this was under my car and it appeared to be coming from the rack.
And after replacement everything is clean and no leaking fluids at all.





Can you tell if it is OEM from these photos

 

[GeauxinUp]

Wait...so, if you have an EPS system, what actually puked fluid all over the place? Was there anything actually wrong with your old steering?

 

[loopless]

I have a bad feeling about this... will report back. I may have been a victim of a repair shop scam.

 

[huntergreen]

Does that mean no issue with power steering before repair ?

 

[Ken226]

When I disassembled my EPS 2 years ago, it didn't have any oil in it. Just thick grease on the rack/pinion gears and the ball screw.

The oil filter is directly above the EPS rack. My EPS looks like it's leaking after every oil change just from what I spill removing the old filter.

 

[hunterdan]

I'd be curious if you need a steering angle reset. Could be seeing your steering angle is off and trying to fight you.

 

[GeauxinUp]

When I disassembled my EPS 2 years ago, it didn't have any oil in it. Just thick grease on the rack/pinion gears and the ball screw.

The oil filter is directly above the EPS rack. My EPS looks like it's leaking after every oil change just from what I spill removing the old filter.

I learned of the ziploc trick before my last earl change, and it definitely works!

 

[loopless]

Thanks for all the input. At this point I feel like a complete idiot. I have used this shop several times before, and was happy with their work.
So these are the facts
- My truck has an EPS system ( no power steering reservoir or pump in the engine compartment, so duh!)
- The "oil leak" was probably from the oil filter which as Ken226 points out is right above the rack

The shop must have seen me as an easy 'mark'

Get this, they charged me for "Power Steering Fluid" and "Power Steering Flush" as well as the new rack ( which I am betting was a non-OEM part) but they charged OEM prices.

I am going full legal on them.

 

[GeauxinUp]

Thanks for all the input. At this point I feel like a complete idiot. I have used this shop several times before, and was happy with their work.
So these are the facts
- My truck has an EPS system ( no power steering reservoir or pump in the engine compartment, so duh!)
- The "oil leak" was probably from the oil filter which as Ken226 points out is right above the rack

The shop must have seen me as an easy 'mark'

Get this, they charged me for "Power Steering Fluid" and "Power Steering Flush" as well as the new rack ( which I am betting was a non-OEM part) but they charged OEM prices.

I am going full legal on them.

What a bunch of fk-wads, I’d be livid and probably end up in jail if they didn’t fix this immediately. You have an invoice/receipt showing these charges?

 

[Ken226]

Ok, you are correct, ChatGPT was hallucinating. It's obviously an EPS rack. The lack of a power steering fluid reservoir was the clue

So does the EPS rack have any fluid inside it at all?
Because this was under my car and it appeared to be coming from the rack.
And after replacement everything is clean and no leaking fluids at all.


View attachment 576947


Can you tell if it is OEM from these photos


View attachment 576948View attachment 576950View attachment 576949

An OEM Mopar EPS rack will have a barcode decal and a casted in logo on the backside, between the rack and the trucks frame. You'll probably have to crawl under and look up between the rack and frame to see them:





If the unit they installed is a remanufactured unit, it would probably have the Mopar logo, but would be lacking the QR code decal.

 

[Ken226]

Also, the an OEM rack doesn't seem to have the little double screw set behind the bottom most motor access plate bolt:

Yours:




OEM




Maybe you'll get lucky and they havn't tossed your old one yet.

 

[loopless]

What a bunch of fk-wads, I’d be livid and probably end up in jail if they didn’t fix this immediately. You have an invoice/receipt showing these charges?

Oh yeah, I wonder how they stuffed that that power steering fluid into the EPS rack…

 

[loopless]

Also, the an OEM rack doesn't seem to have the little double screw set behind the bottom most motor access plate bolt:

Yours:

View attachment 576976


OEM

View attachment 576975


Maybe you'll get lucky and they havn't tossed your old one yet.

Thanks for the picture, no QR code. And it has that look of a remanufactured unit with a resprayed coating.

 

[Ken226]

View attachment 576977
Oh yeah, I wonder how they stuffed that that power steering fluid into the EPS rack…

@huntergreen asked earlier, and I must have missed it if you answered, but

were there any steering related symptoms prior to them swapping in the "new" EPS unit? Did they change it solely because of the apparent leak?

Does that mean that there's a dumpster out behind some shady-ass auto shop somewhere with a perfectly good 2000$ EPS rack in it?