Horrible steering rack Grind

[fadetoblack188]

So the steering rack is grinding horribly when turning left. really grinding... a new rack is 2500.. i dont feel like paying that

i am find it impossible to find a remanufactured one.

Question has anyone rebuilt these? do they make kits to rebuild them? i cant find much info on it. that i can just rebuild mine myself.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Do youtube searches for EPS. There are quite a few videos...not all Ram-specific which can be helpful. I would start with Ram-specific searches, and then widen the search out to just 'Electronic (or also eclectric) Power Steering' because other EPS system may have a lot of similarities. There are several possible things to look at, and some things you might be able to do if you are real handy. If it were mind I'd definitely pull it apart before I spent 2500. But that's me:

1) Fuses up by the + batt post
2) Fraying or slipping/broken motor belt (inside the EPS) which needs replacing (Pass side of rack)
3) Sensor issues internal to the rack not reading properly
4) Could be a failing or bad motor bearing/bushing.
5) Control modules can get flooded with water (may not be your current issue).

Not all of those would be your issues, but that's kind of what they distill down to. Best of luck. Let us know what you find

 

[fadetoblack188]

Do youtube searches for EPS. There are quite a few videos...not all Ram-specific which can be helpful. I would start with Ram-specific searches, and then widen the search out to just 'Electronic (or also eclectric) Power Steering' because other EPS system may have a lot of similarities. There are several possible things to look at, and some things you might be able to do if you are real handy. If it were mind I'd definitely pull it apart before I spent 2500. But that's me:

1) Fuses up by the + batt post
2) Fraying or slipping/broken motor belt (inside the EPS) which needs replacing (Pass side of rack)
3) Sensor issues internal to the rack not reading properly
4) Could be a failing or bad motor bearing/bushing.
5) Control modules can get flooded with water (may not be your current issue).

Not all of those would be your issues, but that's kind of what they distill down to. Best of luck. Let us know what you find

it sounds like the gears inside the rack are grinding horribly. dont think its electrical problem

 

[fadetoblack188]

i have a feelings its number 4

 

[Jeepwalker]

Obviously impossible to tell till a person takes it apart.
Could be some broken belt piece in the screw. The motor inside might be able to be cracked open & serviced as well (if that was what the issue was). Be interesting to see what it is.

 

[Ken226]

Mine was doing that. I removed it and took it apart, and found that the right side rubber boot had torn, allowing water in.

The ballnut carrier bearings and motor bearings were all rusted up and shot. I was going to try and rebuild it, but unfortunately pretty much EVERYthing inside is pressed together, and either made of plastic or soft aluminum. I couldn't get it apart without destroying the torsion sensor (pressed in, plastic and electronics) and motor (also pressed it, with a pressed on pulley, that is inaccessible, inside a casting.) to successfully rebuild it would have required a big press and some jigs/fixtures and pullers, that would have cost more to fabricate than the 2 grand needed to buy another rack. (In my opinion).

But, I found a new rack from MoparPartsGiant. It took about a week to arrive, and an hour to install. I got the new rack installed last week. Part# 68628858AA is advertised to fit 2013-2018 and 2019+ ram classics. It's working great so far iny 2013 sport

 

[fadetoblack188]

Mine was doing that. I removed it and took it apart, and found that the right side rubber boot had torn, allowing water in.

The ballnut carrier bearings and motor bearings were all rusted up and shot. I was going to try and rebuild it, but unfortunately pretty much EVERYthing inside is pressed together, and either made of plastic or soft aluminum. I couldn't get it apart without destroying the torsion sensor (pressed in, plastic and electronics) and motor (also pressed it, with a pressed on pulley, that is inaccessible, inside a casting.) to successfully rebuild it would have required a big press and some jigs/fixtures and pullers, that would have cost more to fabricate than the 2 grand needed to buy another rack. (In my opinion).

But, I found a new rack from MoparPartsGiant. It took about a week to arrive, and an hour to install. I got the new rack installed last week. Part# 68628858AA is advertised to fit 2013-2018 and 2019+ ram classics. It's working great so far iny 2013 sport

yeah i wasnt lookng to spend the 2500... i just rebuilt the top half of motor was lookng to save some money. i see summit sells a VEGE rack for 1200 i might try... or just get a used rack out of a junk car.

 

[Ken226]

yeah i wasnt lookng to spend the 2500... i just rebuilt the top half of motor was lookng to save some money. i see summit sells a VEGE rack for 1200 i might try... or just get a used rack out of a junk car.

Yea, spending a couple grand wasn't at the top of my bucket list either. I mostly did it out of a desire to no be walking to work.


I spent the better part of 2 days scouring the internet for a remanufactured unit, but pretty much everything was "out of stock", nationwide. O'Reilly's and Auto Zone both list one on their website, but it says "call store to order".

When I called, they laughed and said "good luck".

Of course, you can probably find a used one on eBay, but that has its own risks.


Apparently it's an issue with Ford's too. The guy that did my alignment after I installed the rack, pointed at an F150 in the shop parking lot and said "that trucks been there for 6 months waiting on one".

 

[Jeepwalker]

Just speculating ....Chrysler *could* be buying the rack from a parts supplier, like Borg Warner or another company ...could be made to Chrysler's specs.

 

[fadetoblack188]

Got one from a truck with 56k miles on it. 1200 bucks

I throw it in on my day off