2001 PT power steering repair - ANOTHER CHRYSLER RIP OFF!

Assuming that your failure is a fluke, why not just go with a junk yard cooler. That way, without having to do the lines and reservoir otherwise required due to the factory upgrade, it may be a fairly simple swap of the cooler itself.

I have no problem with avoiding using junk yard parts for certain things, but if it will save you $500 (the other route is $500+, a junk yard cooler is probably less than the "+" amount) and cost you a little time, why not go that route in this case?

Or do you suspect that all the coolers you might find in a junk yard are likely to develop a leak (and if so, what do you base that on)? I mean $500 is $500 (if my math is right and the identity law still holds) - even if you had to pay a local shop $100 to do the swap for you, you still will have saved $400.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Get another opinion. The cooler comes with both rubber hoses on it, These are not pressure hoses just return and there should NOT be any extra labor to have it installed.

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

I thought of it being a fluke, but why would they come up with an upgrade because of a fluke? And the Chrysler dealer has the parts on back order. Would these be because they're making very few, or are they in great demand?

I don't know. Maybe Glenn can shed some light on that aspect.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

My brother in law's mechanic said that he has replaced (eliminated) the cooler with a piece of hose on GM vehicles with no resulting problems. Chrysler said that would cause the bearings/pump to burn out. What do you think?

I can't believe that in this day and age of maximizing profits that any manufacturer would design/use an unnecessary component, in this case the PS cooler.

I would not be taking my vehicle to your B-I-L's mechanic. Sounds to me like he has shortened the life of the PS pump and/or the PS rack.

Bob

My brother in law's mechanic said that he has replaced (eliminated) the cooler with a piece of hose on GM vehicles with no resulting problems. Chrysler said that would cause the bearings/pump to burn out. What do you think?

You don't want to get a used part from a junkyard but you do want to just remove and bypass with a piece of hose? Doesn't sound real logical to me.

Steve B.

Translation: the engineers who designed it felt that it was worth a substantial amount of money to include the cooler, because they foresaw a possibility that the system would overheat without it. Your BIL's mechanic hasn't seen that possibility arise on a different manufacturer's automobile (which may or may not use any or all of the same steering components).

I think you should weigh the relative costs of a cooler vs. any of the other parts that could fail without it plus being stranded in the middle of nowhere because that's where Murphy says it'll fail, multiply by a probability that you have no idea of, and make whatever decision you feel is appropriate. Feel lucky?

The only time I have had to replace a coo,ler on a PT was replaced due to a frontal accident. The cooler now comes with the rubber hoses on it, I do not know why they have done this, there doesnt seem to be a problem with the original cooler/hoses.

Glenn

-- Message posted using

I don't want to get a used one, pay to have it installed, and next month have it leak. I don't want to eliminate it with a hose because I don't want to decrease the amount of fluid the system will hold. All I wanted to do was to get an OE cooler or if Chrysler wants to upgrade it, have them foot the bill.

Of course not- look at the subject line!

Logic's not high on this guy's agenda or he'd have just walked out the dealer's door when they tried to rip him off. He wants to make this about Chrysler, not about a shady dealer.

You're telling me that there IS NO UPGRADE, that the OE cooler is available, and that the dealer is making up the "Upgrade" just to sell me more parts and labor??

What there seems to actually be isn't an "upgrade," its a supercession to a part that is common to later production PTs as well as older ones, but apparently requires either modification or replacement of other parts in older PTs. Yes, it can be annoying to have to retrofit a part that isn't quite identical to the original, but every manufacturer does it... all the time. Often starting the very next year (or later the same year! that your car is built. Yours is 7 years old, so its absolutely NO surprise that its got parts that are only available in superceded forms. That's one reason I avoid dealers like the plague and either do my own work (99.99% of the time) or go to an independent shop.

There doesn't seem to be any chronic problem with PT ps coolers because I've NEVER read of any other cooler failure on the newsgroups, so getting a junkyard cooler is a very wise decision IMO. Supercession can mean change of design for ANY reason, including making it cheaper to produce. What I can't believe is that you HAVE to spend that much money to get a working PS system. Even if you are utterly and irrationally opposed to using salvaged parts, any competent mechanic can cut and splice low-pressure power steering return hoses, or as others have suggested you could always put in a very small aftermarket transmission cooler instead of a factory part.