2001 PT power steering repair - ANOTHER CHRYSLER RIP OFF!

My 2001 PT developed a power steering leak. I took it to the shop.
They said it was the PS fluid cooler. BUT, Chrysler did an upgrade,
you just can't replace the cooler. You have to replace the hydraulic
lines and the resovoir. They said to check with a dealer, maybe
there's a recall or a hidden warranty that would cover the additional
parts and labor. So I did.
There is NO help from Chrysler. I have to do the whole repair, AND PAY
FOR IT! The cooler costs $97.75, but with it, the additional parts and
labor, it's a $500+ job.
I can't bypass the cooler, I don't want to buy a salvage cooler,
anyone have any ideas on how to repair this problem for a lower price?
By the way, you'll notice I had just posted a reply to a "ticking"
sound in a Cruiser. This was BEFORE I found out the cost of the power
steering leak repair.

 

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

 

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.