2011 Dodge Durango Steering Rack Replacement w/o Engine Cradle Removal (V8 AWD) (Part 1 of 2)

This two-part repair video miniseries will cover the replacement of a leaking steering rack and pinion in a 2011 Dodge Durango Citadel equipped with the 5.7L V8 and all wheel drive (AWD). On this car the steering rack was leaking inside of one of the exterior boots so the leak was not immediately visible underneath. There is no good way to replace just the end seal so we will be replacing the entire steering rack.

Unfortunately, Dodge would normally have you remove the engine cradle (front subframe) and a whole lot of other parts to get the rack out. After looking at it I decided I wanted to give it a try by just removing the front differential instead of half of the entire front end. This video miniseries is a journal covering my experience with this process and is certainly not the best/fastest/most organized. But, hopefully there is enough information here about what does and does not work, what is and is not necessary, that this job will be much more approachable than it was when I first realized that it needed doing.

This video part covers an overview of the situation, finding replacement parts, and removing the steering rack from the vehicle. The next part will cover installing the new part and putting everything back together, followed by a DIY alignment.

Date of filming: June 4th, 2020

Song List (Order of First Appearance):
0:01 Everything You Wanted – Dan Lebowitz
5:03 Lazy Afternoon Sun – Dan Lebowitz
11:07 Take Your Time – Dan Lebowitz

(All music provided by YouTube's Audio Library royalty free.)

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