EPS Conversion?

[Richard Hodgins]

I think the basic consensus is it would cost less to sell your sled and buy new than to try a retrofit yours. Other option is gse electric ps or bop manual ps.

To me its the complete opposite! A new EPS sled is now $27k canadian. When the first EPS sled came out in 2022, it was $21k plus tax. By my calculations, that's about $10k difference to having an older sled and then upgrading to EPS. The cost for a factory EPS is roughly the same as the GSE kit. I have the BOP manual and its not really comparable to the factory EPS.

I did buy an EPS sled and now want to sell it and upgrade my older sled to EPS (I dont like the newer style spindles on 2020 and up).

 

[fxnytrortxkid]

To me its the complete opposite! A new EPS sled is now $27k canadian. When the first EPS sled came out in 2022, it was $21k plus tax. By my calculations, that's about $10k difference to having an older sled and then upgrading to EPS. The cost for a factory EPS is roughly the same as the GSE kit. I have the BOP manual and its not really comparable to the factory EPS.

I did buy an EPS sled and now want to sell it and upgrade my older sled to EPS (I dont like the newer style spindles on 2020 and up).

Huh, well I wish I had the new spindle as I love the geometry change and how much better it handles the bumps and how much it helps the rear skid. I don’t like how narrow upper arm is for clearance on shock tho.

 

[Tcat100]

To me its the complete opposite! A new EPS sled is now $27k canadian. When the first EPS sled came out in 2022, it was $21k plus tax. By my calculations, that's about $10k difference to having an older sled and then upgrading to EPS. The cost for a factory EPS is roughly the same as the GSE kit. I have the BOP manual and its not really comparable to the factory EPS.

I did buy an EPS sled and now want to sell it and upgrade my older sled to EPS (I dont like the newer style spindles on 2020 and up).

I think it's a mute point as the parts seem to be unavailable

 

[Tcat100]

Ok I think I am doing an about face on this. My earlier understanding about the ECU and Gauge came from the factory through my dealer. Obviously they probably don't want people to succeed here! I won't know for sure until I test in snow, but I think you can do a conversion on the older sleds. I just installed factory power steering on my 2019.

Needed all the physical parts (EPS motor, steering shaft, mounting plate and bracket, nuts and bolts, and steering arm, plastic steering shaft stopper and lower shaft support , plus the *wire harness*. A window opened up a couple of months ago when these parts came off of backorder, but now they are back on backorder. It looks like you do not need an ECU or gauge.

Now let's talk about the wire harness. If you look at the wire harness diagram (available on country cat but hard to read), you'll see that aside from power to power the unit, the EPS unit has another circuit that connects to the ECU. However, if you look closely, it is essentially the pins that feed the diagnostic port. So I think that the basic speed information is there, and the EPS unit just reads it. I ended up ordering a 22 wire harness, but if I had more time and with what I now know, I'd look for the connectors and build my own standalone harness. As it turns out, I had to modify the 22 harness to work on my 19, not for the EPS part, but for the push button start that my 19 doesn't have.

Anyways, got it all done this past weekend. No codes, power steering works in the garage and am very excited about trying it out. As some here know I had the GSE kit (which I liked but had to modify to get it to work how I wanted - details elsewhere), but the factory system offers no compromises. One last thing, it's a real bitch getting it in there, and you need to be quite mechanically proficient (small hands help too) to get it done. Need to mark and drill 3 mounting holes in the factory tub which I had the benefit of having my 22 as a guide. Also, the splines are super tight, especially the last 1/4" when the shaft plunges past the end of the crimping slot. Anyone trying this should understand you will have trouble getting the parts (most on backorder right now), and you'll need to place those holes correctly which is tough to just mark from the inside (no room).

I'll report back after the first snow.

 

[Richard Hodgins]

Ok I think I am doing an about face on this. My earlier understanding about the ECU and Gauge came from the factory through my dealer. Obviously they probably don't want people to succeed here! I won't know for sure until I test in snow, but I think you can do a conversion on the older sleds. I just installed factory power steering on my 2019.

Needed all the physical parts (EPS motor, steering shaft, mounting plate and bracket, nuts and bolts, and steering arm, plastic steering shaft stopper and lower shaft support , plus the *wire harness*. A window opened up a couple of months ago when these parts came off of backorder, but now they are back on backorder. It looks like you do not need an ECU or gauge.

Now let's talk about the wire harness. If you look at the wire harness diagram (available on country cat but hard to read), you'll see that aside from power to power the unit, the EPS unit has another circuit that connects to the ECU. However, if you look closely, it is essentially the pins that feed the diagnostic port. So I think that the basic speed information is there, and the EPS unit just reads it. I ended up ordering a 22 wire harness, but if I had more time and with what I now know, I'd look for the connectors and build my own standalone harness. As it turns out, I had to modify the 22 harness to work on my 19, not for the EPS part, but for the push button start that my 19 doesn't have.

Anyways, got it all done this past weekend. No codes, power steering works in the garage and am very excited about trying it out. As some here know I had the GSE kit (which I liked but had to modify to get it to work how I wanted - details elsewhere), but the factory system offers no compromises. One last thing, it's a real bitch getting it in there, and you need to be quite mechanically proficient (small hands help too) to get it done. Need to mark and drill 3 mounting holes in the factory tub which I had the benefit of having my 22 as a guide. Also, the splines are super tight, especially the last 1/4" when the shaft plunges past the end of the crimping slot. Anyone trying this should understand you will have trouble getting the parts (most on backorder right now), and you'll need to place those holes correctly which is tough to just mark from the inside (no room).

I'll report back after the first snow.

Bingo! Very excited to hear you did this, that was my thoughts exactly when looking at wiring diagrams (ECU and Gauge not needed to make it work).
I ordered all these parts as well about 2 mths ago, but all on back-order for end of Nov....but happy to hear that it works as factory. I'm not in a rush for this mod so will just be patient when they come in. Right now there is no ETA on the steering columns/shafts needed which isnt promising.

 

[Tcat100]

Bingo! Very excited to hear you did this, that was my thoughts exactly when looking at wiring diagrams (ECU and Gauge not needed to make it work).
I ordered all these parts as well about 2 mths ago, but all on back-order for end of Nov....but happy to hear that it works as factory. I'm not in a rush for this mod so will just be patient when they come in. Right now there is no ETA on the steering columns/shafts needed which isnt promising.

Like I said, I won't know for sure it works as factory until I test at speed. However, it's looking promising! I have a ton of mods done on my 19 including header, exhaust, 300 tune, TAPP, STM secondary, 21 spindles, arms, rails, 1" hacksaw, renewed plastics and graphics, etc so I hated to start over on all that stuff on a newer platform.

 

[21GT]

Like I said, I won't know for sure it works as factory until I test at speed. However, it's looking promising! I have a ton of mods done on my 19 including header, exhaust, 300 tune, TAPP, STM secondary, 21 spindles, arms, rails, 1" hacksaw, renewed plastics and graphics, etc so I hated to start over on all that stuff on a newer platform.

I'm about to purchase the GSE kit. Was there anything you didint like about it when you had it? And do you think the OEM setup you just installed will be better and why?

 

[Tcat100]

You can search here and on hardcore for my previous posts on the positives and negatives of the GSE kit

 

[21GT]

You can search here and on hardcore for my previous posts on the positives and negatives of the GSE kit

Will do thanks

 

[STAIN]

I think the GSE kit may have been changed a bit to address some of these concerns. Did you have an early kit?
What was the final dollar amount to do the factory upgrade?

 

[earthling]

Like I said, I won't know for sure it works as factory until I test at speed. However, it's looking promising! I have a ton of mods done on my 19 including header, exhaust, 300 tune, TAPP, STM secondary, 21 spindles, arms, rails, 1" hacksaw, renewed plastics and graphics, etc so I hated to start over on all that stuff on a newer platform.

If its working in the garage, at speed it is only going to reduce how much assistance it provides. All of the data required is on the Can Bus (diagnostics) so I think you have a very high chance of everything working properly.

 

[YamaSpark]

I wonder if the factory EPS for the SW would fit in a Viper.
I have a feeling that the huge intake silencer box would get in the way.....

 

[21GT]

I think the GSE kit may have been changed a bit to address some of these concerns. Did you have an early kit?
What was the final dollar amount to do the factory upgrade?

I'm just trying to figure out if I should go the GSE route or piece together the OEM setup.

 

[Richard Hodgins]

I'm just trying to figure out if I should go the GSE route or piece together the OEM setup.

The original GSE kit did have some unwanted 'play' in the steering, although that may have been fixed. The other thing with the GSE kit is that it's always active and always assisting, whereas the factory unit decreases assist with speed - hence the need to get data via the ECU. This can be good or bad depending on your wants/needs. After about 40-50 mph, there is no assist from the factory unit at all.

 

[earthling]

I would add that the oem setup will have much more perceived value from any prospective buyer, and that it should also be lighter. If the canbus works for adjusting to speed it should also work for reporting errors as the gauge is just a dumb display for canbus messages.

We are all looking at you @Richard Hodgins to share the drill template for those wanting to take this on in the future.