- Vehicles
- 19,500
- Built between
- Aug 1979 – Aug 1980
- Models
- 3
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 12 December 1980
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between August 1979 and August 1980. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1979-1980 International Harvester Paystar SeriesBuilt August 1979 to August 1980
- 1979-1980 International Harvester S SeriesBuilt August 1979 to August 1980
- 1979-1980 International Harvester Transtar SeriesBuilt August 1979 to August 1980
What the defect is
The nuts which fasten the tie rod ends to the steering arms may not have been tightened to the specified 150 ft-lb torque. Insufficiently tightened tie rod end nuts could loosen, break off the locking cotter pin, and allow the tie rod to disengage from the steering arm.
What gets fixed
THE DEALER WILL REMOVE THE LOCKING COTTER PIN, TIGHTEN THE NUT TO 150 FT-LBS AND REINSTALL THE COTTER PIN. BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT TIE ROD ENDS WILL BE TIGHTENED. THIS WILL BE DONE AT NO CHARGE.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtAugust 1979 to August 1980
- Recall reported to NHTSA17 November 1980
- Owners notified12 December 1980
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 17 November 1980.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Vehicle description: heavy trucks.system: steering; tie rod end to steering arm nuts.consequences of defect: this could cause loss of vehicle control, without priorwarning, and an accident.
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.