Freightliner Steering: Gear Box (other Than Rack and Pinion)

Freightliner is recalling about 104 vehicles over a problem with the steering.

Campaign
81V001000
Manufacturer
FREIGHTLINER CORP.
Reported
2 December 1981
Vehicles
104
Built between
Jul 1980 – Dec 1980
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
22 July 1981
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between July 1980 and December 1980. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1980 Freightliner COEBuilt July 1980 to December 1980

What the defect is

An air brake hose fitting beneath the floor of the subject vehicles may rub against the rotating steering drive shaft, eventually causing the shaft to fracture. This condition could exist if a mechanic failed to orient the threaded 90 degree elbow fitting in the proper direction, or if the steering column was positioned incorrectly. Also, an improperly assembled bearing plate was installed on the steering drive shaft. This could cause the slip shaft to bottom out, resulting in damage to the steering yoke connection or to the internal parts of the gear box.

What gets fixed

THE DECK BEARING PLATE WILL BE REPLACED, A SLEEVE SPACER WILL BE ADDED TO THE STEERING SHAFT UNDER THE FLOOR AND TWO PARTS WILL BE ADDED TO THE STEERING COLUMN ATTACHMENT. THIS WILL BE DONE WITHOUT CHARGE TO THE OWNER.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJuly 1980 to December 1980
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA2 December 1981
  3. Owners notified22 July 1981

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 2 December 1981.

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
FREIGHTLINER CORP.
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, cab-over-engine models equipped with anintegral power steering system.system: steering; steering column shaft.consequences of defect: either defect may result in loss of steering control,without warning, and a vehicle 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.

Same component

Same brand