International Harvester Steering: Tie Rod Assembly

International Harvester is recalling about 6,700 vehicles over a problem with the steering.

Campaign
81V041000
Manufacturer
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER
Reported
25 March 1981
Vehicles
6,700
Built between
Sep 1979 – Oct 1980
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
20 April 1981
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between September 1979 and October 1980. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1980-1981 International Harvester S1700Built September 1979 to October 1980
  • 1980-1981 International Harvester S1800Built September 1979 to October 1980
  • 1980-1981 International Harvester S1900Built September 1979 to October 1980

What the defect is

The nut that fastens the tapered tie rod ends to the steering arms may not have been sufficiently tightened on certain vehicles. The nut could loosen and eventually come off, causing the tie rod to disengage from the steering arm. The nut may come off despite the installation of locking cotter pins.

What gets fixed

THE NUT WILL BE SECURELY FASTENED AT NO CHARGE.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtSeptember 1979 to October 1980
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA25 March 1981
  3. Owners notified20 April 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 25 March 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
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: medium and heavy trucks and tractor trailers; busesequipped with ih 9,000 lb., 10,800 lb., or 12,000 lb. Front axles.system: steering; tie rod end attaching nut.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.

Same component

Same brand