Mack Steering: Linkages

Mack is recalling about 100 vehicles over a problem with the steering.

Campaign
81V086000
Manufacturer
MACK TRUCKS, INCORPORATED
Reported
8 July 1981
Vehicles
100
Built between
Jan 1981 – Jun 1981
Models
4
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
4 May 1984
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 1981 and June 1981. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1981 Mack R600Built January 1981 to June 1981
  • 1981 Mack R700Built January 1981 to June 1981
  • 1981 Mack RD400Built January 1981 to June 1981
  • 1981 Mack RD600Built January 1981 to June 1981

What the defect is

The involved trucks have pitman arms with timing marks and serrations located 8 degrees out of proper alignment. When the chassis is raised to the maximum condition with the wheels suspended or dropped into a deep hole, the pitman arm and drag link can go into toggle position.

What gets fixed

UPON INSPECTION, ALL DEFECTIVE PITMAN ARMS WILL BE REPLACED WITH PROPERLY TIMED ARMS.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 1981 to June 1981
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA8 July 1981
  3. Owners notified4 May 1984

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 8 July 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
MACK TRUCKS, INCORPORATED
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: trucks equipped with left hand steering and 9QC3239-P3PITMAN arm.system: steering; steering gear lever (pitman arm).consequences of defect: under these conditions the steering would lock,resulting in loss of vehicle control and, possibly, 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