Mack Steering: Shaft Pitman

Mack is recalling about 1,515 vehicles over a problem with the steering.

Campaign
83V041000
Manufacturer
MACK TRUCKS, INCORPORATED
Reported
14 April 1983
Vehicles
1,515
Built between
Jan 1980 – Feb 1981
Models
4
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
24 October 1983
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between January 1980 and February 1981. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 1980-1981 Mack RWLBuilt January 1980 to February 1981
  • 1980-1981 Mack RWSBuilt January 1980 to February 1981
  • 1980-1981 Mack WLBuilt January 1980 to February 1981
  • 1980-1981 Mack WSBuilt January 1980 to February 1981

What the defect is

The pitman arm, a lever that transmits turning movements from the steering gear to the steering linkage, may loosen or break at its connection to the steering linkage. The failure can prevent turning attempts from having any effect. The defect is caused by incorrect assembly of the ball stud connection in the pitman arm.

What gets fixed

THE DEALER WILL INSTALL A NEW PITMAN ARM BALL ASSEMBLY AT NO CHARGE.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtJanuary 1980 to February 1981
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA14 April 1983
  3. Owners notified24 October 1983

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 14 April 1983.

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: heavy trucks.system: steering; pitman arm.consequences of defect: in the event of such a failure, loss of vehicle controlcould occur without prior warning and an accident could result.

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