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NHTSA Campaign 03V380000

STEERING:LINKAGES:TIE ROD ASSEMBLY

Issued by PIERCE MANUFACTURING · Reported Oct 8, 2003 · 202 vehicles affected

What's wrong

ON CERTAIN FIRE TRUCKS WITH TANDEM STEER AXLES. THE TRW TIE-ROD ON THE REAR-MOST AXLE OF A TANDEM AXLE IS RESTRAINED FROM ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT BY A PAIR OF ANTI-ROTATION SEALS LOCATED AT THE BALL SOCKET JOINTS. THESE ANTI-ROTATION SEALS WILL COMPRESS OVER TIME. IF THE ANTI-ROTATION SEAL ALLOWS TOO MUCH MOTION, THE SEALS CAN DETERIORATE, ALLOWING CONTACT BETWEEN THE BALL SOCKET AND THE BALL SHAFT. THIS METAL-TO-METAL CONTACT WILL TRANSMIT FORCES INTO THE TIE-ROD TUBE, CAUSING FATIGUE FAILURE INITIATING AT THE ROOT OF THE FEMALE TREADS.

Consequence

FAILURE OF THE TIE-ROD WILL ALLOW ONE OF THE WHEELS TO SWING TO THE LIMIT OF ITS STEERING STOP, POTENTIALLY CAUSING A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TIE ROD. NOTIFICATION TO OWNERS BEGAN NOVEMBER 7, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT PIERCE AT 1-888-974-3723.

Vehicles affected by this recall

Make Model Year Units
PIERCE CUSTOM CHASSIS 1996 202
PIERCE CUSTOM CHASSIS 1997 202
PIERCE CUSTOM CHASSIS 1998 202
PIERCE CUSTOM CHASSIS 1999 202
PIERCE CUSTOM CHASSIS 2000 202
PIERCE CUSTOM CHASSIS 2001 202
PIERCE CUSTOM CHASSIS 2002 202
PIERCE CUSTOM CHASSIS 2003 202

Source: NHTSA Campaign 03V380000 on nhtsa.gov. To check the current repair status for a specific vehicle, use our free VIN decoder.