CAMPAIGN: PLATFORM TRAILER HITCH MATERIAL IMPROPER

MODELS: 1983 G25-35 VAN WITH RPO VR4 (SCARBOROUGH ONLY)

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, as amended, provides that each vehicle which is subject to a recall campaign of this type must be adequately repaired within a reasonable time after the owner has tendered it for repair. A failure to adequatley repair within 60 days after tender of a vehicle is prima facie evidence of failure to repair within a reasonable time.

If the condition is not adequately repaired within a reasonable time, the owner may be entitled to an identical or reasonably equivalent vehicle at no charge or to a refund of the purchase price less a reasonable allowance for depreciation.

To avoid having to provide these burdensome solutions, every effort must be made to promptly schedule a service date with each owner and to repair their vehicle as soon as possible. As you will see in reading the attached copy of the letter which is being sent to owners, the owner is being instructed to contact the nearest GMC Zone Office if their dealer does not remedy the condition within five days of the mutually agreed upon service date. If the condition is not remedied within a reasonable time, they are instructed how to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

DEFECT INVOLVED

General Motors has determined that a defect which relates to Motor Vehicle Safety exists on some 1983 GMC Truck Vans equipped with platform type trailer hitches (RPO VR4).

The platform trailer hitches on these vehicles may have been produced from laminated steel. Depending on the location of the lamination, the hitch could have less than adequate load capability. Should this condition exist, the trailer hitch torsion bar may break. If this occurs while a trailer is being pulleed, the hitch and trailer could separate and a vehicle crash could occur without prior warning.

To correct this condition the hitch platform assembly will be replaced.

VEHICLES INVOLVED

Involved are certain 1983 G25 and G35 Vans equipped with RPO VR4, Reese weight distribution type hitches. Vehicles involved were built within the following VIN breakpoints.

Plant From Through ----- ----- ------- Scarborough D4507722 D4509082

The specific vehicles involved in this campaign have been identified by Vehicle Identification Number Computer Listings. These listings are furnished to all involved dealers with the campaign bulletin.

DEALER CAMPAIGN RESPONSIBILITY

Dealers are to service all vehicles subject to this campaign at no charge to owners, regardless of mileage, age of vehicle, or ownership, from this time forward.

Whenever a vehicle subject to this campaign is taken into your new or used vehicle inventory, or it is in your dealership for service in the future, you should take the steps necessary to be sure the campaign correction has been made before reselling or releasing the vehicle.

Owners of vehicles recently sold from your new vehicle inventory are to be contacted by the dealer, and arrangements made to make the required modification according to instructions contained in this bulletin.

If no owner's name and address were available to GMC Truck at the time of campaign initiation, the dealer will determine the owner's name and address from the dealership sales records. Please provide this information directly on the second copy of the listing next to the applicable VIN, so that our records may be updated and the appro- priate identification mailed to the owner. This second copy should then be submitted to the address listed below in the previously supplied yellow campaign envelopes.

GMC Truck General Motors Corporation 101 Union Street Plymouth, Michigan 48170

OWNER NOTIFICATION

Owners will be notified of this campaign on their vehicles by GMC Truck (see copy of Owner Letter included with this bulletin). A listing of owner names and addresses has been furnished to the involved dealers to enable dealers to follow up with owners involved in this campaign. This listing may contain owner names and address obtained from state motor vehicle registration records. The use of such motor vehicle registration data for any other purpose is a violation of law in several states. Accordingly, you are urged to limit the use of this listing to this campaign.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

1. Raise floor jack under platform assembly to support hitch while bolts are being removed.

2. Remove bumper bolts (2).

3. Remove mounting nuts (2).

4. Remove one bolt from each side.

5. Remove two (2) remaining bolts while platform assembly is steadied by an additional person.

6. Using the floor jack, gently lower the platform assembly.

7. Position the new platform assembly on the floor jack.

8. Raise floor jack to support new platform assembly while it is being installed.

9. Reverse removal procedure.

10. Fasteners are to be torqued to the values specified in Figure No. 1.

PARTS INFORMATION

Upon dealer request, Reese Products will provide GMC Truck Dealers with new trader hitch platform assemblies (GM P/N 14021513) at no charge on a direct ship basis from Elkhart, Indiana. Dealers may order these assemblies from:

Randy Hoover Reese Products (219) 264-7564

Parts are not to be ordered from or returned to the Warehouse Distribution Division Generall Motors (WDDGM).

PARTS RETURN

The trailer hitch platform assemblies removed from the involved vehicles are to be returned freight collect to:

Mr. R. Hoover Reese Products 51671 St. Rd. 19-N Elkhart, Indiana 46515

Removed platform assemblies are to be properly tagged and identified as follows: Vehicle Identification Number. Repair Order Number, Mileage, Complete Dealer Name and Address and Campaign Number 83C05. If the old hitch assembly is not returned after the new assembly is installed, the dealer will be charged for the new assembly.

WARRANTY INFORMATION

Dealers should submit an accurately filled out Warranty Repair Order on each vehicle completed under this campaign.

Labor *Time Operation Allow- Trouble Number Description ance Code ------ ----------- ----- ---- V1780 Remove and replace 1.0 HR 96 trailer hitch assembly

*For dealer to receive Administiative Time Allowance associated with this campaign, add 0.1 hour to the Labor Operation Time Allowance.

CAMPAIGN IDENTIFICATION LABEL

Each vehicle modified in accordance with the instructions outlined in this product campaign bulletin will require a "Campaign Identification Label". Each Label provides a space to include the five (5) digit Dealer Code of the dealer performing the campaign service. This information may be inserted with a typewriter or ballpoint pen.

Each "Campaign Identification Label" is to be located on the radiator core support in an area which will be visible when the vehicle is brought in for periodic servicing by the owner.

Apply "Campaign Identification Label" only on a clean dry surface.

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

Procedures covering this campaign are outlined in Section V of your dealership's "GMC Truck Claims Processing Manual" issued October, 1981.

General Motors bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, not a "do-it-yourselfer". They are written to inform those technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions and know-how to do a job properly and safely. If a condition is described, do not assume that the bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. See a General Motors dealer servicing your brand of General Motors vehicle for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.