Product Safety - Incorrect Steering Shaft Installed

The Highway 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 customer has tendered it for repair. A failure to repair within sixty (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 customer 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 remedies, every effort must be made to promptly schedule an appointment with each customer and to repair their vehicle as soon as possible. As you will see in reading the attached copy of the divisional letter that is being sent to customers, the customers are being instructed to contact the appropriate Customer Assistance Center if their dealer does not remedy the condition within five (5) days of the mutually agreed upon service date. If the condition is not remedied within a reasonable time, they are instructed on how to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

General Motors has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 1997-98 Chevrolet and GMC B7 school buses model vehicles equipped with power steering (N40). Some of these vehicles exhibit a condition in which an incorrect intermediate steering shaft may have been installed. In some cases, this may cause a rattle in the steering shaft, but have no effect on steering control. However, in some cases, the overlap in the slip joint may be insufficient and could allow the steering shaft to separate. If this were to occur, loss of steering control could occur, which could result in a vehicle crash without prior warning.

To prevent the possibility of this condition occurring, dealers are to inspect the intermediate steering shaft, and if necessary, replace the intermediate shaft.

Involved are certain 1997-98 Chevrolet and GMC B7 school buses equipped with power steering (N40), and built within the following VIN breakpoints:

Important: Dealers should confirm vehicle eligibility through VISS (Vehicle Information Inquiry System) or Service Net (GMC only) or DCS Screen 445 (IPC only) before beginning campaign repairs. [Not all vehicles within the above breakpoints may be involved.]

Involved vehicles have been identified by Vehicle Identification Number. Computer listings containing the complete Vehicle Identification Number, customer name and address data have been prepared, and are being furnished to involved dealers with the campaign bulletin. The customer name and address data furnished will enable dealers to follow-up with customers involved in this campaign. Any dealer not receiving a computer listing with the campaign bulletin has no involved vehicles currently assigned.

These dealer listings may contain customer names and addresses obtained from Motor Vehicle Registration Records. The use of such motor vehicle registration data for any other purpose is a violation of law in several states/provinces/countries. Accordingly, you are urged to limit the use of this listing to the follow-up necessary to complete this campaign.

Parts required to complete this campaign are to be obtained from General Motors Service Parts Operations (GMSPO). Please refer to your "involved vehicles listing" before ordering parts. Normal orders should be placed on a DRO = Daily Replenishment Order. In an emergency situation, parts should be ordered on a CSO = Customer Special Order.

FOR US AND CANADA

Customers will be notified of this campaign on their vehicles by General Motors (see copy of customer letter included with this bulletin).

FOR IPC

Letters will be sent to known owners of record located within areas covered by the US National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. For owners outside these areas, dealers should notify customers using the attached suggested dealer letter.

All unsold new vehicles in dealers' possession and subject to this campaign MUST be held and inspected/repaired per the service procedure of this campaign bulletin BEFORE customers take possession of these vehicles.

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

Customers who have recently purchased vehicles sold from your vehicle inventory, and for which there is no customer information indicated on the dealer listing, are to be contacted by the dealer. Arrangements are to be made to make the required correction according to the instructions contained in this bulletin. This could be done by mailing to such customers a copy of the customer letter accompanying this bulletin. Campaign follow-up cards should not be used for this purpose, since the customer may not as yet have received the notification letter.

In summary, whenever a vehicle subject to this campaign enters your vehicle inventory, or is in your dealership for service in the future, please take the steps necessary to be sure the campaign correction has been made before selling or releasing the vehicle.

Inspection Procedure

Open the hood and inspect the intermediate shaft (1, Figure 1) for a notch in the shaft (1, Figure 2).

Intermediate Shaft Removal Procedure

1. Set the front wheels in the straight ahead position.



2. Mark the relationship of the pot joint (4) to the upper steering shaft (5), and the cardan joint (6) to the steering gear wormshaft (8)
3. Remove the top and the bottom pinch bolts (1, 7) and discard.
4. Remove the intermediate steering shaft assembly (5).
5. Install the new intermediate shaft assembly (refer to relationship markings made in Step 2 for proper alignment), using a new pinch bolts (P/N 7848747) (1) and nut (P/N 7848748) (3) for the pot joint, and a new pinch bolt (P/N 26005756) for the cardan joint (7). Finger tighten pinch bolts.

Tighten

•	Tighten the top pinch bolt to 62 N·m (46 lb ft).

•	Tighten the bottom pinch bolt to 52 N·m (38 lb ft).

6. Install the GM Campaign Identification Label.

FOR US AND IPC

Place a Campaign Identification Label on each vehicle corrected in accordance with the instructions outlined in this Product Campaign Bulletin. Each label provides a space to include the campaign number and the five (5) digit dealer code of the dealer performing the campaign service. This information may be inserted with a typewriter or a ball point pen.

Put the Campaign Identification Label on a clean and dry surface of the radiator core support in an area that will be visible to people servicing the vehicle. When installing the Campaign Identification Label, be sure to pull the tab to allow the adhesion of the clear protective covering. Additional Campaign Identification Labels for US dealers can be obtained from VISPAC Incorporated by calling 1-800-269-5100 (Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm EST). Ask for Item Number S-1015 when ordering.

Additional Campaign Identification Labels for IPC dealers can be obtained from your Regional Marketing Office.

Submit a Product Campaign Claim with the information indicated below:

Refer to the General Motors Corporation Claims Processing Manual for details on Product Campaign Claim Submission.

General Motors has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 1997-98 Chevrolet and GMC B7 school buses equipped with power steering (N40). Some of these vehicles exhibit a condition in which an incorrect intermediate steering shaft may have been installed. In some cases, this may cause a rattle in the steering shaft, but have no effect on steering control. However, in some cases, the overlap in the slip joint may be insufficient and could allow the steering shaft to separate. If this were to occur, loss of steering control would occur, which could result in a vehicle crash without prior warning.

To prevent the possibility of this condition occurring, we will inspect the intermediate steering shaft, and if necessary, replace the intermediate steering shaft.

This service will be provided for you at no charge.

Please contact us as soon as possible to arrange a service date.

We are sorry to cause you this inconvenience; however, we have taken this action in the interest of your continued satisfaction with our products.

GMODC

General Motors Corporation

Dear Chevrolet/GMC Customer:

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

General Motors has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 1997-98 Chevrolet and GMC B7 school buses model vehicles equipped with power steering (N40). Some of these vehicles exhibit a condition in which an incorrect intermediate steering shaft may have been installed. In some cases, this may cause a rattle in the steering shaft, but have no effect on steering control. However, in some cases, the overlap in the slip joint may be insufficient and could allow the steering shaft to separate. If this were to occur, loss of steering control could occur, which could result in a vehicle crash without prior warning.

To prevent the possibility of this condition occurring, your Chevrolet/GMC dealer will inspect the intermediate steering shaft, and if necessary, replace the intermediate steering shaft. This service will be performed for you at no charge .

The length of time required to perform this inspection and service correction is approximately 15-50 minutes. . Additional time may be required to schedule and process your vehicle. If you dealer has a large number of vehicles awaiting service, this additional time may be significant. Please ask your dealer if you wish to know how much additional time will be needed to schedule, process and repair your vehicle.

Please contact your Chevrolet/GMC dealer as soon as possible to arrange a service date. Parts are available and instructions for making this correction have been sent to your dealer.

Your Chevrolet/GMC dealer is best equipped to obtain parts and provide services to correct your vehicle as promptly as possible. Should your dealer be unable to schedule a service date within a reasonable time, you should contact the appropriate Customer Assistance Center at the number listed below:

If, after contacting the appropriate customer assistance center, you are still not satisfied that we have done our best to remedy this condition without charge and within a reasonable time, you may wish to write the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20590 or call 1-800-424-9393 (Washington, DC residents use 202-366-0123).

The enclosed customer reply card identifies your vehicle. Presentation of this card to your dealer will assist in making the necessary correction in the shortest possible time. If you no longer own this vehicle, please let us know by completing the postage paid reply card and returning it to us.

We are sorry to cause you this inconvenience; however, we have taken this action in the interest of your safety and continued satisfaction with our products.

Chevrolet/Pontiac-GMC Division

General Motors Corporation

Enclosure