“Experimental” Heat Treatment Leads to Recall
Regular readers of “The Monty” will need no reminder of how crucial heat treating is to the manufacturing process, however here is another example.
According to this press release a supplier of ball studs to truck suppliers Mack and Volvo used an experimental heat treat process which resulted in defective parts. We have no idea what the process was but we do know somebody is in trouble.
“Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks are recalling certain models of new trucks after discovering an issue with the steering system.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents, Mack Trucks is recalling nearly 800 model year 2025 Anthem, Granite and TerraPro trucks. Volvo Trucks is recalling nearly 500 model year 2025 VHD, VN and VNR Electric trucks.
In trucks affected by the recall, the drag link may contain an improperly heat-treated ball stud that can fail, resulting in a sudden loss of steering control. A sudden loss of steering control increases the risk of a crash. There is no warning that may indicate ball stud failure.
Both Mack and Volvo Trucks are urging owners of affected trucks not to drive the vehicles until dealers inspect and fix the issue.
Recall reports indicate a supplier mixed improperly hardened ball studs, resulting from an experimental heat treatment process, with production-ready ball studs shipped to manufacturers. Mack was notified of the experimental ball studs on May 25, immediately prompting an investigation.
There have been no accidents or injuries associated with the recall issue. No warranty or customer complaints have been filed. Only one occurrence of a ball stud failure at a Volvo Group factory has been reported.”
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
