Ford's F-series trucks probed
WASHINGTON—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 249,000 Ford Super Duty F Series trucks, model years 1999 and 2000, for alleged loss of power assist for steering and/or brakes.
NHTSA and Ford Motor Co. together have received 233 complaints about the trucks, including 13 crashes that caused one death and four injuries.
Ford told the agency it knew of two occasions of power steering con-tamination at the company's Kentucky Truck Plant, in January 1998 and May 1999, caused by insufficient cleaning of power steering hoses at an unidentified supplier plant.
NHTSA said, however, that only 7 percent of the trucks involved in the complaints were built at the plant during those months, and that further investigation was needed to determine the cause of the vast majority of the problems.
Oil filter recycling continues to grow
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.—A survey by the Filter Manufacturers Council (FMC) indicates one in two used oil filters in the U.S. was recycled in 1999.
The number of filters recycled increased from 33 percent in 1998 to 50 percent last year, FMC Executive Director Brent Hazelett said, noting the study "tracks the remarkable growth of used filter recycling during the past decade—from virtually no recycling to 50 percent recycling."
He attributed the growth of the recycling effort to oil and lubrication chains and service stations, and said major service outlets contract to have used filters recycled.