1993 PONTIAC GRAND-PRIX engine

your Driving and the Road
-1
HM and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is
different fiom driving in flat or rolling
terrain.
If you drive regularly in step
country, or if you’re planning to visit
there, here are some tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.
* Keep your vehicle in go’od shape.
Check all fluid levels and also the
brakes, tires, co’oling system and
transaxle. These
parts can work hard
~n mountain roads.
. K~QW how to go, down hills. The most
important thing
to how is this: let
your engine do some of the slowing
down. Don’t make your brakes do it
an.. Shift to a lower gear when YQU go
down a steep or long hill. That way,
you will slow down without excessive
use of your brakes.
168
If you don’t shift down, your
brakes could get
so hot that
they wouldn’t work well. You
would then have poor braking or
even none going down a hill.
You
could crash. Shift down to let your
engine assist your brakes on a steep
downhill slope.
I
A Coasting downhill in
- N (Neutral) or with the
* ignition off is dangerous. Your
akes will have
to do all the work
slowing down. They could get
so
riot that they wouldn’t work well.
You could crash. Always have your
Pngine running and your vehicle in
a-ar when you
go downhill.
Know how to go uphill. You may
want to shift down to a lower gear.
The lower gears help
cool your engine
and transaxle, and you can climb the
hill better.
Stay in your own lane when driving
on two-lane roads in hills or
mountains. Don’t swing wide or cut
across the center
of the road. Drive at
speeds that let you stay in your own
lane. That way, you won’t be ’ surprised by a vehicle coming toward
you in the same lane.
It takes longer to pass another vehicle
when you’re going uphill. You’ll want
to leave extra room to pass. If a
vehicle is passing you and doesn’t
have enough room, slow down to
make it easier for the other vehicle to
get by.
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Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you
don’t shift your transaxle into P (Park)
properly, the weight of the vehicle may
put too much force on the parking pawl
in the transaxle.
You may find it
difficult to pull the shift lever out of
P (Park). This is called “torque lock.”
To prevent torque lock, always be sure
to shift into
P (Park) properly before
you leave the driver’s seat. To find out
how, see the
lndex under Shifting Into
P (Park).
When you are ready to drive, move the
shift lever out
of P (Park) before you
release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need
to have another vehicle push yours
a
little uphill to take some of the pressure
from the transaxle,
so you can pull the
shift lever out
of P (Park).
Winter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Pontiac in good shape for
winter. Be sure your engine coolant
mix is correct.
Snow tires can help in loose snow,
but they may give
you less traction on
ice than regular tires. If you do not
expect to be driving in deep snow, but
may have to travel over ice,
you may
not want to switch to snow tires at all.
.. “I
. ..
You may want to put winter
emergency supplies
in your trunk.
Include an ice scraper, a small brush
or broom, a supply of windshield
washer fluid, a rag,
some winter outer
clothing, a small shovel,
a flashlight, a
red cloth, and a couple of reflective
warning triangles.
And, if you will be
driving under severe conditions,
include
a small bag of sand, a piece of
old carpet or a couple of burlap bags
to help provide traction. Be sure you
properly secure these items in your
vehicle.
171
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If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you
could be in a serious situation. You
should probably stay with your vehicle
unless you
how for sure that you are
near help and you can hike through the
snow. Here are some things
to do to
summon help and keep yourself and
your passengers safe:
Turn on your hazard warning flashers.
Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert
police that you’ve been stopped by the
snow.
* Put on extra clothing or wrap a
blanket
around you, If you have no
blankets or extra clothing, make body
insulators
from newspapers, burlap
bags, rags,
floor mats-anything you
can
wrap around yourself or tuck
under
your clothing to keep warm.
but be
careful.
You can run the engine to keep warm,
A Snow can trap exhaust gases
under your vehicle. This can
cause deadly CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside.
CO
could overcome you and kill you.
You can’t see it or smell
it, so you
might not know
it was in your
vehicle. Clear away snow from
around the base of your vehicle,
especially any that
is blocking your
exhaust pipe. And check around
again from time to time to be
sure
snow doesn’t collect there.
Open a window just a little on the
side of the vehicle that’s away from
the wind. This will help keep CO
out.
(17=3.=.
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Your Driving and the Road
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
(COW.)
Run your engine only as long as you
must. This saves fuel. When you run
the engine, make it go a little faster
than just idle. That is, push the
accelerator slightly. This uses less fuel
for the heat that you get and it keeps
the battery charged.
You will need a
well-charged battery to restart the
vehicle and possibly for signaling later
on with your headlights. Let the
heater run for
a while.
Then, shut the engine
off and close
the window almost all the way to
preserve the heat. Start the engine
again and repeat this only when you
feel really uncomfortable from the
cold. But do it as little as possible.
Preserve the fuel as long as you can.
To help keep warm, you can get out of
the vehicle and do some fairly
vigorous exercises every half-hour or
so until help comes.
..a 174
If You’re Stuck h Deep Snow
This manual explains how to get the
vehicle out
of deep snow without
damaging it. See the index under
Rocking Your Vehicle.
Towing a Trailer
CAUTlON
f
A
If you don’t use the correct
equipment and drive
properly, you can lose control whf
you pull a trailer. For example, if
the trailer is too heavy, the brakes
may not work well-or even at all
You and your passengers could be
seriously injured. Pull a trailer only
if you have followed all the steps in
this section.
Pulling a trailer improperly can
damage your vehicle and result
in
costly repairs not covered by your
warranty.
To pull a trailer
correctly, follow the advice
in this
section.
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Do not tow a trailer if your vehicle is
equipped with a 3.4L (VIN Code X)
engine and a manual transaxle.
Your Pontiac can tow a trailer if it is
equipped with a
3.1L (VIN Code T)
engine or a 3.4L (VIN Code X) engine
and an automatic transaxle, and proper
trailer towing equipment.
To identify
what the vehicle trailering capacity is
for your vehicle, you should read the
information in
Weight of the Trailer
that appears later in this section. But
trailering is different than just driving
your vehicle by itself. Trailering means
changes in handling, durability, and fuel
economy. Successful, safe trailering
takes correct equipment, and it has to
be used properly.
That’s the reason for this section. In it
are many time-tested, important
trailering tips and safety rules. Many of these
are important
for your safety and
that of your passengers.
So please read
this section carefully before you pull a
trailer. Load-pulling components such
as the engine, transaxle, wheel
assemblies, and tires are forced to work
harder against the drag of the added
weight. The engine is required to
operate at relatively higher speeds and
under greater loads, generating extra
heat. What’s more, the trailer adds
considerably to wind resistance,
increasing the pulling requirements.
All of that means changes in:
Handling
Durability
Fuel economy
If You Do Decide to Pull a Trailer
If you do, here are some important
points.
There are many different laws having
to do with trailering. Make
sure your
rig will be legal, not
only where you
live but also where you’ll be driving. A
good source for this information can
be state or provincial police.
Consider using a sway control. You
can ask a hitch dealer about sway
control.
Don’t tow a trailer at all during the
first
500 miles (800 km) your new
vehicle is driven. Your engine, axle or
other parts could be damaged.
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Your Driving and the Road
H You Do Decide to Pull a Trailer
(CONT.)
Then, during the first 500 miles
(800 krn) that you tow a trailer, don’t
drive over
50 mph (80 km/h) and
don’t make starts at full throttle.
This
helps your engine and other parts of
your vehicle wear in at the heavier
loads.
Three important considerations have
to do with weight:
Weight of the Trailer
How heavy can a trailer safely be? It
should never weigh more than
1,000
pounds (450 kg). But even that can be
too heavy. It depends
on how you
plan to use your rig. For example,
speed, altitude, road grades, outside
temperature and how much your
vehicle is used to pull a trailer are all
important. And, it can also depend
on
any special equipment that you have
on your vehicle.
You can ask your
dealer for our trailering information or
advice, or you can write
us at:
Consumer Assistance Center
Pontiac Division
One Pontiac Plaza
Pontiac, MI 48340-2952
In Canada, write to:
General Motors of Canada Limited
Customer Assistance Center
1908 Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, Ontario,
L1H 8P7
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Your Driving and the Road
Driving with a Trailer (CONT.)
Making Turns
When you’re turning with a trailer,
make wider turns than normal. Do this
so your trailer won’t strike soft
sh’oulders, curbs, road signs, trees, or
other objects. Avoid jerky or sudden
maneuvers. Signal well in advance.
Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle has
to have a different turn signal flasher
and extra wiring. The green arrows on
your instrument panel will flash
whenever you signal
a turn or lane
change. Properly hooked
up, the trailer
lights will also flash, telling other
drivers you’re about to turn, change
lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green arrows
on your instrument panel will flash for
turns even if the bulbs on the trailer are
burned out. Thus, you may think
drivers behind you are seeing your
signal when they are not.
It’s important
to check occasionally
to be sure the
trailer bulbs are still working.
Your vehicle has bulb warning lights.
When you plug trailer lights into your
vehicle’s lighting system, its bulb
warning lights may not let you know if
one of your lights goes out.
So, when
you have trailer lights plugged in, be
sure
to check your vehicle and trailer
lights
from time to time to be sure
they’re all working. Once
you
disconnect the trailer lights, the bulb
warning lights again can tell you if one
of your vehicle lights is out.
Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear
before you start down a long or steep
downgrade.
If you don’t shift down, you
might have to use your brakes so much
that they would get hot and
no longer
work well.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and
reduce your speed to around
45 mph
(70 kwh) to reduce the possibility of
engine and transaxle overheating.
If you are towing a trailer and you have
an automatic transaxle with Overdrive,
it’s best to drive in
D instead of (or
as you need to, a lower gear). This will
minimize heat build-up and extend the
life of your transaxle.
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Parking on Hills
You really should not park your vehicle,
with a trailer attached, on a hill.
If
something goes wrong, your rig could
start to move. People can be injured,
and both your vehicle and the trailer
can be damaged.
But if you ever have to park your rig on
a hill, here’s how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t
shift into
P (Park) yet.
2. Have someone place chocks under
the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place,
release the regular brakes until the
chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then
apply your parking brake, and then
shift to
P (Park).
5. Release the regular brakes.
When You Are Ready to Leave After
Parking
on a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold
the pedal down while you:
Start your engine;
Shift into a gear; and
Release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear
4. Stop and have someone pick up and
of
the chocks.
store the choclts.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more
often when you’re pulling a trailer. See
the Maintenance Schedule for more on
this. Things that are especially
important in trailer operation
are
automatic transaxle fluid (don’t
overfill), engine oil, belts, cooling
system, and brake adjustment. Each
of
these is covered in this manual, and the
Index will help you find them quickly. If
you’re trailering, it’s a good idea to
review these sections before you start
your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch
nuts and bolts are tight.
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