
NOTICE: 
Your engine  is  designed  to work  with  the electronics in your 
vehicle. 
If you  add  electrical  parts  or accessories,  you  could 
change  the 
way the fuel  injection  system  operates.  Before  adding 
electrical  equipment,  check  with  your  dealer. 
If you  don’t,  your 
engine  might  not perform properly. 
If you ever  have  to have  your  vehicle  towed,  see  the part of this 
manual  that tells  how  to  do it without  damaging  your  vehicle. 
See  “Towing  Your  Vehicle”  in the  Index. 
To start your 5.7 Liter  (Code K) or 7.4 Liter (Code N) V8 engine: 
1. Without  pushing  the  accelerator  pedal,  turn  your  ignition  key  t\
o  “Start.” 
When  the  engine  starts,  let  go  of the  key.  The  idle speed  will  go  down 
as your  engine  gets  warm. 
NOTICE: 
I 
Holding  your  key in “Start”  for longer  than 15 seconds at a time 
will  cause  your battery to  be drained  much  sooner.  And  the 
excessive  heat can  damage  your  starter motor. 
2. If it doesn’t  start  right  away,  hold  your  key  in  “Start.” If it doesn’t  start 
in  three  seconds,  push  the  accelerator  pedal  about  one-quarter 
of the 
way  down  for 12 more  seconds,  or  until  it starts. 
3. If your  engine  still  won’t  start  (or  starts  but  then  stops), \
 it could  be 
flooded  with  too  much  gasoline.  Try  this: 
Wait 
15 seconds  to  let  the  starter  motor  cool  down.  Then  push  your 
accelerator  pedal  all  the  way to  the  floor.  Hold  it there.  Then  hold  the 
key  in  “Start”  for no  more  than  ten  seconds.  This 
clears the  extra 
gasoline  from  the  engine.  If the  engine  still doesn’t  start,  wait  another 
15  seconds  and  do  Step 
3 again. 
Hot Engine Restart (Vehicles With 5.7L LO5 Engine  and Over 8500 lbs. 
GVWR): If your  engine  is already  hot  and  then  stalls,  turn  your  ignition 
key  to 
OFF. Then,  turn  your  key  to RUN, and  wait  about  20  seconds 
before  you  restart  your  engine. 
When  the  engine  starts,  let  go  of the  key  and  the  accelerator  pedal. 
If  your  engine  is  already  hot  and  then  stalls,  turn  your  ignition\
  key  to 
OFF. 
Then turn your  key  to  “Run”  and  wait 20 seconds  before  you  restart  your 
engine.  When  the  engine  starts,  let  go  of the  key  and  the  accelerator  pedal. 
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NOTICE: 
Your  engine  is  designed  to  work  with the electronics  in your 
vehicle. 
If you  add  electrical  parts  or accessories,  you  could 
change  the 
way the fuel  injection  system  operates.  Before  adding 
electrical equipment,  check  with your dealer. 
If you  don’t,  your 
engine  might  not perform properly. 
If you ever  have to have your  vehicle  towed,  see the part  of this 
manual 
that tells  how  to do it without  damaging your  vehicle. 
See  “Towing  Your  Vehicle”  in the  Index. 
Driving  Through  Deep  Standing  Water 
NOTICE: 
If you  drive  too  quickly  through deep puddles  or standing  water, 
water can  come in through your  engine’s air intake  and  badly 
damage your  engine. 
If you  can’t  avoid  deep puddles  or standing 
water,  drive through  them  very  slowly. 
Driving  Through  Water  (Diesel  Engines) 
NOTICE: 
Never drive through standing water more  than 8 inches deep if 
your vehicle has a  diesel  engine.  Also,  don’t  drive through any 
standing water  faster  than 
5 mph (8 km/h). If you  do, water can 
be  drawn  in through  the 
air intake, and this can  severely 
damage your  engine. 
Driving In Snow  (Diesel Engines) 
When  driving  in  a  heavy  snowstorm  or in swirling  snow  with  a  diesel 
engine,  snow  can  get  into  the 
air intake  system.  If  you  keep  driving  in these 
conditions  the  air  cleaner may  get  plugged,  causing  black  smoke  and  loss  of 
power.  In  an  emergency, 
if the  air  cleaner  gets  plugged  with  snow,  you  can 
remove  the  air  cleaner.  Then,  drive 
to a  place  of safety  as  soon  as  possible 
and  put  the air  cleaner  back  on. 
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0 R  (Reverse) 
Use this  gear  to back up. 
NOTICE: 
Shifting  into “R” (Reverse)  while  your  vehicle  is  moving 
forward  could  damage  your  transmission.  Shift  to 
“R” (Reverse) 
only  after  your  vehicle  is  stopped. 
To rock  your vehicle  back and forth to  get out of snow,  ice or sand 
without  damaging  your transmission,  see 
“If Your Stuck: In Sand,  Mud, 
Ice  or Snow” 
in the Index. 
N (Neutral) 
In this  position, your  engine doesn’t  connect  with the wheels. To restart 
when  you’re  already 
moving, use “N” (Neutral) only. Also, use “N” 
(Neutral)  when your vehicle is being towed. 
NOTICE: 
Damage  to  your  transmission  caused  by shifting  out  of “P” 
(Park)  or “N” (Neutral)  with  the  engine  racing  isn’t  covered by 
your  warranty. 
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@ (Automatic  Overdrive) 
This position is for  normal  driving. If you need more power  for 
passing,  and you’re: 
- Going  less than  about 35 mph (56 km/h), push your accelerator 
pedal  about  halfway  down. 
- Going  about 35 mph (56 kdh) or more,  push the accelerator all 
the way  down. 
You’ll shift down to the next gear and have more power. 
@ should not be used  when  towing a trailer,  carrying a heavy  load, 
driving 
on steep  hills, or  for  off road  driving.  Select  “D”(third gear) 
when  operating  the vehicle  under any 
of these  conditions. 
D (Third  Gear) 
This is like @, but you never go into Overdrive. You should  use “D” 
when towing a trailer,  carrying a heavy  load,  driving on steep hills, or 
for  off-road  driving. 
2 (Second Gear) 
This position  gives you more power  but lower fuel economy.  You can 
use 
“2” on  hills.  It can help control  your speed as you go  down  steep 
mountain  roads, but then  you  would 
also want to use your brakes  off 
and 
on. If you  manually  select “2”, the transmission will drive in 
second gear.  You may  use  this feature  for  reducing torque  to the rear 
wheels  when 
you are trying  to start your vehicle from  a  stop on 
slippery road surfaces. 
1 (First  Gear) 
This position gives you even  more  power  (but lower fuel  economy) 
than 
“2.” You  can use it on very  steep  hills, or in deep snow or mud. If 
the selector  lever is put in “1 ,” the transmission  won’t  shift into first 
gear 
until the  vehicle is going  slowly  enough. 
b 
NOTICE: 
If your  rear  wheels can’t  rotate,  don’t try to drive.  This might 
happen  if you  were  stuck  in very  deep sand  or  mud or were  up 
against 
a solid  object.  You could  damage  your  transmission. 
Also, 
if you  stop  when  going  uphill, don’t  hold your  vehicle  there 
with  only  the  accelerator  pedal. This could  overheat  and  damage 
the  transmission.  Use your  brakes 
or shift  into “P” (Park) to 
hold  your  vehicle  in position on  a hill. 
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NOTICE: 
Driving  with  the  parking  brake on can  cause  your  rear  brakes  to 
overheat.  You  may have 
to replace  them,  and  you  could also 
damage  other  parts of your  vehicle. 
If you  are  towing  a  trailer  and  are  parking on any  hill: See “Towing a 
Trailer”  in the  Index.  That  section  shows  what to do  first  to keep the trailer 
from  moving. 
Propshaft  Brake  Burnish  Procedure 
If you have a 3500 HD model, it is recommended  that the propshaft 
mounted parking  brake be burnished 
as part of the new  vehicle break in. 
The parking  brake  will work best  after it has been  burnished  following these 
instructions. 
Make 
10 (ten)  stops, using  the parking  brake  foot pedal, from  20 mph 
(32  kdh)  about 
2 1/2 miles (4 km)  apart. In between  stops,  drive  the 
vehicle  at 
20 mph (32 km/h). 
Torque Lock 
The parking brake  should be set  first  whenever you leave  the driver’s seat. 
If  you  are parked  on 
a hill and the transmission is placed in “P”  (Park) 
before 
the parking  brake is set,  the weight  of the vehicle  may put too much 
force 
on the parking  pawl in the transmission. It may  be  difficult  to  pull the 
selector  lever out 
of “P’ (Park).  This  is called “torque  lock.” To prevent this, 
the  parking brake  should be  set 
BEFORE moving  the gear  selector  to “P’ 
(Park). 
When  preparing  to  move 
a vehicle parked  on a hill, the selector  lever should 
be moved  out of 
“P’ (Park) BEFORE releasing  the parking  brake. Even 
when 
on level  surfaces,  its a good  idea to set the parking  brake  first before 
shifting 
the transmission  from  “P”  (Park). 
If  torque  lock does  occur,  you  may  have  to have another  vehicle nudge your 
vehicle uphill  a little  to  take  some 
of the pressure off the transmission  while 
you pull the selector  lever out of “P”  (Park). 
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Shifting  Into “P” (Park) (Automatic 
Transmission Models Only) 
Steering  Column  Shift Lever 
1. Hold  the brake 
pedal down 
with 
your right  foot 
and set the 
parking brake. 
2. Move  the shift  lever into “P”  (Park) position like this: 
0 Pull the  lever toward you. 
0 Move the lever up as far  as it will go. 
3. If you have four-wheel  drive, be sure  the transfer case is in a drive gear 
- not in “N” (Neutral) 
4. Move  the ignition  key to LOCK. 
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5. Remove the key  and take it with you. If you can walk away  from your 
vehicle  with 
the ignition  key in your hand,  your vehicle is in “P” 
(Park). 
Leaving  Your  Vehic/e  With  the  Engine  Running 
(Automatic  Transmission  Models  Only) 
If you  have to  leave  your  vehicle with the  engine  running,  be sure  your 
vehicle  is 
in “P”  (Park)  and  your parking brake is firmly set before you 
leave it. If you have four-wheel  drive with a manual transfer  case shift 
lever,  be sure  that the transfer  case 
is in a drive  gear - not in “N” (Neutral). 
After  you’ve  moved the 
shift lever  into  the “P’ (Park)  position,  hold the 
regular  brake pedal  down.  Then,  see  if 
you can move the shift  lever away 
from “P”  (Park) without  first pulling  it toward 
you. If you can, it means that 
the  shift  lever wasn’t 
fully locked  into “P” (Park). 
Torque Lock (Automatic  Transmission) 
If you are  parking  on a hill  and you don’t shift  your transmission into “P” 
(Park)  properly, 
the weight  of the  vehicle  may put too much  force on the 
parking  pawl 
in the transmission.  You may  find it difficult to pull the shift 
lever  out of 
“P’ (Park).  This  is called  “torque  lock.” To prevent torque lock, 
set the parking  brake  and then shift into “P’ (Park) properly  before you 
leave 
the driver’s  seat.  To find  out how, see  “Shifting  Into ‘P’ (Park)” in the 
Index. 
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 transmission, so 
you can  pull  the shift  lever out of “P’ (Park). 
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Parking  Your  Vehicle 
(Manual  Transmission  Models 
Only) 
Before  you get out of your vehicle, put  your manual transmission  in “R” 
(Reverse), turn  off the engine,  and firmly apply  the parking brake. 
If you have  four-wheel  drive, be sure  your transfer  case is  in a drive  gear. 
Your  vehicle  could roll 
if it isn’t. 
If 
you are parking  on a  hill,  or  if your pulling  a trailer, see “Parking on 
Hills”  or “Towing  a Trailer” in the  Index. 
Parking  Over  Things  That  Burn 
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