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Before You Go Off-Roading
There are some things to do before you go out. For
example, be sure to have all necessary maintenance
and service work done. Check to make sure all
umaderbody shields (if so equipped) are properly
attached. Be sure you read
all the information about
your four-wheel-drive vehicle
in this manual. Is there
enough fuel?
Is the spare tire fully inflated? Are the
fluid levels up where they should be? What are the local
laws that apply to off-roading where you’ll be driving?
enforcement people in the area. Will you be on
someone’s private land?
If so, be sure to get the
necessary permission.
Loading Your Vehicle for Off-Road Driving
There are some important things to remember about
how to load your vehicle.
The heaviest things should be on the load floor and
1 If you don’t know, you should check with law
forward
of your rear axle. Put heavier items as far
forward as you can.
0 Be sure the load is secured properly, so driving on
the off-road terrain doesn’t toss things around.
A CAUTION:
Cargo on the load floor piled higher than
the seatbacks can be thrown forward
during
a sudden stop. You or your
passengers could be injured. Keep cargo
below the top of the seatbacks.
Unsecured cargo on the load floor can be
tossed about when driving over rough
terrain.
You or your passengers can be
struck
by flying objects. Secure the cargo
properly.
Heavy loads on the roof raise the vehicle’s
center of gravity, making it more likely to
roll over.
You can be seriously or fatally
injured
if the vehicle rolls over. Put heavy
loads inside the cargo
area, not on the roof.
Keep cargo in the cargo area as far forward
and
low as possible.
You’ll find other important information in this manual.
See “Vehicle Loading,” “Luggage Carrier” and “Tires”
in the Index.
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The spare tire is mounted on your tailgate. Pull the cover
off of the spare tire. Insert
your key into
the wheel lock on the spare tire and
pull the wheel lock off.
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Remove wheel nuts with the wheel wrench.
Remove the spare tire
from the mounting bracket and
place it near your flat tire.
Attach the
jack handle to the jack bolt. Turn the jack
handle clockwise. That will raise the lift head a little.
. Using the wheel wrench, loosen all the wheel nuts.
Don’t remove them yet.
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3. Raise the vehicle by turning the jack handle clockwise.
Raise
the vehicle far enough off the ground so there is
enough room for the spxe tire to fit.
4. Remove all the wheel
nuts and take off the
flat tire.
5. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces and
spare wheel.
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A CAUTION:
Incorrect wheel nuts or improperly tightened
wheel nuts can cause the wheel to become loose
and even come
off. This could lead to an accident.
Be sure
to use the correct wheel nuts. If you have
to replace them, be sure to get new
GM original
equipment wheel nuts.
Stop somewhere as soon as you can and have
the nuts tightened with
a torque wrench to
60 lb-ft (80 N-m).
NOTICE:
Improperly tightened wheel nuts can lead to
brake pulsation and rotor damage.
To avoid
expensive brake repairs, evenly tighten the wheel
nuts in the proper sequence and to the proper
torque specification.
Storing a
B
-
lat or Spare Tire and Tools
I
Storing a jack, a tire or other equipment in the
passenger compartment
of the vehicle could
cause injury. In
a sudden stop or collision, loose
equipment could strike someone. Store all these
in the proper place.
Store your vehicle’s flat tire or spare by mounting it on
the tailgate and cover.
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Inflation -- Tire Pressure
The Tire-Loading Information label, which is on the
driver’s door lock pillar,
shows the correct inflation
pressures for your tires when they’re cold. “Cold”
means your vehicle has been sitting for at least three
hours or driven no more than
1 mile ( 1.6 km).
I NOTICE:
Don’t let anyone tell you that underinflation or
overinflation is all right. It’s
not. If your tires
don’t have enough
air (underinflation), you can
get the following:
Too much flexing
Too much heat
0 Tire overloading
Bad wear
0 Bad handling
0 Bad fuel economy.
NOTICE: (Continued) NOTICE:
(Continued)
If your tires have too much air (overinflation),
you can get the following:
0 Unusual wear
0 Bad handling
Rough ride
Needless damage from road hazards.
~
When to Check
Check your tires once a month or more. Also, check the
tire pressure
of the spare tire.
How to Check
I
I
L’
Use a good quality pocket-type gage to check tire
pressure. You can’t tell
if your tires are properly inflated
simply by looking at them. Radial tires may
look
properly inflated even when they’re underinflated.
Be sure to put the valve caps back
on the valve stems.
They help prevent leaks by keeping out
dirt and moisture.
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Buying New Tires
To find out what kind and .size of tires you need, look at
the Tire-Loading Information label.
The tires installed on your vehicle when it was new had
a Tire Performance Criteria Specification
(TPC Spec)
number on each tire’s sidewall. When you get new tires,
get ones with that same
TPC Spec number. That way
your vehicle will continue to have tires that are designed
to give proper endurance, handling, speed rating,
traction, ride and other things during normal service
on
your vehicle. If your tires have an all-season tread
design, the TPC number will be followed by an “MS”
(for mud and snow).
If you ever replace your tires with those not having a
TPC Spec number, make sure they are the same size,
load range, speed rating and construction type (bias,
bias-belted or radial)
as your original tires.
Mixing tires could cause you to lose control while
driving. If
you mix tires of different sizes or types
(radial and bias-belted tires), the vehicle
may not
handle properly, and
you could have a crash.
Using tires of different sizes may also cause
damage
to your vehicle. Be sure to use the same
size and type tires on all wheels.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
The following information relates to the system
developed by the United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, which grades tires
by
treadwear, traction and temperature performance.
(This applies only to vehicles sold
in the United States.)
The grades are molded on the sidewalls
of most
passenger car tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading
system does not apply to deep tread, winter-type snow
tires, space-saver or temporary use spare tires, tires with
nominal
rim diameters of 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm),
or to some limited-production tires.
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0
0
0
FREE Flat Tire Service (spare installed on the road)
FREE Jump Start (at home or on the road)
FREE Fuel Delivery ($5 of fuel delivered on
the road)
Chevrolet/Geo offers Courtesy Transportation for
customers needing warranty service. Courtesy
Transportation will be offered in conjunction with the
coverage provided by the BUMPER-TO-BUMPER
New Vehicle Limited Warranty to eligible purchasers
of
1996 Chevrolet/Geo passenger car and light duty trucks.
(Please see your selling dealer for details.)
Note:
Courtesy Care is available to Retail and Retail Lease
Customers operating 1996 and newer Chevrolet/Geo
vehicles for a period
of 36 months/36,000 miles. All
Courtesy Care services must be pre-arranged by
Chevrolet/Geo Roadside or dealer Service Management.
Basic Care and Courtesy Care are not part of or
included in the coverage provided
by the New Vehicle
Limited Warranty. Chevrolet/Geo reserves the right to
modify or discontinue
Basic Care and Courtesy Care
at any time. For complete
program details, see your Chevrolet/Geo
dealer to obtain a Roadside Assistance Center brochure.
The Roadside Assistance Center uses companies that
will provide you with quality and priority service. When
roadside services are required, our advisors will explain
any payment obligations that may be incurred for
utilizing outside services.
For prompt assistance when calling, please have the
following available to give to the advisor:
Vehicle Identification Number
License plate number
Vehicle color
Vehicle location
Telephone number where you can be reached
0 Vehicle mileage
Description of problem
Please refer to the Roadside Assistance brochure
inside your owner information portfolio for full
program details.
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