1997 BUICK CENTURY Owners Manual

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Section 6 Service and Appearance Care
Here you will find information about the care of your Buick. This section begins with service and fuel information,
and then
it shows how to check important fluid and lubricant levels. There is also technical information about your
vehicle, and a part devoted
to its appearance care.
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6-48
6-49 Service
Fuel
Fuels in Foreign Countries
Filling Your Tank
Checking Things Under the Hood
Engine Oil
Air Cleaner
Automatic Transaxle Fluid
Engine Coolant
Power Steering Fluid
Windshield Washer Fluid
Brakes
Battery
Bulb Replacement
Tires
Appearance Care
Cleaning the Inside of Your Buick
Cleaning the Built-in Child Restraint
Care
of Safety Belts and Built-in Child
Restraint Harness 6-49
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6-63 Cleaning
Glass Surfaces
Cleaning the Outside
of the Windshield and
Wiper Blades
Weatherstrips
Cleaning the Outside of Your Buick
Cleaning Aluminum Wheels
Cleaning Tires
Sheet Metal Damage
Finish Damage
Underbody Maintenance
Chemical Paint Spotting
Appearance Care Materials Chart
Vehicle Identification Number
(VIN)
Service Parts Identification Label
Electrical System Replacement Bulbs
Capacities and Specifications
Vehicle Dimensions
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
Air Conditioning Refrigerants
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Service
Your Buick dealer knows your vehicle best and wants
you to be happy with it. We hope you’ll go to your
dealer for all your service needs. You’ll get genuine
GM
parts and GM-trained and supported service people.
We hope you’ll want to keep your GM vehicle all GM.
Genuine GM
parts have one of these marks:
n
w
Delco
Doing Your Own Service Work
If you want to do some of your own service work, you’ll
want to use the proper Buick Service Manual. It tells
you much more about how
to service your Buick than
this manual can.
To order the proper service manual, see
“Service and Owner Publications” in the Index.
Your vehicle has an air bag system. Before attempting to
do your own service work, see “Servicing Your Air
Bag-Equipped Buick” in the Index. You
should keep a record with all
parts receipts and list
the mileage and the date
of any service work you
perform. See “Maintenance Record”
in the Index.
A CAUTION:
You can be injured and your vehicle could be
damaged if you try to do service work on a
vehicle without knowing enough about it.
Be sure you have sufficient knowledge,
experience, the proper replacement parts
and tools before
you attempt any vehicle
maintenance task.
Be sure to use the proper nuts, bolts and
other fasteners. “English” and “metric”
fasteners can be easily confused.
If you use
the wrong fasteners, parts can later break
or fall off.
You could be hurt.
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Adding Equipment to the Outside of
Your Vehicle
Things you might add to the outside of your vehicle can
affect the airflow around it. This may cause wind noise
and affect windshield washer performance. Check with
your Buick dealer before adding equipment
to the
outside
of your vehicle.
Fuel
Use regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane or
higher. At a minimum, it should meet specifications
ASTM D4814 in the United States and CGSB 3.5-M93
in Canada. Improved gasoline specifications have been
developed by the American Automobile Manufacturers
Association (AAMA) for better vehicle performance
and engine protection. Gasolines meeting the AAMA
specification could provide improved driveability and
emission control system protection compared
to
other gasolines.
Be sure the posted octane is at least
87. If the octane is
less than
87, you may get a heavy knocking noise when
you drive. If it’s bad enough, it can damage your engine. If
you’re using fuel rated
at 87 octane or higher and you
hear heavy knocking, your engine needs service. But
don’t worry if
you hear a little pinging noise when
you’re accelerating or driving up a hill. That’s normal,
and you don’t have to buy a higher octane fuel
to get rid
of pinging. It’s the heavy, constant knock that means
you have a problem.
If your vehicle
is certified to meet California Emission
Standards (indicated on the underhood emission control
label), it is designed to operate on
fuels that meet
California specifications. If such fuels are not available
in states adopting California emissions standards, your
vehicle will operate satisfactorily on fuels meeting
federal specifications, but emission control system
performance may be affected. The malfunction indicator
lamp on your instrument panel may turn
on and/or
your vehicle may fail a smog-check
test. If this occurs,
return
to your authorized Buick dealer for diagnosis
to determine the cause of failure. In the event it is
determined that the cause of the condition is the type of
fuels used, repairs may
not be covered by your warranty.
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Some gasolines that are not reformulated for low
emissions contain
an octane-enhancing additive called
methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT);
ask your service station operator whether or not his fuel
contains MMT. General Motors does not recommend the
use of such gasolines. If fuels containing MMT are used,
spark plug
life may be reduced and your emission
control system performance may be affected. The
malfunction indicator lamp on your instrument panel
may turn
on. If this occurs, return to your authorized
Buick dealer for service.
To provide cleaner air, all gasolines in the United States
are now required to contain additives that will help
prevent deposits from forming
in your engine and fuel
system, allowing your emission control system
to
function properly. Therefore, you should not have to add
anything
to the fuel. In addition, gasolines containing
oxygenates, such as ethers and ethanol, and
reformulated gasolines may be available in your area
to
help clean the air. General Motors recommends that you
use these gasolines if
they comply with the
specifications described earlier.
NOTICE:
Your vehicle was not designed for fuel that
contains methanol. Don’t use it.
It can corrode
metal parts in your fuel system and also damage plastic and rubber parts. That damage wouldn’t
be covered under your warranty.
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Fuels in Foreign Countries
If you plan on driving in another country outside the
United States or Canada, the proper fuel may be hard to
find. Never use leaded gasoline
or any other fuel not
recommended
in the previous text on fuel. Costly repairs
caused by use of improper fuel wouldn’t be covered by
your warranty.
To check on fuel availability, ask an auto club, or
contact a major oil company that does business
in the
country where you’ll be driving.
You can also write
us at the following address for
advice. Just tell
us where you’re going and give your
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
General Motors International Product Center
1908 Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, Ontario
Ll H 8P7
Filling Your Tank
A CAUTION:
Gasoline vapor is highly flammable. It burns
violently, and that can cause very bad injuries.
Don’t smoke
if you’re near gasoline or refueling
your vehicle. Keep sparks, flames and smoking
materials away from gasoline.
The tethered cap is behind a hinged door on the left side
of your vehicle.
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While refueling, let the cap hang by the tether below the
fuel fill opening.
To
take off the cap, turn it slowly to the left
(counterclockwise). The cap has a spring in it;
if you let
go of the cap too soon, it will spring back to the right. If you
get gasoline on yourself and then
something ignites it, you could be badly burned.
Gasoline can spray out on you if you open the
fuel filler cap
too quickly. This spray can happen
if
your tank is nearly full, and is more likely in
hot weather. Open the fuel filler cap slowly and
wait for any “hiss” noise to stop. Then unscrew
the cap all the
way.
Be careful not to spill gasoline. Clean gasoline from
painted surfaces as soon as possible. See “Cleaning the
Outside
of Your Buick” in the Index.
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