1997 CHEVROLET TRACKER Owners Manual

If a Tire Goes Flat
It’s unusual for a tire to “blow out’’ while you’re driving,
especially if you maintain your tires properly. If air goes
out of a tire, it’s much more likely to leak out slowly.
But if you should ever have a “blowout,” here are a few
tips about what to expect and what to do:
If a front tire fails, the flat tire will create a drag that
pulls the vehicle toward that side. Take your foot off the
accelerator pedal and grip the steering wheel firmly.
Steer to maintain lane position, and then gently brake to
a stop well out of the traffic lane.
A rear blowout, particularly on a curve, acts much like a
skid and may require the same correction you’d
use in a
skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the
accelerator pedal. Get the vehicle under control
by
steering the way you want the vehicle to go. It may be
very bumpy and noisy, but you can still steer. Gently
brake
to a stop -- well off the road if possible.
If a tire goes flat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely.
Changing a Flat Tire
If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly
to a level place. Turn on your hazard
warning flashers.
Changing a tire can cause an injury. T vehicle
can slip off the jack and roll over you or other
people. You and they could be badly injured.
Find
a level place to change your tire. To help
prevent the vehicle from moving:
1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put an automatic transmission shift
lever in
PARK (P) or shift a manual
transmission to FIRST
(1) or
REVERSE (R).
3. If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle,
be sure the transfer case is in a drive
gear
-- not in NEUTRAL (N).
4. Turn off the engine.
To be even more certain the vehicle won’t move,
you can put blocks at the front and rear of the
tire farthest away from the one being changed.
That would be the tire on the other side of the
vehicle, at the opposite end.
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The following steps will tell you how to use the jack and
change a tire.
Removing the SDare Tire and Tools
The jack and wheel wrench are under the front
passenger's seat.
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B
C
The jack handle is under the driver’s seat.
The tools you’ll be using include the jack (A), jack
handle
(B) and wheel wrench (C).
Attach the jack handle to the jack. Turn the jack handle
to the right to raise the lift head.
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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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k
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.
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing the
Spare Tire
I. Using the wheel wrench, loosen all the wheel nuts.
Don't remove them yet.
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4.7"
(1 20 mm)
2. Position the jack and raise the jack lift head until it
fits
firmly onto the bosses nearest the flat tire.
(Under the vehicle near each wheel, there are bosses
in the vehicle's rocker flange.)
A CAUTION:
Getting under a vehicle when it is jacked up is
dangerous.
If the vehicle slips off the jack, you
could be badly injured
or killed. Never get under
a vehicle when it is supported only by a jack.
A CAUTION:
Raising your vehicle with the jack improperly
positioned can damage the vehicle and even make
the vehicle fall.
To help avoid personal injury and
vehicle damage, be sure to fit the jack lift head
into the proper location before raising
the vehicle.
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4. Remove all the wheel
nuts and take off the
flat tire.
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 spare
tire to fit.
5. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces and
spare wheel.
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A CAUTION:
- -
Rust or dirt on the wheel, or on the parts to
which it is fastened, can make the wheel nuts
become loose after
a time. The wheel could come
off and cause an accident. When you change
a
wheel, remove any rust or dirt from the places
where the wheel attaches to the vehicle. In an
emergency, you can use a cloth or
a paper towel
to do this; but be sure to use a scraper or wire
brush later, if
you need to, to get all the rust or
dirt off.
/!1 CAUTION:
Never use oil or grease on studs or nuts. If you
do, the nuts might come loose. Your wheel could
fall off, causing a serious accident.
6. Replace the wheel nuts with the rounded end of the
nuts toward the wheel. Tighten each nut
by hand
until the wheel is held against the hub.
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