1997 GMC SAVANA engine

9. Make your last connection away from the battery, to
the engine block, frame or other unpainted metal
parts of your vehicle.
A ground location has been
provided through a
stud attached to the body surface.
10. Please remove the cap before using.
11. Now start the vehicle with the good battery and run
the engine for a while.
12. Try to start the vehicle with the dead battery. If it
13. Remove the cables in reverse order to prevent
won’t start after
a few tries,
it probably needs service.
electrical shorting. Take care that
they don’t touch
each other or any other metal.
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A. Engine Block, Frame, Unpainted Metal Engine Part
or Body Surface
B. Good Battery
C. Dead Battery
Towing Your Vehicle
Try to have your GM dealer or a professional towing
service tow your vehicle. They can provide the right
equipment and know-how to tow it without damage.
See “Roadside Assistance’’ in your Index.
If your vehicle has been changed since it was
factory-new, by adding things like fog lamps, aero
skirting, or special tires and wheels, these things could
be damaged during towing.
Before you do anything, turn on the hazard
warning flashers.
When you call, tell the towing service:
0 That your vehicle has rear wheel drive.
The make, model and year of your vehicle.
Whether you can move the shift lever for
the transmission.
If there was an accident, what was damaged.
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Engine Overheating
(Gasoline Engine)
You will find a coolant temperature gage on your vehicle’s
instrument panel.
If you have a diesel engine, you will also
find a low coolant light on your instrument panel.
If your vehicle has a diesel engine, see “Engine
Overheating” in the Diesel Engine Supplement.
If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
Steam from an overheated engine can burn you
badly, even if you just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear steam coming
from it. Just turn it
off and get everyone away
from the vehicle until it cools down. Wait until
there is no sign of steam or coolant before you
open the hood.
If you keep driving when your engine is
overheated, the liquids in it can catch fire. You or
others could be badly burned. Stop your engine if
it overheats, and get out of the vehicle until the
engine is cool.
I NOTICE:
If your engine catches fire because you keep
driving with no coolant, your vehicle can be
badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be
covered by your warranty.
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If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
If you get the overheat warning but see or hear no
steam, the problem may not be too serious. Sometimes
the engine can get a little too hot when you:
0 Climb a long hill on a hot day.
0 Stop after high-speed driving.
0 Idle for long periods in traffic.
Tow a trailer. See “Driving on Grades” in the Index.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or
so:
1. If you have an air conditioner, turn it off.
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan
3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);
otherwise, shift to
the highest gear while
driving
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (a)
or DRIVE (D). speed and
open the window as necessary. If you no
longer have the overheat warning, you can
drive. Just to be safe, drive slower for about 10 minutes.
If
the warning doesn’t come back on, you can
drive normally.
If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and park your
vehicle right away.
If there’s still no sign of steam, you can idle the engine
for two or three minutes while you’re parked, to push
the accelerator until the engine speed is about twice as
fast as normal idle speed. Bring the engine speed back
to normal idle speed after two or three minutes. Now
see if the warning stops. But then, if you still have the
warning,
turn ofithe engine and get everyone out of
the vehicle until it cools down.
You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.
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Cooling System
When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll see:
The coolant level should be at or above the
FULL
COLD mark.
A. Radiator pressure cap
B. Coolant recovery tank
C. Engine fan(s)
If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down.
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If it isn’t, you may have a leak in the radiator hoses,
heater hoses, radiator, water pump or somewhere else in
the cooling system.
A CAUTION:
Heater and radiator hoses, and other engine
parts, can be very hot. Don’t touch them.
If you
do, you can be burned.
Don’t run the engine
if there is a leak. If you run
the engine, it could lose a11 coolant. That could
cause an engine fire, and
you could be burned.
Get any leak fixed before
you drive the vehicle.
NOTICE:
Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered
by your warranty.
If there seems to be no leak, start the engine again. See
if the fan speed increases when idle speed is doubled by
pushing the accelerator pedal down.
If it doesn’t, your
vehicle needs service. Turn off the engine.
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How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Recovery Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
isn’t at the
FULL COLD mark, add a 50/50 mixture of
clean water (preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL@
(silicate-free) antifreeze
at the coolant recovery tank. (See
“Engine Coolant” in the Index for more information.)
Adding only plain
can be dangerous. Plain water,
or some other
liquid like alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mix will, Your vehicle’s coolant warning
system is set for the proper coolant mix.
CAUTION: (Continued) JAUTION:
(Continu
With plain water or the wrong’mix, your engine
could get too hot but you wouldn’t get the
overheat warning. Your engine could catch fire
and you or others could be burned. Use
a 50/50
mix of clean water and DEX-COOL@ coolant.
NOTICE:
In cold weather, water can freeze and crack the
engine, radiator, heater core and other parts.
Use the recommended coolant and the proper
coolant mix.
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’ 1 CAUTION:
You can be burned if you spill coolant on hot
engine parts. Coolant contains ethylene glycol and
it will burn if the engine parts are hot
enough. Don’t spill coolant
on a hot engine.
When the coolant in the coolant recovery tank is at the
FULL COLD mark, start your vehicle.
If the overheat warning continues, there’s one more
thing you can try. You can add the proper coolant mix
directly to the radiator, but be sure the cooling system is
cool before you do it.
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