1997 GMC SIERRA weight

If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure your vehicle is in PARK (P) and the
parking brake is firmly set before you leave
it. After you
move the shift lever into PARK (P), hold the regular
brake pedal down. Then,
see if you can move the shift
lever away from PARK (P) without first pulling it
toward
you. If you can, it means that the shift lever
wasn’t fully locked into PARK
(P).
Torque Lock (Automatic Transmission)
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
transmission into PARK (P) 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 PARK (P). This is called “torque lock.”
To prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and then
shift into PARK (P) properly before you leave the
driver’s seat.
To find out how, see “Shifting Into
PARK (P)” in the Index.
When you are ready
to drive, move the shift lever out of
PARK (P)
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 parking pawl in the transmission,
so
you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
Shifting Out of PARK (P)
(Automatic Transmission)
Your vehicle has a brake-transmission shift interlock
system. You have
to fully apply your regular brakes
before you can shift from PARK (P) when the ignition
is in RUN. See “Automatic Transmission” in the Index.
If you cannot shift out of PARK (P), ease pressure on
the shift lever and push the shift lever all the way up
into PARK (P) as you maintain brake application. Then,
move the shift lever to any gear you want.
If you ever hold the brake pedal down but still can’t
shift out
of PARK (P), try this:
1. Turn the key to OFF,
2. Apply and hold the brake until the end of Step 4.
3. Shift to NEUTRAL (N).
4. Start the vehicle and shift to the drive gear you want.
5. Have the brake-transmission shift interlock system
fixed as soon as you can.
2-30
ProCarManuals.com

Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national tragedy. It’s the number one contributor to
the highway death toll, claiming thousands
of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs
to drive
a vehicle:
Judgment
Muscular Coordination
Vision
0 Attentiveness.
Police records show that almost half
of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol.
In most cases,
these deaths are the result of someone who was drinking
and driving. In recent years, some
17,000 annual motor
vehicle-related deaths have been associated with
the use
of alcohol, with more than 300,000 people injured.
Many adults
-- by some estimates, nearly half the adult
population
-- choose never to drink alcohol, so they
never drive after drinking. For persons under
2 1, it’s
against the law
in every U.S. state to drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological and
developmental reasons for these laws. The
obvious way
to solve this highway safety problem
is for people never
to drink alcohol and then drive. But
what
if people do? How much is “too much” if the
driver plans to drive? It’s a lot less than many might
think. Although it depends
on each person and situation,
here is some general information
on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone
who is drinking depends upon four things:
0 The amount of alcohol consumed
0 The drinker’s body weight
The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
The length of time it has taken the drinker to
consume the alcohol.
According to the American Medical Association, a
180-lb.
(82 kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce
(355 ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a
BAC
of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the
same BAC by drinking three 4-ounce
(1 20 ml) glasses
of wine or three mixed drinks if each had
1-1/2 ounces
(45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.
4-3
~
ProCarManuals.com

It’s the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis
(3 ounces
or
90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
BAC would be close to 0. I2 percent. A person who
consumes food just before or during drinking will have a
somewhat lower
BAC level.
There is a gender difference, too. Women generally have
a lower relative percentage of body water than men. Since alcohol is carried
in body water, this means that
a
woman generally will reach
a higher BAC level than a
man
of her same body weight when each has the same
number
of drinks.
The law
in many U.S. states sets the legal limit at a BAC
of 0.10 percent. In a growing number of U.S. states, and
throughout Canada, the limit is
0.08 percent. In some
other countries, it’s even lower. The BAC limit for all
commercial drivers in the United States is
0.04 percent.
The BAC will be over
0.10 percent after three to six
drinks (in one hour).
Of course, as we’ve seen, it
depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and how
quickly the person drinks them.
But
the ability to drive is affected well below a BAC
of 0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills
of many people are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night, All
drivers are impaired at BAC levels above
0.05 percent.
Statistics show that the chance of being in a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have a
BAC of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC
level of 0.10 percent, the chance of
this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a
level of
0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
4-4
ProCarManuals.com

Control of a Vehicle Braking
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where
you want it
to go. They are the brakes, the steering and
the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work
at the places where the tires meet the road. Braking action involves
perception
time and
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That’s
perception time. Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That’s
reaction time.
Average reaction time is about 314 of a second. But
that’s only an average. It might be less with one driver
and as long as two or three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination
and eyesight all play a
part. So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even in
3/4 of a second, a vehicle
moving at
60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m).
That could be a lot
of distance in an emergency, so
keeping enough space between your vehicle and others
is important.
And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road (whether it’s pavement or
gravel); the condition
of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight of the
vehicle and the amount
of brake force applied.
Sometimes, as when you’re driving on snow or ice, it’s
easy to ask more
of those control systems than the tires
and road can provide. That means you can lose control
of your vehicle.
4-6
ProCarManuals.com

Am I likely to stall when going downhill?
A: It’s much more likely to happen going uphill. But if
it happens going downhill, here’s what to do.
Stop your vehicle by applying the regular brakes.
Apply the parking brake.
Shift to PARK (P) (or to NEUTRAL (N) with the manual
transmission) and, while still braking, restart
the engine.
Shift back to a low gear, release the parking brake,
and drive straight down.
e If the engine won’t start, get out and get help.
Driving Across an Incline
Sooner or later, an off-road trail will probably go across
the incline of a hill. If this happens, you have to decide
whether to try to drive across the incl.ine. Here are some
things to consider:
A hill that can be driven straight up or down may
be too steep to drive across. When you go straight
up or down
a hill, the length of the wheel base (the
distance from the front wheels to the rear wheels)
reduces
the likelihood the vehicle will tumble end
over end. But when you drive across an incline, the
much more narrow track width (the distance between
the left and right wheels) may not prevent the vehicle
from tilting and rolling over. Also, driving across
an
e
e
incline puts more weight on the downhill wheels.
This could cause a downhill slide or
a rollover.
Surface conditions can be a problem
when you drive
across
a hill. Loose gravel, muddy spots, or even wet
grass can cause your tires
to slip sideways, downhill.
If the vehicle slips sideways, it can hit something
that will trip it (a rock, a rut, etc.) and roll over.
Hidden obstacles can make the steepness of
the
incline even worse. If you drive across a rock with
the uphill wheels, or if the downhill wheels drop into
a
rut or depression, your vehicle can tilt even more.
For reasons like these, you need to decide carefully
whether
to try to drive across an incline. Just because the
trail
goes across the incline doesn’t mean you have to
drive it. The last vehicle to
try it might have rolled over.
Driving across an incline that’s too steep will
make your vehicle roll over.
You could be
seriously injured or killed.
If you have any doubt
about the steepness
of the incline, don’t drive
across it. Find another route instead.
ProCarManuals.com

Loading Your Vehicle
I-
GAWR FRT
RIM COLD TIRE PRESSURE
-!=2 - I
The Certificationrnire label is found on the rear edge of
the driver’s door or in the Incomplete Vehicle Document
in the cab.
The label shows the size of
your original tires and the
inflation pressures needed to obtain the gross weight
capacity
of your vehicle. This is called the GVWR
(Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). The GVWR includes the
weight
of the vehicle, all occupants, fuel and cargo.
The Certificationmire label also tells you the maximum
weights for the front and rear axles, called Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR). To find out the actual loads on
your front and rear axles, you need
to go to a weigh
station
and weigh your vehicle. Your dealer can help
you
with this. Be sure to spread out your load equally on
both sides of the centerline.
Never exceed the
GVWR for your vehicle, or the
GAWR for
either the front or rear axle.
And, if you do have a heavy load, you should spread
it out.
/;1 CAUTION:
In the case of a den stop or collision, things
carried in the bed of your truck could shift
forward and come into the passenger area,
injuring you and others. If you put things in the
bed
of your truck, you should make sure they are
properly secured.
Using heavier suspension components to get added
durability might not change your weight ratings. Ask
your dealer to help you load
your vehicle the right way.
4-41
ProCarManuals.com

I
A CAUTION:
Do not load your vehicle any heavier than the
GVWR, or either the maximum front or rear
GAWR.
If’ you do, parts on your vehicle can
break, or
it can change the way your vehicle
handles. These could cause you to lose control.
Also, overloading can shorten the life of
your vehicle.
NOTICE:
Your warranty does not cover parts or
components that fail because of overloading.
A CAUTION:
Things you put inside your vehicle can strike
and injure people in
a sudden stop or turn,
or in a crash.
0 Put things in the cargo area of your vehicle.
Try to spread the weight evenly.
0 Never stack heavier things, like suitcases,
inside the vehicle
so that some of them are
above the tops of the seats.
0 Don’t leave an unsecured child restraint in
your vehicle.
0 When you carry something inside the
vehicle, secure it whenever you can.
0 Don’t leave a seat folded down unless you
need to.
If you put things inside your vehicle
-- like suitcases,
tools, packages, or anything else
-- they go as fast as the
vehicle goes. If
you have to stop or turn quickly, or if
there is a crash, they’ll keep going. There’s
also important loading information for off-road
driving in this manual. See “Loading
Your Vehicle for
Off-Road Driving” in the Index.
4-42
ProCarManuals.com

Truck-Camper Loading Information
This label is inside your glove box. It will tell you if
your vehicle can carry a slide-in camper, how much of
a
load your vehicle can carry, and how to correctly spread
out your load. Also, it will help you match the right
slide-in camper to your vehicle.
When you carry a slide-in camper, the total cargo load
of your vehicle is the weight of the camper, plus
everything else added to the camper after it left
the factory,
0 everything in the camper and
all the people inside.
The Cargo Weight Rating (CWR) is the maximum
weight of the load your vehicle can carry. It doesn’t
include the weight
of the people inside. But, you can
figure about
150 lbs. (68 kg) for each seat.
The total cargo load must not be more than your
vehicle’s CWR.
Refer to the Truck Camper Loading Information label
in
glove box for dimensions A and B as shown in the
following illustration. Use the rear
edge of the load
floor for measurement
purposes. The recommended location for the cargo
center of gravity is at point C for the CWR.
It is the
point where the mass of a body
is concentrated and,
if suspended at that point, would balance the front
and rear.
4-43
ProCarManuals.com