1998 CHEVROLET ASTRO Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Towing From the Rear
(Except All-Wheel Drive)
NOTICE:
Do not tow with sling-type equipment or the rear
bumper system will be damaged. Use wheel-lift
or car-carrier equipment. Additional ramping
may be required for car-carrier equipment.
Use safety chains and wheel straps.
Towing a vehicle over rough surfaces could
damage
a vehicle. Damage can occur from
vehicle to ground or vehicle to wheel-lift
equipment.
To help avoid damage, install a
towing dolly and raise the vehicle until
adequate clearance is obtained between the
ground and/or wheel-lift equipment.
5-11

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Towing From the Rear (All-Wheel Drive)
A towing dolly must be used under the front wheels
when towing
from the reaK
NOTICE:
Do not tow with sling-type equipment or the rear
bumper system will be damaged. Use wheel-lift
or car-carrier equipment. Additional ramping
may be required for car-carrier equipment. Use
safety chains and wheel straps.
Towing a vehicle over rough surfaces could
damage
a vehicle. Damage can occur from
vehicle to ground or vehicle to wheel-lift
equipment.
To help avoid damage, install a
towing dolly and raise the vehicle until
adequate clearance
is obtained between the
ground and/or wheel-lift equipment.
5-12

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Engine Overheating
You will find an engine coolant temperature gage
on your vehicle’s instrument panel. See “Gages” in
the Index.
If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
A CAUTION:
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.
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.
5-13

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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:
Climb a long hill on a hot day.
Stop after high-speed driving.
Idle for long periods in traffic.
0 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:
I. Turn off your air conditioner.
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan
speed and open the window as necessary.
3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);
otherwise, shift to the highest gear while
driving
-- DRIVE (D).
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, 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 ofs
the engine nncl 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.
5-14

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Cooling System
When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll see:
A. Coolant Recovery Tank
B. Radiator Pressure Cap
C. Engine Fan
If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until
it cools down. The
coolant level should be at the
ADD mark.
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.
5-15

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine [6h, 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 all coolant. That could
cause an engine fire, and you could be burned.
Get any leak fixed before you drive the vehicle.
I NOTICE: I
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 engine cooling 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.
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
ADD mark, add a 50/50 mixture of
clean water (preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL@
engine coolant at the coolant recovery tank. (See
“Engine Coolant” in the Index for more information.)
A CAUTION:
Adding only plain water to your cooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water, or some other
liquid like alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mixture will. Your vehicle’s coolant
warning system is set for the proper coolant
mixture. With plain water or the wrong mixture,
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 mixture of clean water and
DEX-COOL@ coolant.
5-16

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 mixture. You
can be burned if you sl I 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
ADD mark, start your vehicle.
If the overheat warning continues, there’s one more
thing
you can try. You can add the proper coolant
mixture directly
to the radiator, but be sure the cooling
system is
cool before you do it.
5-17

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Steam and scalding liquids from a hot cooling
system can blow out and burn you badly. They
are under pressure, and
if you turn the radiator
pressure cap
-- even a little -- they can come out
at high speed. Never turn the cap when the
cooling system, including the radiator pressure
cap, is hot. Wait for the cooling system and
radiator pressure cap to cool if you ever have to
turn the pressure cap.
5-18