1998 CHEVROLET BLAZER brake

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems (brakes, steering
and acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the
tires meet the road to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer and
constantly seek
an escape route or area of less danger.
Skidding
In a slud, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited
to existing conditions, and by not “overdriving”
those conditions. But skids are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
aren’t rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too
much speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and
lose cornering force. And in the acceleration skid,
too
much throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering skid and an acceleration skid are best
handled by easing your foot
off the accelerator pedal.
If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way
you want the
vehicle to go. If you start steering quickly enough, your
vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready
for a
second skid if it occurs.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel or other material is
on the road. For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction, try your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration or
braking (including engine braking
by shifting to a lower
gear). Any sudden changes could cause the tires to slide.
You may not realize the surface is slippery until your
vehicle is skidding. Learn to recognize warning
clues
-- such as enough water, ice or packed snow on
the road to make a “mirrored surface”
-- and slow down
when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system (ABS) helps
avoid only
the braking skid.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving Guidelines
This multipurpose passenger vehicle is defined as a
utility vehicle in Consumer Information Regulations
issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) of the United States
Department of Transportation. Utility vehicles have
higher ground clearance and a narrower track to make
them capable of performing in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design characteristics give them a
higher center of gravity than ordinary cars. An
advantage of the higher ground clearance is a better
view of the road allowing you to anticipate problems.
They are not designed for cornering at the same speeds
as conventional two-wheel-drive vehicles any more than
low-slung sports cars are designed to perform
satisfactorily under off-road conditions. If at all
possible, avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers. As with
other vehicles of this type, failure to operate this vehicle
correctly may result in loss of control or
vehicle rollover.
Off-Road Driving with Your GM
Four-Wheel-Drive Vehicle
This off-road guide is for vehicles that have
four-wheel drive.
Also, see “Anti-Lock Brakes’’
in the Index.
If your vehicle doesn’t have four-wheel drive, you
shouldn’t drive off-road unless you’re
on a level,
solid surface.
Off-road driving can be great
fun. But it does have some
definite hazards. The greatest of these is the terrain itself. \
“Off-roading” means you’ve left the great North
American road system behind. Traffic lanes aren’t
marked. Curves aren’t banked. There are no road signs.
Surfaces can
be slippery, rough, uphill or downhill. In
short, you’ve gone right back to nature.
Off-road driving involves some new skills. And that’s
why it’s very important that you read this guide. You’ll
find many driving tips and suggestions. These will help
make your off-road driving safer and more enjoyable.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine ’ /1 CAUTIs-N: 1
~ Tu, Ang or driving across steep hills can be
1 dangerous. You could lose traction, slide
sideways, and possibly roll over. You could be
seriously injured or killed. When driving up hills,
always try to go straight up.
I
Driving to the top (crest) of a hill at full speed can
cause an accident. There could be
a drop-off,
embankment, cliff, or even another vehicle. You
could be seriously injured or killed.
As you near
the top of a hill, slow down and stay alert.
Ease up on your speed as you approach the top of
the hill.
0 Attach a flag to the vehicle to make you more visible
to approaching traffic on trails or hills.
0 Sound the horn as you approach the top of the hill to
let opposing traffic know you’re there.
Use your headlamps even during the day. They make
you more visible to oncoming traffic.
@ What should I do if my vehicle stalls, or is about
A: If this happens, there are some things you should
to stall, and
I can’t
make it up the hill?
do, and there are some things
you must not do.
First, here’s what
you should do:
Push the brake pedal to stop the vehicle and keep it
from rolling backwards. Also, apply the parking brake.
0 If your engine is still running, shift the transmission
to REVERSE (R), release the parking brake, and
slowly back down the hill in REVERSE (R).
4-20

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 0 If your engine has stopped running, you’ll need to
restart it. With the brake pedal depressed and the
parking brake still applied, shift the transmission to
PARK
(P) (or, shift to NEUTRAL (N) if your
vehicle has a manual transmission) and restart the
engine. Then, shift to REVERSE (R), release the
parking brake, and slowly back down the hill as straight as possible in REVERSE
(R).
As you are backing down the hill, put your left hand
on the steering wheel at the 12 o’clock position. This
way, you’ll be able to tell if your wheels are straight
and maneuver as
you back down. It’s best that you
back down the hill with your wheels straight rather
than in the left or right direction. Turning the wheel
too far to the left or right will increase the possibility
of a rollover.
Here are some things you
must not do if you stall,
or are about to stall, when going up a hill.
Never attempt to prevent a stall by shifting into
NEUTRAL (N) (or depressing the clutch, if you
have a manual transmission) to “rev-up” the engine
and regain forward momentum. This won’t work.
Your vehicle will roll backwards very quickly and
you could go out of control. Instead,
apply the regular brake to stop the vehicle. Then
apply the parking brake. Shift to REVERSE (R), release
the parking brake, and slowly back straight down.
Never attempt to turn around if you are about to stall
when going up
a hill. If the hill is steep enough to
stall your vehicle, it’s steep enough
to cause you to
roll over if you turn around. If you can’t make it up
the hill, you must back straight down the
hill.
&= Suppose, after stalling, I try to back down the
hill and decide
I just can’t do it. What should
I do?
A: Set the parking brake, put your transmission
in PARK (P) (or the manual transmission in
FIRST
(1)) and turn off the engine. Leave the
vehicle and go get some help. Exit on the uphill
side and stay clear
of the path the vehicle would
take if
it rolled downhill.
4-21

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving Downhill
When off-roading takes you downhill, you’ll want to
consider
a number of things:
0 How steep is the downhill? Will I be able to maintain
What’s the surface like? Smooth? Rough? Slippery?
Are there hidden surface obstacles? Ruts? Logs?
0 What’s at the bottom of the hill? Is there a hidden
vehicle control?
Hard-packed dirt? Gravel?
Boulders?
creek bank or even
a river bottom with large rocks?
If you decide you can go down a hill safely, then try to
keep your vehicle headed straight down, and use a low
gear. This way, engine drag can help your brakes and
they won’t have to do all the work. Descend slowly,
keeping your vehicle under control at all times.
0
0
Heavy braking when going down a hill can cause
your brakes to overheat and fade.
This could cause
loss of control and a serious accident. Apply the
brakes lightly when descending a hill and use a low
gear to keep vehicle speed under control.
-
@ Are there some things I should not do when
A: Yes! These are important because if you
driving down a hill?
ignore them you could lose control and have a
serious accident.
When driving downhill, avoid turns that take you across the incline
of the hill. A hill that’s not too
steep to drive down may be
too steep to drive across.
You could roll over if
you don’t drive straight down.
Never go downhill with the transmission in
NEUTRAL
(N), or with the clutch pedal depressed
in a manual shift. This is called “free-wheeling.”
Your brakes will have to do all the work and could
overheat
and fade.
4-22

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine @ 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.
0
a
a
0
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.
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 incline. Here are some
things to consider:
0 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 incline puts
more weight on the dowhll wheels.
This could cause
a downhill slide or a rollover.
0 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.
4-23

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving in Water
Light rain causes no special off-road driving problems.
But heavy rain
can mean flash flooding, and flood
waters demand extreme caution.
Find out how deep the water is before
you drive through
it. If it’s deep enough to cover your wheel hubs, axles or
exhaust pipe, don’t try it
-- you probably won’t get
through. Also, water that deep can damage your axle
and other vehicle parts.
If the water isn’t too deep, then drive through
it slowly.
At fast speeds, water splashes
on your ignition system
and your vehicle can stall. Stalling can also occur
if you
get your tailpipe under water. And, as long as your
tailpipe is under water, you’ll never be able to start your
engine. When you go through water, remember that
when your brakes get wet,
it may take you longer
to stop.
’ A CAUTION:
Driving through rushing water can be dangerous.
Deep water can sweep your vehicle downstream
and you and your passengers could drown.
If it’s
only shallow water, it can still wash away the
ground from under your tires, and you could lose
traction and roll the vehicle over. Don’t drive
through rushing water.
~
See “Driving Through Water” in the Index for more
information on driving through water.
After Off-Road Driving
Remove any brush or debris that has collected on the
underbody, chassis or under the hood. These
accumulations can be
a fire hazard.
Aftc- ~ lperation in mud or sand, have the brake linings
cleaned and checked. These substances can cause
glazing and uneven braking. Check the body structure,
steering, suspension, wheels, tires and exhaust system
for damage. Also, check the fuel lines and cooling
system for any leakage.
4-26

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The heavier the rain, the harder it is to see. Even if your
windshield wiper blades are
in good shape, a heavy rain
can make
it harder to see road signs and traffic signals,
pavement markings, the edge
of the road and even
people walking.
It's wise to keep your wiping equipment
in good shape
and keep your windshield washer tank filled with
washer fluid. Replace your windshield wiper inserts
when they show signs of streaking or missing areas on
the windshield, or when strips of rubber start to separate
from the inserts. Driving too
fast through large water puddles or even
going through some car washes can cause problems, too.
The water may affect your brakes. Try to avoid puddles.
But
if you can't, try to slow down before you hit them.
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won't work
as well in a quick stop and may cause pulling to
one side. You could lose control of the vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle of water or
a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly until
your brakes work normally.