1998 CHEVROLET EXPRESS Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 13. Remove the cables in reverse order to prevent
electrical shorting. Take care that they don’t touch
each other or any other metal.
A. Engine Block, Frame, Unpainted Metal Engine Part
B . Good Battery
or
Body Surface
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.
0 The make, model and year of your vehicle.
0 Whether you can move the shift lever for
the transmission.
0 If there was an accident, what was damaged.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A CAUTWN:
To help avoid injury to you or others:
Never let passengers ride in a vehicle that is
Never tow faster than safe or posted speeds.
Never tow with damaged parts not
Never get under your vehicle after it has
Always use separate safety chains on each
being
towed.
fully secured. been lifted by the tow truck.
side when towing
a vehicle.
When your vehicle is being towed, have the ignition
key
off. The steering wheel should be clamped in a
straight ahead position, with a clamping device designed
for towing service.
Do not use the vehicle’s steering
column lock for this. The transmission should be
in
NEUTRAL (N) and the parking brake should
be released.
I
A vehicle can fall from a car carrier if it isn’t
adequately secured. This can cause
a collision,
serious personal injury and vehicle damage. The
vehicle should be tightly secured with chains or
steel cables before
it is transported.
Don’t use substitutes (ropes, leather straps,
canvas webbing, etc.) that can be cut by sharp
edges underneath the towed vehicle.
5-9

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Front Towing
A towing dolly must be used under the drive wheels
when towing
from the front.
Tow Limits
- 35 mph (56kwr/h), 50 miles (80 km)
I
NOTICE:
Do not tow with sling-type equipment or the
front 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 or 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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Rear Towing
I NOTICE:
Do not tow the vehicle from the rear with loads
approaching rated
GVW as the weight transfer will
cause the front suspension to become overloaded.
I
NOTICE:
Do not tow with the sling-type equipment or the
rear bumper 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.
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.
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.
5-11

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine 1
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.

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.
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
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 contikties, 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 ofSthe
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.
5-13

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Cooling System (Gasoline Engines)
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.
5-14

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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. 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.
NOTICE:
I
Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.
I I
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.
5-15