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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
or Body Surface
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.
Whether you can move the shift lever for
the transmission.
If there was an accident, what was damaged.
B. Good Battery
C. Dead Battery
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A I
I /! CAUTION:
To
0
0
0
0 0
help avoid injury
to you or others:
Never let passengers ride in a vehicle that is
being towed.
Never tow faster than safe or posted speeds.
Never tow with damaged parts not
fully secured. Never get under your vehicle after it has
been lifted by the tow truck.
Always use separate safety chains on each
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.
A CAUTION:
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.
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Front Towing
A towing dolly must be used under the drive wheels
when towing from the.front.
Tow Limits - 35 mph (56km/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.
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Rear Towir -
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.
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.
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Engine Fan Noise If a Tire Goes Flat
Your vehicle has a clutched engine cooling fan. When the
clutch is engaged,
the fan spins faster to provide more air
to cool the engine. In most everyday driving conditions,
the fan is spinning slower and
the clutch is not fully
engaged. This improves
fuel economy and reduces fan
noise. Under heavy vehicle loading, trailer towing andor
high outside temperatures,
the fan speed increases as the
clutch more fully engages.
So you may hear an increase in
fan noise. This is normal and should not
be mistaken as
the transmission slipping or making extra shifts. It is
merely the cooling system functioning properly. The fan
will slow down when additional cooling
is not required
and the clutch partially disengages.
You may also hear this fan noise when you start
the engine. It will go away as
the fan clutch
partially disengages. It’s unusual
for a tire to “blow out” while you’re driving,
especially if you maintain your tires properly. If air goes
out of a tire, it’s much more likely to leak out slowly.
But
if you should ever have a “blowout,” here are a few
tips about what
to expect and what to do:
If a front tire fails, the flat tire will create a drag that
pulls the vehicle toward that side. Take your foot off the
accelerator pedal and grip the steering wheel firmly.
Steer to maintain lane position, and then gently brake
to
a stop well out of the traffic lane.
A rear blowout, particularly on a curve, acts much like a
skid and may require the same correction you’d use in a
skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the
accelerator pedal. Get the vehicle under control by
steering the way
you want the vehicle to go. It may be
very bumpy and noisy, but you can still steer. Gently
brake
to a stop -- well off the road if possible.
If a tire goes flat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely.
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Changing a Flat Tire
If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly to a level place.
Turn on your hazard
warning flashers.
-
CAUTION:
Changing a tire can cause an injury. The vehicle
can slip
off the jack and roll over you or other
people. You and they could be badly injured.
Find a level place to change your tire.
To help
prevent the vehicle from moving:
1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put the shift lever in PARK (P).
3. Turn off the engine.
To be even more certain the vehicle won’t move,
you can put blocks at the front and rear
of the
tire farthest away from the one being changed.
That would be the tire on the other side
of the
vehicle, at the opposite end. The
following steps will tell you how to use the
jack and
change a tire.
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Turn the ratchet to the left to lower the spare tire to the
ground. If you
are changing a flat rear tire and the
vehicle is already jacked up, use the jack handle and
extension to hook the cable. Then pull the spare from
beneath the vehicle. If the retainer pulls out, hook the
inside
of the wheel and pull the spare tire out from under
the vehicle.
When the tire has been lowered, tilt the retainer at the
end of the cable and pull it through the wheel opening.
I NOTICE: I
To help avoid vehicle damage, do not drive
vehicle before the cable is restored.
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Removing the Wheel Covers and Locking
Wheel Nuts
2. Loosen the plastic nut caps.
1. You will need to take off the wheel nut caps to reach
your wheel nuts. When
using the ratchet and socket,
make sure
the DOWN side faces you.
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