1998 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA Owners Manual

Front Towing
Tow Limits -- 35 mph (55 k&), 50 miles (80 km)
You must use a towing dolly under the rear wheels when
towing from the front.
NOTICE:
Do not tow with sling-type equipment or
fascidfog lamp damage will occur. 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.
Do not attach winch cables or J-hooks to
suspension components when using car-carrier
equipment. Always use T-hooks inserted in the
T-hook
slots.
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NOTICE:
Do not tow with sling-type equipment or rear
bumper valance damage will occur. 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.
Do not attach winch cables or J-hooks to
suspension components when using car-carrier
equipment. Always use T-hooks inserted in the
T-hook slots.
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Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature gage on your
vehicle's instrument panel. See "Gages" in the Index.
1 [f Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
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.
I NOTICE: I
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.
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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:
0 Climb a long hill on a hot day.
0 Stop after high-speed driving.
0 Idle for long periods in traffic.
0 Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or
so:
1. 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) or THIRD (3).
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 oflthe
engine
and get evrryone out of the vehicle until it
cools down.
You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.
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When you decide it's safe to lift the hood, here's what
you'll see: If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don't do anything else until
it cools down.
A. Coolant Recovery Tank
B. Radiator Pressure Cap
C. Engine Fan
The coolant level should be at least up to 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.
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U
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.
1 NOTICE:
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 clecrn
\,L*crtet- (preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL@ engine
coolant
at the coolant recovery tank. (See “Engine
Coolant”
in the Index for more information.)
I 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.
I
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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.
I
You can be burned if you spill 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 dire.ctly to the radiator, but
be sure the cooling
system
is cool before you do it.
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/A C,* UTION:
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.
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