1998 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA tow

/i CAJTION:
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
Never use J-hooks. Use T-hooks instead.
being
towed.
fully secured.
been lifted by the tow truck.
side when towing a vehicle.
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. Always use
T-hooks inserted in the T-hook slots. Never use
J-hooks. They will damage drivetrain and
suspension components.
When your vehicle is being towed, have the ignition key
turned
to the OFF position. 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). The parking brake should
be released.
5-9
ProCarManuals.com

If your vehicle has no electrical power, the electrical
solenoid lock must be overridden to shift from
PARK
(P) to NEUTRAL (N). Follow these steps:
1. Push the base of the leather shift lever boot forward
with your thumb.
2. Lift the boot and find the white solenoid lever.
m 3. Move the solenoid
lever toward the
driver’s side to
unlock it.
.
4. While holding the solenoid lever in the unlock
position, press the shift lever button and shift into
NEUTRAL (N).
5. Release the solenoid lever and snap the boot back
into place.
Don’t have your vehicle towed on the drive wheels
unless you must. If the vehicle must be towed on the
drive wheels, be sure not to exceed
35 mph (55 km/h)
and not to travel more than
50 miles (80 km) or your
transmission will be damaged. The drive wheels have to
be supported on
a dolly.
5-10
ProCarManuals.com

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.
5-11
ProCarManuals.com

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.
5-12
ProCarManuals.com

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.
5-14
ProCarManuals.com

If a Tire Goes Flat
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.
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.
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. nrn 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.
5-22
ProCarManuals.com

Removing the Spare Tire and Tools
The jacking equipment you’ll need is stored along the
driver’s rear wall. Your vehicle is also equipped with
work gloves and a plastic ground mat
to assist in the
changing
of a flat tire.
To remove the jack cover,
pull up on the latch(es) on
the cover, Remove the
wheel blocks, jack and
wheel wrench.
The spare tire
is stored under the vehicle.
NOTICE:
Never remove or restow a tire frodto a
stowage position under the vehicle while the
vehicle is supported
by a jack. Always tighten the
tire
fully against the underside of the vehicle
when restowing.
To remove the spare, insert
the chisel end
of the wheel
wrench, on an angle, into the hole
in the rear bumper.
Be sure the chisel end
of the
wheel wrench connects into
the hoist shaft.
ProCarManuals.com

4. Raise the vehicle by turning the jack handle to the
right. Raise the vehicle far enough off the ground
so
there is enough room for the spare tire to fit.
5. Remove all the wheel nuts and take off the flat tire.
6. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces and
spare wheel.
Rust or dirt on the wheel, or on the parts to
which it is fastened, can make the wheel nuts
become loose after
a time. The wheel could come
off and cause an accident. When you change a
wheel, remove any rust or dirt from the places
where the wheel attaches to the vehicle. In an
emergency, you can use
a cloth or a paper towel
to do this; but be sure to use
a scraper or wire
brush later, if you need to, to get all the rust
or
dirt off.
5-27
ProCarManuals.com