2002 CADILLAC ESCALADE EXT spare tire

5-29
3. Remove all the wheel
nuts and take off the
flat tire.
4. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces and
spare wheel.
CAUTION:
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.
CAUTION:
Never use oil or grease on studs or nuts. If you
do, the nuts might come loose. Your wheel could
fall off, causing a serious accident.

5-32 Storing a Flat or Spare Tire and Tools
CAUTION:
Storing a jack, a tire or other equipment in the
passenger compartment of the vehicle could
cause injury. In a sudden stop or collision, loose
equipment could strike someone. Store all these
in the proper place.
Store the tire under the rear of the vehicle in the spare
tire carrier. Use the art and text following to help you:
A. Spare Tire (Valve
Stem Pointed Up)
B. Hoist Assembly
C. Hoist Cable
D. Tire Retainer
E. Hoist ShaftF. Hoist End of
Extension Tool
G. Hoist Shaft
Access Hole
H. Wheel Wrench
I. Jack Handle
Extensions
J. Hoist Lock

5-34
4. Insert the hoist end (F)
through the hole (G)
in the rear bumper and
into the hoist shaft.
5. Raise the tire partway upward. Make sure the
retainer is seated in the wheel opening.
6. Raise the tire fully against the underside of the
vehicle. Continue turning the wheel wrench until
the tire is secure and the cable is tight. The spare
tire hoist cannot be overtightened.
7. Make sure the tire is stored securely. Push, pull, and
then try to rotate or turn the tire. If the tire moves,
use the wheel wrench to tighten the cable.
To store the tools, follow these procedures:
1. Return the tools to the tool bag and place it
back in the Top
-Box storage area.
2. Assemble the wheel blocks and bottle jack
together with the wing nut.
3. Replace the jack cover and tighten the
jack
-cover wingnuts.

5-35
Spare Tire
Your vehicle, when new, had a fully inflated spare tire.
A spare tire may lose air over time, so check its inflation
pressure regularly. See ªInflation
-Tire Pressureº and
ªLoading Your Vehicleº in the Index for information
regarding proper tire inflation and loading your vehicle.
For instruction on how to remove, install or store a spare
tire, see ªChanging a Flat Tireº in the Index.
After installing the spare tire on your vehicle, you
should stop as soon as possible and make sure the spare
is correctly inflated. Have the damaged or flat road tire
repaired or replaced as soon as you can and installed
back onto your vehicle. This way, a spare tire will be
available in case you need it again.
If your vehicle has a spare tire that does not match your
vehicle's original road tires and wheels in size and type,
do not include the spare in the tire rotation.
If You're Stuck: In Sand, Mud,
Ice or Snow
In order to free your vehicle when it is stuck, you will
need to spin the wheels, but you don't want to spin
your wheels too fast. The method known as ªrockingº
can help you get out when you're stuck, but you must
use caution.
CAUTION:
If you let your tires spin at high speed, they can
explode, and you or others could be injured.
And, the transmission or other parts of the
vehicle can overheat. That could cause an engine
compartment fire or other damage. When you're
stuck, spin the wheels as little as possible. Don't
spin the wheels above 35 mph (55 km/h) as shown
on the speedometer.

6-51 Inflation -- Tire Pressure
The Certification/Tire label, which is located on the rear
edge of the driver's door, shows the correct inflation
pressures for your tires when they're cold. ªColdº
means your vehicle has been sitting for at least
three hours or driven no more than 1 mile (1.6 km).
NOTICE:
Don't let anyone tell you that underinflation or
overinflation is all right. It's not. If your tires
don't have enough air (underinflation), you can
get the following:

Too much flexing

Too much heat

Tire overloading

Bad wear

Bad handling

Bad fuel economy
NOTICE: (Continued)
NOTICE: (Continued)
If your tires have too much air (overinflation),
you can get the following:

Unusual wear

Bad handling

Rough ride

Needless damage from road hazards
When to Check
Check your tires once a month or more. Also, check the
tire pressure of the spare tire.
How to Check
Use a good quality pocket
-type gage to check tire
pressure. You can't tell if your tires are properly inflated
simply by looking at them. Radial tires may look
properly inflated even when they're underinflated.
Be sure to put the valve caps back on the valve
stems. They help prevent leaks by keeping out dirt
and moisture.

6-52 Tire Inspection and Rotation
Tires should be rotated every 6,000 to 8,000 miles
(10 000 to 13 000 km). Any time you notice unusual
wear, rotate your tires as soon as possible and check
wheel alignment. Also check for damaged tires or
wheels. See ªWhen It's Time for New Tiresº and
ªWheel Replacementº later in this section for more
information. Make sure the spare tire is stored securely.
Push, pull, and then try to rotate or turn the tire. If it
moves, use the wheel wrench to tighten the cable. See
ªStoring a Flat or Spare Tire and Toolsº in the Index.
The purpose of regular rotation is to achieve more uniform
wear for all tires on the vehicle. The first rotation is the
most important. See ªScheduled Maintenance Servicesº in
the Index for scheduled rotation intervals.
When rotating your tires, always use the correct rotation
pattern shown here. Don't include the spare tire in your
tire rotation.
After the tires have been rotated, adjust the front and rear
inflation pressures as shown on the Certification/Tire label.
Make certain that all wheel nuts are properly tightened.
See ªWheel Nut Torqueº in the Index.
CAUTION:
Rust or dirt on a wheel, or on the parts to which
it is fastened, can make 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 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.
See ªChanging a Flat Tireº in the Index.

6-54 Buying New Tires
To find out what kind and size of tires you need, look at
the Certification/Tire label.
The tires installed on your vehicle when it was new had a
Tire Performance Criteria Specification (TPC Spec)
number on each tire's sidewall. When you get new tires,
get ones with that same TPC Spec number. That way your
vehicle will continue to have tires that are designed to give
proper endurance, handling, speed rating, traction, ride
and other things during normal service on your vehicle. If
your tires have an all
-season tread design, the TPC number
will be followed by an ªMSº (for mud and snow).
If you ever replace your tires with those not having a
TPC Spec number, make sure they are the same size,
load range, speed rating and construction type
(bias, bias
-belted or radial) as your original tires.
CAUTION:
Mixing tires could cause you to lose control while
driving. If you mix tires of different sizes or types
(radial and bias
-belted tires), the vehicle may not
handle properly, and you could have a crash.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Using tires of different sizes may also cause
damage to your vehicle. Be sure to use the same
size and type tires on all wheels.
If your vehicle has 17 inch road tires (those
originally installed on your vehicle) it is all right
to drive with the 16 inch spare tire that came
with your vehicle. When new, your vehicle
included a spare tire and wheel assembly with the
same overall diameter as your vehicle's road tires
and wheels. Because this spare tire was developed
for use on your vehicle, it will not affect vehicle
handling or cause damage to your vehicle.
CAUTION:
If you use bias-ply tires on your vehicle, the
wheel rim flanges could develop cracks after
many miles of driving. A tire and/or wheel could
fail suddenly, causing a crash. Use only radial
-ply
tires with the wheels on your vehicle.

6-55 Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Quality grades can be found where applicable on the
tire sidewall between tread shoulder and maximum
section width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A
The following information relates to the system
developed by the United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, which grades tires by
treadwear, traction and temperature performance.
(This applies only to vehicles sold in the United States.)
The grades are molded on the sidewalls of most
passenger car tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading
system does not apply to deep tread, winter
-type snow
tires, space
-saver or temporary use spare tires, tires with
nominal rim diameters of 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm),
or to some limited
-production tires.
While the tires available on General Motors passenger
cars and light trucks may vary with respect to these
grades, they must also conform to federal safety
requirements and additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC) standards.Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on
the wear rate of the tire when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified government test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear one and a
half (1 1/2) times as well on the government course
as a tire graded 100. The relative performance of tires
depends upon the actual conditions of their use,
however, and may depart significantly from the norm
due to variations in driving habits, service practices and
differences in road characteristics and climate.
Traction
-- AA, A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are AA, A,
B, and C. Those grades represent the tire's ability to stop
on wet pavement as measured under controlled
conditions on specified government test surfaces of
asphalt and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor
traction performance. Warning: The traction grade
assigned to this tire is based on straight
-ahead braking
traction tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning, or peak traction characteristics.