2002 CHEVROLET C3500 HD service

4-37 When You Are Ready to Leave After
Parking on a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold the pedal down
while you:

start your engine,

shift into a gear, and

release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more often when you're
pulling a trailer. See the Maintenance Schedule for
more on this. Things that are especially important
in trailer operation are automatic transmission fluid
(don't overfill), engine oil, axle lubricant, belts, cooling
system and brake system. Each of these is covered in
this manual, and the Index will help you find them
quickly. If you're trailering, it's a good idea to review
these sections before you start your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch nuts and bolts
are tight.
Trailer Wiring Harness
Power Winches
If you wish to use a power winch on your vehicle,
only use it when your vehicle is stationary or anchored.
NOTICE:
Using a power winch with the transmission in gear
may damage the transmission. When operating
a power winch, always leave the transmission
in NEUTRAL (N).
Use the regular brakes, set the parking brake, or block
the wheels to keep your vehicle from rolling.

5-8
11. Try to start the vehicle that had the dead battery.
If it won't start after a few tries, it probably
needs service.
NOTICE:
Damage to your vehicle may result from
electrical shorting if jumper cables are removed
incorrectly. To prevent electrical shorting, take
care that they don't touch each other or any
other metal. The repairs wouldn't be covered by
your warranty.
Jumper Cable Removal
A. Heavy, Unpainted Metal Engine Part or Remote
Negative (
-) Terminal
B. Good Battery or Remote Positive (+) and Remote
Negative (
-) Terminals
C. Dead Battery or Remote Positive (+) Terminal

5-9
To disconnect the jumper cables from both vehicles,
do the following:
1. Disconnect the black negative (
-) cable from the
vehicle that has the dead battery.
2. Disconnect the black negative (
-) cable from the
vehicle with the good battery.
3. Disconnect the red positive (+) cable from the
vehicle with the good battery.
4. Disconnect the red positive (+) cable from the
other vehicle.
Towing Your Vehicle
Consult your dealer or a professional towing service
if you need to have your disabled vehicle towed.
See ªRoadside Assistanceº in the Index.
Engine Overheating
(Gasoline Engine)
You will find a coolant temperature gage on your
vehicle's instrument panel. See ªEngine Coolant
Temperature Gageº in the Index.
If your vehicle has a diesel engine, see ªEngine
Overheatingº in the Diesel Engine Supplement.

5-12 If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
If you get an engine 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 ªDriving on Gradesº 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 and it's on, 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
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (
) for
automatic transmissions, FIFTH (5) gear for manual
transmissions.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 down the
accelerator until the engine speed is about twice as fast
as normal idle speed for at least three minutes while
you're parked. If you still have the warning, turn off the
engine and get everyone out of the vehicle until it cools
down. Also, see ªOverheated Engine Protection
Operating Modeº listed previously in this section.
You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.

5-14
CAUTION:
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.
If there seems to be no leak, start the engine again.
The engine cooling fan speed should increase when idle
speed is doubled by pushing the accelerator pedal down.
If it doesn't, your vehicle needs service. Turn off the
engine.
NOTICE:
Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn't covered by your warranty.
See ªOverheated Engine Protection Operating
Modeº in the Index for information on driving to
a safe place in an emergency.
NOTICE:
When adding coolant, it is important that you use
only DEX
-COOL
(silicate-free) coolant.
If coolant other than DEX-COOL is added to the
system, premature engine, heater core or
radiator corrosion may result. In addition, the
engine coolant will require change sooner
-- at
30,000 miles (50 000 km) or 24 months,
whichever occurs first. Damage caused by the use
of coolant other than DEX
-COOL
is not
covered by your new vehicle warranty.

5-22
Changing a Flat Tire
Your truck, when new, did not include tire changing
equipment or a place to store a tire in the vehicle. Few
drivers of these vehicles have the necessary equipment
aboard to be able to change a flat tire safely. For
example, you would need a truck jack that can lift
several thousand pounds and a torque wrench that can
generate several hundred foot
-pounds (Newton-meters)
of twisting force.
CAUTION:
If you try to put air back into a tire that has run
flat, or even a tire that was quite low on air, the
tire can have a sudden air
-out. This could cause
you to lose control of the vehicle and have a
serious crash. Don't refill a flat or very low tire
with air without first having the tire taken off the
wheel and checked for damage.
So if you're stopped somewhere by a flat or damaged
tire or wheel, you should get expert help. See ªRoadside
Assistanceº in the Index.
CAUTION:
Your vehicle, when new, did not include tire
changing equipment or a place to store a tire in
the vehicle. Special tools and procedures are
required if a tire needs to be serviced. If these
tools and procedures aren't used, you or others
could be injured or killed while trying to change
or service a truck tire.

6-
6-1
Section 6 Service and Appearance Care
Here you will find information about the care of your vehicle. This section begins with service and fuel information,
and then it shows how to check important fluid and lubricant levels. There is also technical information about your
vehicle, and a part devoted to its appearance care.
6
-2 Service
6
-3 Fuel (Gasoline Engine)
6
-5 Fuels in Foreign Countries (Gasoline Engines)
6
-5 Filling Your Tank (Gasoline Engine)
6
-7 Filling a Portable Fuel Container
6
-7 Checking Things Under the Hood
6
-10 Noise Control System
6
-11 Engine Oil (Gasoline Engine)
6
-15 Engine Air Cleaner/Filter (Gasoline Engines)
6
-17 Automatic Transmission Fluid
6
-20 Manual Transmission Fluid
6
-22 Hydraulic Clutch
6
-23 Rear Axle
6
-24 Engine Coolant
6
-27 Radiator Pressure Cap (Gasoline Engine)
6
-28 Power Steering Fluid6
-29 Windshield Washer Fluid
6
-30 Brakes
6
-34 Battery
6
-35 Bulb Replacement
6
-39 Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
6
-40 Tires
6
-50 Appearance Care
6
-51 Cleaning the Inside of Your Vehicle
6
-54 Cleaning the Outside of Your Vehicle
6
-58 GM Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials
6
-59 Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
6
-60 Electrical System
6
-66 Replacement Bulbs
6
-66 Capacities and Specifications
6
-68 Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts

6-2
Service
Your dealer knows your vehicle best and wants you to
be happy with it. We hope you'll go to your dealer for
all your service needs. You'll get genuine GM parts and
GM
-trained and supported service people.
We hope you'll want to keep your GM vehicle all GM.
Genuine GM parts have one of these marks:
Doing Your Own Service Work
If you want to do some of your own service work, you'll
want to use the proper service manual. It tells you much
more about how to service your vehicle than this manual
can. To order the proper service manual, see ªService
and Owner Publicationsº in the Index.
You should keep a record with all parts receipts and
list the mileage and the date of any service work you
perform. See ªMaintenance Recordº in the Index.
CAUTION:
You can be injured and your vehicle could be
damaged if you try to do service work on a
vehicle without knowing enough about it.

Be sure you have sufficient knowledge,
experience, the proper replacement parts
and tools before you attempt any vehicle
maintenance task.

Be sure to use the proper nuts, bolts and
other fasteners. ªEnglishº and ªmetricº
fasteners can be easily confused. If you use
the wrong fasteners, parts can later break
or fall off. You could be hurt.