2003 CHEVROLET ASTRO radiator

Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
Service .......................................................... -5-3
Doing Your Own Service Work
......................... 5-3
Adding Equipment to the Outside of
Your Vehicle
.............................................. 5-4
Fuel ................................................................ 5.5
Gasoline Octane ........................................... -5-5
Gasoline Specifications .................................... 5.5
California Fuel ............................................. -56
Additives
....................................................... 5.6
Fuels in Foreign Countries
............................... 5.7
Filling Your Tank
............................................ 5-8
Filling a Portable Fuel Container
..................... 5-10
Checking Things Under the Hood .................... 5-1 1
Hood Release .............................................. 5.11
Engine Compartment Overview
...................... 5.14
Engine Oil
................................................... 5.15
Engine Cover ................. .... ........ 5.20
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter
................. ........ 5.24
Automatic Transmission Fluid
...................... 5.25
Engine Coolant ............................................. 5.28
Radiator Pressure Cap
.................................. 5.30
Engine Overheating
....................................... 5.31
Cooling System
............................................ 5.33
Engine Fan Noise
......................................... 5.39
Power Steering Fluid
..................................... 5.40
Windshield Washer Fluid
................................ 5.41 Brakes
........................................................ 5.42
Battery
........................................................ 5-46
Jump Starting
............................................... 5-47
All-Wheel Drive .............................................. 5-52
Rear Axle ....................................................... 5-53
Front Axle ...................................................... 5-54
Bulb Replacement .......................................... 5-55
Halogen Bulbs .............................. ..... 5-55
Headlamps .................................. ..... 5-55
Front Turn Signal Lamps ............................... 5-59
Replacement Bulbs
....................................... 5-61
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement .............. 5-62
Tires .............................................................. 5.63
Inflation
- Tire Pressure ................................ 5-64
Tire Inspection and Rotation
........................... 5-64
When It
Is Time for New Tires ....................... 5-66
Buying New Tires
......................................... 5-66
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
.......................... 5-67
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance
.................. 5-69
Wheel Replacement
...................................... 5-69
Tire Chains
.................................................. 5-70
If a Tire Goes Flat ........................................ 5.70
Changing a Flat Tire ..................................... 5.71
Compact Spare Tire ...................................... 5-82
Taillamps
.................................................... 5-60
5- 1

Engine Coolant
The cooling system in your vehicle is filled with
DEX-COOL@ engine coolant. This coolant is designed
to remain in your vehicle for 5 years or 150,000 miles
(240
000 km), whichever occurs first, if you add
only DEX-COOL@ extended life coolant.
The following explains your cooling system and how to
add coolant when it
is low. If you have a problem
with engine overheating, see
Engine Overheating on
page
5-3 I.
A 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and
DEX-COOL@ coolant will:
Give freezing protection down to -34°F (-37°C).
Give boiling protection up to 265°F (129°C).
Protect against rust and corrosion.
Help keep the proper engine temperature.
Let the warning lights and gages work as they
should.
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.
What to Use
Use a mixture of one-half clean, drinkable water and
one-half DEX-COOL@ coolant which won’t damage
aluminum parts.
If you use this coolant mixture,
you don’t need to add anything else.
Adding only plain water to your cooling
system can be dangerous. Plain water, or
some other liquid such as 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,
drinkable water and the proper coolant.
5-28

Notice: If you use an improper coolant mixture,
your engine could overheat and be badly damaged.
The repair cost wouldn’t be covered by your
warranty. Too much water
in the mixture can freeze
and
crack the engine, radiator, heater core and
other parts.
If you have to add coolant more than four times a year,
have your dealer check your cooling system.
Notice: If you use the proper coolant, you don’t
have to add extra inhibitors or additives which claim
to improve
the system. These can be harmful.
Checking Coolant
r
The engine coolant tank is
located in the engine
compartment on the
passenger’s side at the
front. See Engine
Compartment Overview
on page
5-14 for more
information on location. The
vehicle must be on a level surface. When your
engine is cold, the coolant level should be at
ADD,
or a little higher. When your engine is warm, the level
should be up to
FULL HOT, or a little higher.
Adding Coolant
If you need more coolant, add the proper DEX-COOL@
coolant mixtureat the coolant recovery tank.
Lvrl DEX-COOL@
L
A
A
Turning the radiato ressure cap when the
engine and radiator are hot can allow steam and
scalding
liquids to blow out and burn you badly.
With the coolant recovery tank, you will almost
never have to add coolant at the radiator.
Never
turn the radiator pressure cap - even a
little -when the engine and radiator are hot.
5-29

Add coolant mixture at the recovery tank, but be careful
not to
mill it.
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
Radiator Pressure Cap
Occasionally check the coolant level in the radiator.
For information on how to add coolant to the radiator,
see
Cooling System on page 5-33.
A L
The radiator pressure cap is located in the engine
compartment on the
passenger's side of
the vehicle.
Notice: Your radiator cap is a 15.6 psi (1 10 kPa)
pressure-type cap and must be tightly installed
to prevent coolant
loss and possible engine damage
from overheating. Be sure the arrows on the cap
line up with the overflow tube on the radiator filler.
5-30

Cooling System
When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll see: The
coolant level should
be at the
ADD mark.
A. Coolant Recovery Tank
B. Radiator Pressure Cap
C. Engine Cooling Fan
If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down. The vehicle
should be parked
on a level surface.
A
If it isn’t, you may have a leak at the pressure cap or
in the radiator hoses, heater hoses, radiator, water pump
or somewhere else
in the cooling system.
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.
5-33

If there seems to be no leak, start the engine again. How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
The engine cooling fan speed should increase when idle
speed is doubled by pushing the accelerator pedal
Recovery Tank
down. If it doesn’t, your vehicle needs service. Turn off If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
the engine. isn’t at the
ADD mark, add a 50/50 mixture of clean
Nofice: Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.
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.
drinkable wafer, and DEX-COOL@ engine coolant at
the coolant recovery tank. See
Engine Coolant on
page 5-28 for more information.
Adding only p.,,n water to your coG...rg
system can be dangerous. Plain water, or
some other
liquid such as 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,
drinkable water and DEX COOL@ coolant.
5-34

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.
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.
5-35

If the overheat warning continues, there’s one more
thing you can try.
You can add the proper coolant
mixture directly to the radiator, but be sure the cooling
system is cool before you do it.
1
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.
5-36