2003 CHEVROLET C/K engine

4-20 Driving Through Deep Standing Water
NOTICE:
If you drive too quickly through deep puddles or
standing water, water can come in through your
engine's air intake and badly damage your
engine. Never drive through water that is slightly
lower than the underbody of your vehicle. If you
can't avoid deep puddles or standing water, drive
through them very slowly.
Driving Through Flowing Water
CAUTION:
Flowing or rushing water creates strong forces.
If you try to drive through flowing water, as you
might at a low water crossing, your vehicle can be
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
carried away. As little as six inches of flowing
water can carry away a smaller vehicle. If this
happens, you and the other vehicle occupants
could drown. Don't ignore police warning signs,
and otherwise be very cautious about trying to
drive through flowing water.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips

Turn on your low-beam headlamps and your marker
and clearance lamps, if your vehicle has them
-- not
just your parking lamps
-- to help make you more
visible to others.

Besides slowing down, allow some extra following
distance. And be especially careful when you pass
another vehicle. Allow yourself more clear room
ahead, and be prepared to have your view restricted
by road spray.

Have good tires with proper tread depth. See ªTiresº
in the Index.

4-23
Reduce your speed according to your speedometer, not
to your sense of motion. After driving for any distance
at higher speeds, you may tend to think you are going
slower than you actually are.
Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as ªhighway
hypnosisº? Or is it just plain falling asleep at the
wheel? Call it highway hypnosis, lack of awareness,
or whatever.
When you drive the vehicle for a long distance, there is
something about an easy stretch of road with the same
scenery, along with the hum of the tires on the road, the
drone of the engine, and the rush of the wind against the
vehicle that can make you sleepy. Don't let it happen to
you! If it does, your vehicle can leave the road in less
than a second, and you could crash and be injured.What can you do about highway hypnosis? First, be
aware that it can happen.
Then here are some tips:

Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
comfortably cool interior.

Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road ahead and to
the sides. Check your mirrors and your instruments
frequently.

If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest, service
or parking area and take a nap, get some exercise, or
both. For safety, treat drowsiness on the highway as
an emergency.

4-24
Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from
driving in flat or rolling terrain.Here are some tips that can make your drive through
steep country safer:

Keep the vehicle in good shape. Check all fluid
levels and also the brakes, tires, cooling system and
transmission. These parts can work hard on
mountain roads.

Know how to go down hills. The most important
thing to know is this: let your engine do some of the
slowing down. Shift to a lower gear when you go
down a steep or long hill.
CAUTION:
If you don't shift down, your brakes could get
so hot that they wouldn't work well. You would
then have poor braking or even none going
down a hill. You could crash. Shift down to let
your engine assist your brakes on a steep
downhill slope.

4-25
CAUTION:
Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with the
ignition off is dangerous. Your brakes will have to
do all the work of slowing down. They could get
so hot that they wouldn't work well. You would
then have poor braking or even none going down
a hill. You could crash. Always have your engine
running and your vehicle in gear when you go
downhill.

Know how to go uphill. Use lower gears. They help
cool your engine and transmission, and you can
climb the hill better.

Stay in your own lane when driving on two
-lane
roads in hills or mountains. Don't swing wide or cut
across the center of the road. Drive at speeds that let
you stay in your own lane.

As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There
could be something in your lane, like a stalled car
or an accident.

You may see highway signs on mountains that warn
of special problems. Examples are long grades,
passing or no
-passing zones, a falling rocks area,
winding roads and special truck lanes. Be alert to
these and take appropriate action.

4-29

Tie a red cloth to your mirror arm to alert police that
you've been stopped by the snow.

Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you.
If you have no blankets or extra clothing, make body
insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags, floor
mats
-- anything you can wrap around yourself or
tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
CAUTION:
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your vehicle.
This can cause deadly CO (carbon monoxide) gas
to get inside. CO could overcome you and kill
you. You can't see it or smell it, so you might not
know it is in your vehicle. Clear away snow from
around the base of your vehicle if any is blocking
your exhaust pipe. And check around again from
time to time to be sure snow doesn't collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that's away from the wind. This will help
keep CO out.
Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little faster
than just idle. That is, push the accelerator slightly. This
uses less fuel for the heat that you get and it keeps the
battery (or batteries) charged. You will need a
well
-charged battery (or batteries) to restart the vehicle,
and possibly for signaling later on with your headlamps.
Let the heater run for a while.

4-30
If you have a diesel engine, you may have to run it at a
higher speed to get enough heat. Then, shut the engine
off and close the window almost all the way to preserve
the heat. Start the engine again and repeat this only
when you feel really uncomfortable from the cold. But
do it as little as possible. Preserve the fuel as long as you
can. To help keep warm, you can get out of the vehicle
and do some fairly vigorous exercises every half hour or
so until help comes.Loading Your Vehicle
There is a GVW Rating label on your vehicle that shows
how much weight it may properly carry. It also shows
the size of your original tires and the inflation pressures
needed to obtain the gross weight capacity of your
vehicle. This is called the Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating (GVWR).

5-
5-1
Section 5 Problems on the Road
Here you'll find what to do about some problems that can occur on the road.
5
-2 Hazard Warning Flashers
5
-3 Other Warning Devices
5
-3 Jump Starting
5
-10 Towing Your Vehicle
5
-17 Engine Overheating5
-20 Cooling System
5
-26 Engine Fan Noise
5
-26 If a Tire Goes Flat
5
-27 Changing a Flat Tire
5
-28 If You're Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow

5-4
If you have a diesel engine vehicle with two batteries
(or more), you should know before you begin that,
especially in cold weather, you may not be able to
get enough power from a single battery in another
vehicle to start your diesel engine.
If your vehicle has more than one battery, use the
one closest to the starter
-- this will reduce electrical
resistance.
2. Get the vehicles close enough so the jumper cables
can reach, but be sure the vehicles aren't touching
each other. If they are, it could cause a ground
connection you don't want. You wouldn't be able to
start your vehicle, and the bad grounding could
damage the electrical systems.
To avoid the possibility of the vehicles rolling, set
the parking brake firmly on both vehicles involved in
the jump start procedure. Put an automatic
transmission in PARK (P) or a manual transmission
in neutral before setting the parking brake.
NOTICE:
If you leave your radio on, it could be badly
damaged. The repairs wouldn't be covered by
your warranty.
3. Turn off the ignition on both vehicles. Unplug
unnecessary accessories plugged into the cigarette
lighter or accessory power outlets. Turn off the radio
and all lamps that aren't needed. This will avoid
sparks and help save both batteries, and it could save
your radio!