2003 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO Owners Manual

Removing the Wheel Covers and the
Wheel Nut Caps
Removing the Wheel Cover Caps
Your vehicle may have
center caps if equipped
with aluminum wheels. To
remove a center cap
use the wrench to pry
gently at the notch. Don't
use a tool that is
narrower than the wrench
to pry at this notch.
Removing the Wheel Covers
If your vehicle is equipped
with wheel covers, loosen
the plastic nut caps
with the wheel wrench. If
needed, you can ®nish
loosening them with your
®ngers. Then, using the ¯at
end of the wheel wrench,
pry along the edge of
the cover until it comes off.
5-73

Removing the Flat Tire and Installing
the Spare Tire
1. Using the wheel wrench, loosen all the wheel nuts.
Don't remove them yet.
{CAUTION:
Getting under a vehicle when it is jacked up is
dangerous. If the vehicle slips off the jack you
could be badly injured or killed. Never get
under a vehicle when it is supported only by
a jack.
{CAUTION:
Raising your vehicle with the jack improperly
positioned can damage the vehicle and even
make the vehicle fall. To help avoid personal
injury and vehicle damage, be sure to ®t the
jack lift head into the proper location before
raising the vehicle.
5-74

The diagram shows you where you should place
your jack to change a front tire. Use the bolts (A) as
a guide when positioning the jack lift head (C)
near the rear edge of the front wheel opening (B).
For jacking at the vehicle's front location, put jack lift
head about 7.5 inches (19 cm) from the rear edge
of the front wheel opening in the cutout of the rocker
panel molding.The diagram shows you where to place your jack to
change a rear tire. Use the notch (B) as a guide
when positioning the jack lift head (A) near the front
edge of the rear wheel opening (C).
For jacking at the vehicle's rear location, put the
jack lift head about 4 inches (10 cm) from the front
edge of the rear wheel opening in the cutout of
the rocker panel molding.
Put the compact spare tire near you. Jack placement for a front tire
Jack placement for a rear tire
5-75

2. Raise the vehicle by turning the jack handle
clockwise. Raise the vehicle far enough off the
ground for the compact spare tire to ®t underneath
the wheel well of the vehicle. Remove all wheel
nuts and take off the ¯at tire.
{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.
5-76

3. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces
and spare wheel.
{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.
4. Install the compact spare tire.5. Reinstall the
wheel nuts with the
rounded end of
the nuts toward the
wheel. Tighten
each nut by hand until
the wheel is held
against the hub.
5-77

6. Lower the vehicle by turning the jack handle
counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.7. Tighten the wheel nuts
®rmly in a crisscross
sequence as shown.
{CAUTION:
Incorrect wheel nuts or improperly tightened
wheel nuts can cause the wheel to come loose
and even come off. This could lead to an
accident. Be sure to use the correct wheel
nuts. If you have to replace them, be sure to
get new GM original equipment wheel nuts.
Stop somewhere as soon as you can and have
the nuts tightened with a torque wrench to the
proper torque speci®cation. See ªCapacities
and Speci®cationsº in the Index for wheel nut
torque speci®cation.
5-78

Notice:Improperly tightened wheel nuts can lead
to brake pulsation and rotor damage. To avoid
expensive brake repairs, evenly tighten the wheel
nuts in the proper sequence and to the proper
torque speci®cation. See ªCapacities and
Speci®cationsº in the index for the wheel nut torque
speci®cation.
Don't try to put the wheel cover on your compact spare
tire. It won't ®t. Store the wheel cover and wheel
center cap, if applicable, in the trunk until you have the
¯at tire repaired or replaced.
Notice:Wheel covers won't ®t on your compact
spare. If you try to put a wheel cover on your
compact spare, you could damage the cover or the
spare.
Storing the Flat 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.After you've put the compact spare tire on your vehicle,
you'll need to store the ¯at tire in your trunk. Use the
following procedure to secure the ¯at tire in the trunk.
When storing a full-size tire, use the extension and
protector/guide located in the foam holder to help
prevent wheel surface damage.
To store a full-size tire do the following:
1. Place the tire in the trunk, valve stem facing down
with the protector/guide through a wheel bolt hole.
2. Remove the protector/guide and attach the retainer
securely. The cover will not ®t over a full-size tire,
so be sure to store the cover as far forward as
possible.
5-79

Storing the 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.
The compact spare tire is for temporary use only.
Replace the compact spare tire with a full-size tire as
soon as you can. See
Compact Spare Tire on
page 5-81.
To properly store the compact spare tire do the
following:
1. When you put the compact spare tire back in the
trunk, place the protector/guide back in the foam
holder.
2. Put the cover back over the compact spare tire and
tighten the center nut.A. Retainer
B. Cover
C. Compact Spare Tire
D. Nut
E. Jack
F. Wheel Wrench
G. Extension and
Protective Guide
H. Bolt Screw
I. Foam Holder
5-80