2003 GMC SAVANA oil

What to Do with Used Oil
Used engine oil contains certain elements that may be
unhealthy for your skin and could even cause cancer.
Don’t let used oil stay on your skin for very long.
Clean your skin and nails with soap and water, or a good
hand cleaner. Wash or properly dispose of clothing or
rags containing used engine oil. See the manufacturer’s
warnings about the use and disposal of oil products.
Used oil can be a threat to the environment. If you
change your own oil, be sure to drain all the oil from the
filter before disposal. Never dispose of oil by putting it
in the trash, pouring it on the ground, into sewers,
or into streams or bodies of water. Instead, recycle it by
taking it to a place that collects used oil. If you have
a problem properly disposing of your used oil, ask your
dealer, a service station or a local recycling center
for help.
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter
SeeEngine Compartment
Overview on page 5-12
for the location of the
engine air cleaner/filter
and change indicator
(if equipped).
When to Inspect the Engine Air
Cleaner/Filter
If your vehicle is equipped with afilter change indicator
it will let you know when thefilter needs to be replaced.
When the change indicator turns black or is in the
red/orange change zone, change thefilter and reset the
indicator. Vehicles without a change indicator inspect the
air cleaner/filter every 15,000 miles (25 000 km) and
replace thefilter every 30,000 miles (50 000 km). If you
are driving in dusty/dirty conditions, inspect thefilter or
change indicator at each engine oil change.
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2003 - Savana OM

Automatic Transmission Fluid
When to Check and Change
A good time to check your automatic transmissionfluid
level is when the engine oil is changed.
Change both thefluid andfilter every 50,000 miles
(83,000 km) if the vehicle’s GVWR is over 8,600 or if
the vehicle is mainly driven under one or more of these
conditions:
•In heavy city traffic where the outside temperature
regularly reaches 90°F (32°C) or higher.
•In hilly or mountainous terrain.
•When doing frequent trailer towing.
•Uses such as found in taxi, police or delivery
service.
If your vehicle’s GVWR is not over 8,600 and you do
not use your vehicle under any of these conditions,
change thefluid andfilter every 100,000 miles
(166 000 km).
SeePart A: Scheduled Maintenance Services on
page 6-4.
How to Check
Because this operation can be a little difficult, you may
choose to have this done at the dealership service
department.
If you do it yourself, be sure to follow all the instructions
here, or you could get a false reading on the dipstick.
Notice:Too much or too littlefluid can damage
your transmission. Too much can mean that some
of thefluid could come out and fall on hot engine
part or exhaust system parts, starting afire.
Too littlefluid could cause the transmission to
overheat. Be sure to get an accurate reading if you
check your transmissionfluid.
Wait at least 30 minutes before checking the
transmissionfluid level if you have been driving:
•When outside temperatures are above 90°F (32°C).
•At high speed for quite a while.
•In heavy traffic–especially in hot weather.
•While pulling a trailer.
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2003 - Savana OM

How to Add Fluid
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine
what kind of transmissionfluid to use. SeePart D:
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants on page 6-18.
Using a funnel, addfluid down the transmission dipstick
tube only after checking the transmissionfluid while it
is hot. (A cold check is used only as a reference.)
If thefluid level is low, add only enough of the proper
fluid to bring the level up to the HOT area for a hot
check. It doesn’t take muchfluid, generally less than
one pint (0.5 L).Don’t overfill.
Notice:We recommend you use onlyfluid labeled
DEXRON
®-III, becausefluid with that label is
made especially for your automatic transmission.
Damage caused byfluid other than DEXRON
®-III
is not covered by your new vehicle warranty.
•After addingfluid, recheck thefluid level as
described under″How to Check.″
•When the correctfluid level is obtained, push the
dipstick back in all the way; thenflip the handle
down to lock the dipstick in place.
Engine Coolant
The cooling system in your vehicle isfilled 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 occursfirst, 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, seeEngine Overheating on
page 5-26.
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.
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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 occursfirst.
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-halfclean, drinkable waterand
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.
{CAUTION:
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.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
You 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 catchfire and you or others
could be burned. Use a 50/50 mixture of clean,
drinkable water and the proper coolant.
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.
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2003 - Savana OM

Cooling System
When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll see:
A. Radiator Pressure Cap
B. Coolant Recovery Tank
C. Engine Cooling Fan(s)
If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down.When the engine is cold,
the coolant level should be
at or above the COLD
FILL mark. 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.
{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 enginefire, and you could be
burned. Get any leakfixed before you drive
the vehicle.
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2003 - Savana OM

If there seems to be no leak, start the engine again.
See if the engine cooling fan speed increases 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“Overheated Engine Protection Operating
Mode”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 occursfirst.
Damage caused by the use of coolant other than
DEX-COOL
®is not covered by your new vehicle
warranty.
If there seems to be no leak, start the engine again.
See if the engine cooling fan speed increases when
idle speed is doubled by pushing the accelerator
pedal down. If it doesn’t, your vehicle needs service.
Turn off the engine.
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Recovery Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
isn’t at the COLD FILL mark, add a 50/50 mixture of
clean, drinkable waterand DEX-COOL
®engine coolant
at the coolant recovery tank. SeeEngine Coolant on
page 5-22for more information.
{CAUTION:
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 catchfire and you or others
could be burned. Use a 50/50 mixture of clean,
drinkable water and DEX-COOL
®coolant.
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.
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2003 - Savana OM

Checking Brake Fluid
You can check the brake
fluid without taking off
the cap.
Just look at the brakefluid reservoir. Thefluid level
should be above MIN. If it isn’t, have your brake system
checked to see if there is a leak.
After work is done on the brake hydraulic system,
make sure the level is above the MIN but not over the
MAX mark.
What to Add
When you do need brakefluid, use only DOT-3 brake
fluid. Use new brakefluid from a sealed container
only. SeePart D: Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
on page 6-18.Always clean the brakefluid reservoir cap and the area
around the cap before removing it. This will help
keep dirt from entering the reservoir.
{CAUTION:
With the wrong kind offluid in your brake
system, your brakes may not work well, or they
may not even work at all. This could cause a
crash. Always use the proper brakefluid.
Notice:
•Using the wrongfluid can badly damage brake
system parts. For example, just a few drops of
mineral-based oil, such as engine oil, in your
brake system can damage brake system
parts so badly that they’ll have to be replaced.
Don’t let someone put in the wrong kind offluid.
•If you spill brakefluid on your vehicle’s painted
surfaces, the paintfinish can be damaged.
Be careful not to spill brakefluid on your
vehicle. If you do, wash it off immediately.
See“Appearance Care”in the Index.
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2003 - Savana OM

{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.
7. Put the wheel nuts
back on with the
rounded end of the
nuts toward the wheel.
Tighten each wheel
nut by hand until
the wheel is held
against the hub.8. Lower the vehicle by turning the jack handle
counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.
9. Tighten the nutsfirmly in a crisscross sequence as
shown. Turn the wheel wrench clockwise.
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