2003 Oldsmobile Alero engine coolant

Steam from an overheated engine can burn
you badly, even if you just open the hood. Stay away from the engine if you see or hear steam
coming from
it. Just turn it off and get
everyone away from the vehicle until
it cools
down. Wait
until there is no sign of steam or
coolant before you open the hood.
If you keep driving when your engine
is
overheated, the liquids in it can catch fire. You
or others could be badly burned. Stop your
engine
if it overheats, and get out of the
vehicle
until the engine is cool.
Notice: If your engine catches fire because you
keep driving with no coolant, your vehicle can
covered by your warranty.
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If No Steam Is Coming From Your
Engine
An overheat warning, along with a low coolant light, can
indicate a serious problem. See
Low Coolant Warning
Light
on page 3-31.
If you get an engine overheat warning with no low
coolant light, 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.
0 Idle for long periods in traffic.
0 Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or
so:
1. In heavy traffic, let the engine idle in NEUTRAL (N)
while stopped. If it is safe to do so, pull off the road,
engine idle.
speed and open the window as necessary.
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2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan
5-27

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, you can idle the engine
for 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.
You may decide not to lift the hood but
to get service
help right away.
Cooling System
When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll see:
2.2L L4 Engine shown, 3400 V6 Engine similar
A. Coolant Surge Tank with Pressure Cap
B. Electric Engine Cooling Fans
5-28

An electric engine cooling fan under the hood
can start up even when the engine is not
running and can injure you. Keep hands,
clothing and tools away from any underhood
electric fan.
If the coolant inside the coolant surge tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down. The vehicle
should be parked on a level surface.
The coolant level should be at or above the
FULL
COLD 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.
5-29

Heater a _.__ . -ldiatoL -.oses, 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, with the engine on, check
to see if the electric engine cooling fans are running.
If the engine is overheating, both fans should be
running.
If they aren’t, your vehicle needs service.
Notice: 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.
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Surge Tank
Notice: This vehicle has a specific coolant fill
procedure. Failure to follow this procedure could
cause your engine to overheat and be severely
damaged.
If you haven’t found a problem yet, check to see
if
coolant is visible in the surge tank. If coolant is visible
but the coolant level isn’t at or above the
FULL
COLD mark, add a 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable
water
and DEX-COOL@ coolant at the coolant
surge tank, but be sure the cooling system, including
the coolant surge tank pressure cap,
is cool before you
do it. See Engine Coolant on page 5-23 for more
information.
5-30

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.
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.
5-32

3. Then fill the coolant surge tank with the proper
mixture, to the hash mark on the label. Wait
about five minutes, then check to see
if the level is
below the hash mark.
If the level is below the
hash mark, add additional coolant to bring the level
up to the hash mark. Repeat this procedure until
the level remains constant at the hash mark
for at least five minutes. 4.
With the coolant surge tank pressure cap
off, start
the engine and let it run until you can feel the upper
radiator hose getting hot. Watch out for the
engine cooling fans.
By this time, the coolant level inside the coolant
surge tank may be lower. If the level is lower than
the FULL COLD mark, add more of the proper
mixture to the coolant surge tank until the
level reaches the FULL COLD mark.
5-34

The windshield washer
fluid reservoir is located in
the engine compartment
towards the front of
the vehicle. Notice:
Open the cap with the washer symbol on it. Add washer
fluid until the tank is full. When
using concentrated washer fluid, follow
the manufacturer’s instructions for adding
water.
Don’t mix water with ready-to-use washer fluid.
Water can cause
the solution to freeze and
damage your washer fluid tank and other parts
of the washer system.
Also, water doesn’t
clean as well as washer fluid.
Fill your washer fluid tank only three-quarters
full when
it’s very cold. This allows for
expansion if freezing occurs, which could damage the tank if
it is completely full.
Don’t use engine coolant (antifreeze)
in your
windshield washer.
It can damage your
washer system and paint.
5-37

90,000 Miles (150 000 km)
0 Replace engine air cleaner filter. An Emission
0 Rotate tires. See Tire Inspection and Rotation on
Control Service.
page
5-55 for proper rotation pattern and additional
information.
(See footnote +.)
97,500 Miles (162 500 km)
0 Rotate tires. See Tire Inspection and Rotation on
page
5-55 for proper rotation pattern and additional
information.
(See footnote +.)
100,000 Miles (166 000 km)
0 Inspect spark plug wires (except 2.2L Code F
L4 engine). An Emission Control Service.
0 Replace spark plugs. An Emission Control Service.
0 Change automatic transaxle fluid and filter 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 you do not use your vehicle under any of these
conditions, the fluid and filter do not require changing.
150,000 Miles (240 000 km)
0 Drain, flush and refill cooling system (or every
60 months since last service, whichever occurs first).
See
Engine Coolant on page 5-23 for what to use.
Inspect hoses. Clean radiator, condenser, pressure
cap and neck. Pressure test the cooling system
and pressure cap.
An Emission Control Service.
0 Inspect engine accessory drive belt. An Emission
Control Service.
6-8