2003 Oldsmobile Alero spare wheel

Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement ............. 5-52
Tires
.............................................................. 5.53
Inflation .. Tire Pressure ................................ 5.54
Tire Inspection and Rotation ........................... 5.55
When It Is Time for New Tires ....................... 5-56
Buying New Tires
......................................... 5-56
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
.......................... 5-57
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance
.................. 5-58
Wheel Replacement
.................................... -559
Tire Chains .................................................. 5-60
If a Tire Goes Flat ........................................ 5-61
Compact Spare Tire
...................................... 5-71
Appearance Care
............................................ 5-72
Cleaning the Inside of Your Vehicle
................. 5-72
Care
of Safety Belts .................................. 5-75
Weatherstrips
.................... ........... 5-75
Cleaning the Outside
of
Your Vehicle .............. ...... -575
Changing
a Flat Tire
..................................... 5-62 Sheet
Metal Damage
..................................... 5.77
Finish Damage
............................................. 5-77
Underbody Maintenance
................................ 5-78
Chemical Paint Spotting
................................. 5-78
GM Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials
........... 5.78
Vehicle Identification
..................................... 5-80
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
................. 5-80
Service Parts Identification Label
.................... 5-80
Electrical System
............................................ 5-81
Add-on Electrical Equipment
........................ -5-81
Windshield Wiper Fuses
................................ 5-81
Power Windows and Other Power Options
....... 5-81
Fuses and Circuit Breakers
............................ 5-81
Capacities and Specifications
.... .............. 5.86
Capacities and Specifications
......................... 5.86
Normal Maintenance Replacement
Parts .......... 5.88
5-2

Tire Inspection and Rotation
Tires should be rotated every 7,500 miles (12 500 km).
Any time you notice unusual wear, rotate your tires
as soon as possible and check wheel alignment. Also
check for damaged tires or wheels. See
When It Is Time
for New Tires on page
5-56 and Wheel Replacement
on page
5-59 for more information.
The purpose of regular rotation is to achieve more
uniform wear for all tires on the vehicle. The first rotation
is the most important. See “Part A: Scheduled
Maintenance Services,” in Section 6, for scheduled
rotation intervals. Don’t include the
compact spare tire in your tire rotation.
After the tires have been rotated, adjust the front and
rear inflation pressures as shown
on the Tire-Loading
Information label.
Make certain that all wheel nuts are properly tightened.
See “Wheel Nut Torque” under
Capacities and
Specifications on page
5-86.
Rust or dirt on a wheel, or or parts to
which
it is fastened, can make 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
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
3cllCapcI VI VVll c; ut U3If IBLGI, II ywu IIG‘CSU LW, LW
get all the rust or dirt off. See “Changing a Flat
Tire”
in the Index.
--_ .------ -_. ... :-- L”..-L I-*-” :+ .--. ~ “...-A 4- 4-
When rotating your tires, always use the correct rotation
pattern shown here.
5-55

Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Mixing tires could cause you to lose control
while driving. If you mix tires of different sizes or types (radial and bias-belted tires), the
vehicle may not handle properly, and you could have a crash. Using tires
of different
sizes may also cause damage to your vehicle.
Be sure to use the same size and type tires on
all wheels.
It's all right to drive with your
compact spare, though.
It was developed for
use on your vehicle.
I If you use bias-ply tires on your vehicle. the I
wheel rim flanges could develop cracks after
many miles of driving.
A tire and/or wheel
could fail suddenly, causing a crash. Use only
radial-ply tires with the wheels on your vehicle. Quality grades can
be found where applicable on the
tire sidewall between tread shoulder and maximum
section width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A
The following information relates to the system
developed by the United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, which grades tires by
treadwear, traction and temperature performance. (This
applies only to vehicles sold in the United States.)
The grades are molded on the sidewalls of most
passenger car tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading
system does not apply to deep tread, winter-type
snow tires, space-saver or temporary use spare tires,
tires with nominal rim diameters of 10 to 12 inches
(25 to
30 cm), or to some limited-production tires.
While the tires available
on General Motors passenger
cars and light trucks may vary with respect to these
grades, they must also conform to federal safety
Performance Criteria (TPC) standards.
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5-57

Removing the Spare Tire and Tools
The equipment you’ll need
is in the trunk.
3. Turn the wing nut
counterclockwise and
remove it. Then lift
off the
spacer and remove the
compact spare tire.
See
Compact Spare Tire
on page 5-71 for more
information about
the compact spare.
1. Puii the carpeting from the iioor of the trunk. Turn
the center retainer nut on the compact spare tire
cover counterclockwise to remove it. 4. Remove the jack and wheel wrench from the trunk.
Your vehicle’s jack and wheel wrench are stored in
a foam tray. Remove the band around the jack.
2. Lift and remove the cover
5-63

A
The tools you’ll be using include the jack (A) and wheel
wrench
(B).
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing
the Spare Tire
1. If your vehicle has a wheel cover or hubcap that
has a plastic wheel nut cap, then loosen the
plastic nut caps (you may need to use the wheel
wrench to loosen them).
Do not pry off wheel covers
or center caps that have plastic wheel nut caps.
2. Remove the wheel cover or center cap.
3. If your vehicle has a wheel cover or hubcap without
plastic wheel nut caps, gently pry on the edge
of
the plastic wheel trim to remove it from the wheel to
find the wheel nuts.
5-64

18 inches (46 cm) 18 inches (46 cm)
4. Then use the wheel wrench to loosen all the wheel
nuts. Don’t remove them yet. 5. Position the jack and raise the jack head until it fits
firmly into the notch in the vehicle’s frame nearest
the flat tire. Put the compact spare tire near you.
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.
5-65

. Asing your vehic- ..____ __._ jal--- impropc -r
positioned can damage the vehicle and even
make the vehicle fall. To help avoid personal
injury and vehicle damage, be sure
to fit the
jack lift head into the proper location before
raising the vehicle.
6. Raise the vehicle by turning the wheel wrench
clockwise. Raise the vehicle far enough
off the
ground
so there is enough room for the compact
spare tire to fit underneath the wheel well.
7. Remove all of the wheel nuts.
8. Remove the flat tire.
5-66

9. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces
and spare wheel.
R---t OL Art 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
ine piaces wnere ine wneei aiiaches io ihe
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.
Never use c or grease on studs or nl If
you do, the nuts might come loose. Your wheel
could fall
off, causing a serious accident.
10. Install the compact spare tire.
11. Put the wheel nuts back on with the rounded end of
the nuts toward the wheel. Tighten each nut by
hand until the wheel is held against the hub.
5-67