Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up
under your tires that they can actually ride on the
water. This can happen if the road is wet enough and
you are going fast enough. When your vehicle is
hydroplaning, it has little or no contact with the road.
Hydroplaning does not happen often. But it can if your
tires do not have much tread or if the pressure in
one or more is low. It can happen if a lot of water is
standing on the road. If you can see reflections
from trees, telephone poles or other vehicles, and
raindrops “dimple” the water’s surface, there could be
hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There
just is not a hard and fast rule about hydroplaning.
The best advice is to slow down when it is raining.
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 not 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 owing
water, as you might at a low water crossing,
your vehicle can be carried away. As little as
six inches of owing water can carry away a
smaller vehicle. If this happens, you and other
vehicle occupants could drown. Do not ignore
police warning signs, and otherwise be very
cautious about trying to drive through
owing 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.
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•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 not 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 does not
collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that is 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.
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Automatic Ether Injection System....................5-66
Front Wheel Bearings with Oil-Filled Hubs........5-67
Air Conditioning System.................................5-67
Tires..............................................................5-68
Inflation - Tire Pressure.................................5-68
Rims and Wheels.........................................5-69
Dual Tire Operation.......................................5-69
When It Is Time for New Tires.......................5-70
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance..................5-70
Tightening the Wheel Nuts.............................5-71
Wheel Replacement......................................5-74
If a Tire Goes Flat........................................5-75
Changing a Flat Tire.....................................5-76
Appearance Care............................................5-76
Cleaning the Inside of Your Vehicle.................5-77
Care of Safety Belts......................................5-79
Weatherstrips...............................................5-79
Cleaning the Outside of Your Vehicle..............5-80
Sheet Metal Damage.....................................5-82Finish Damage.............................................5-83
Underbody Maintenance................................5-83
Chemical Paint Spotting.................................5-83
Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials..................5-84
Vehicle Identi cation......................................5-85
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).................5-85
Service Statement.........................................5-85
Service Parts Identification Label.....................5-86
Electrical System............................................5-86
Add-On Electrical Equipment..........................5-86
Headlamp Wiring..........................................5-86
Windshield Wiper Fuses................................5-87
Fusible Links................................................5-87
Power Windows and Other Power Options.......5-87
Fuses and Circuit Breakers............................5-87
Capacities and Speci cations..........................5-93
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts.........5-100
Engine Drive Belt Routing............................5-103
Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
5-2
Wheel Replacement
Replace any wheel that is bent, cracked or badly rusted
or corroded. If wheel nuts keep coming loose, replace
the wheel. If the wheel leaks air, replace it.
Your dealer will know the kind of wheel you need.
Each new wheel should have the same load-carrying
capacity, diameter, width, offset and be mounted
the same way as the one it replaces.
If you need to replace any of your wheels, wheel bolts
or wheel nuts, replace them only with new GM
original equipment parts. This way, you will be sure to
have the right wheel, wheel bolts and wheel nuts
for your vehicle.
{CAUTION:
A leaking wheel could fail without warning.
A wheel designed for tubeless tires could be
leaking because it is damaged. Don’t use
an inner tube or some other thing to try to
stop the leaking. Get a new wheel or the
proper type.
{CAUTION:
Without the correct wheel, you may not be able
to stop properly, and you could have other
problems like a tire air-out. You could have a
collision. If you don’t go to your dealer to get a
new wheel, be sure you get the correct one.
Each new wheel should match the original
wheel in load-carrying capacity, in ation
pressure capacity, diameter, width, offset and
mounting con guration.
Using wheels and tires with higher load-carrying limits
than the original wheels and tires doesn’t change
the GAWR or the GVWR of your vehicle. See “Loading
Your Vehicle” for more information.
Notice:The wrong wheel can cause trouble in
bearing life, brake cooling, speedometer/odometer
calibration, headlamp aim, bumper height, vehicle
ground clearance, stopping distance and tire
clearance to the body and chassis. You could also
have other problems like a tire air-out.
5-74