2005 CHEVROLET ASTRO Owners Manual

Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gearbeforeyou
start down a long or steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down, you might have to use your brakes so much
that they would get hot and no longer work well.
You can tow in DRIVE (D). You may want to shift the
transmission to THIRD (3) or, if necessary, a lower
gear selection if the transmission shifts too often
(e.g., under heavy loads and/or hilly conditions).
When towing at high altitude on steep uphill grades,
consider the following: Engine coolant will boil at a lower
temperature than at normal altitudes. If you turn your
engine off immediately after towing at high altitude
on steep uphill grades, your vehicle may show signs
similar to engine overheating. To avoid this, let the
engine run while parked (preferably on level ground)
with the transmission in PARK (P) for a few minutes
before turning the engine off. If you do get the overheat
warning, seeEngine Overheating on page 5-28.
Parking on Hills
{CAUTION:
You really should not park your vehicle, with
a trailer attached, on a hill. If something goes
wrong, your rig could start to move. People
can be injured, and both your vehicle and the
trailer can be damaged.
But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here’s
how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t shift into
PARK (P) yet.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer
wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your
parking brake, and shift to PARK (P).
5. Release the regular brakes.
4-43

When You Are Ready to Leave After
Parking on a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold the pedal down
while you:
start your engine,
shift into a gear, and
release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the
chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more often when you’re
pulling a trailer. See the Maintenance Schedule for
more on this. Things that are especially important in
trailer operation are automatic transmission uid
(don’t overll), engine oil, axle lubricant, belt, cooling
system and brake system. Each of these is covered in
this manual, and the Index will help you nd them
quickly. If you’re trailering, it’s a good idea to review
these sections before you start your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch nuts and bolts
are tight.
4-44

Trailer Wiring Harness
If you have the optional trailering package, your vehicle
will have an eight-wire harness, including the center
high-mounted stoplamp battery feed wire. The harness
is stored on the passenger’s side of the vehicle near
the rear wheel well. This harness has a 30 amp battery
feed wire and no connector, and should be wired by
a qualied electrical technician. After choosing an
aftermarket trailer mating connector pair, have the
technician attach one connector to the eight-wire trailer
harness and the other connector to the wiring harness
on the trailer.
Be sure the wiring harness on the trailer is taped or
strapped to the trailer’s frame rail and leave it loose
enough so the wiring doesn’t bend or break, but not so
loose that it drags on the ground. The eight-wire harness
must be routed out of your vehicle between the rear door
and the oor, with enough of the harness left on both
sides so that the trailer or the body won’t pull it.
If you do not have the optional trailering package, your
vehicle will still have a trailering harness. The harness
is located near the passenger’s side rear wheel
well. It consists of six wires that may be used by
after-market trailer hitch installers.The technician can use the following color code chart
when connecting the wiring harness to your trailer.Brown: Rear lamps
Yellow: Left stoplamp and turn signal
Dark Green: Right stoplamp and turn signal
White (Heavy Gage): Ground
Light Green: Back-up lamps
White (Light Gage): Center High-Mounted Stoplamp
Blue: Auxiliary circuit (eight-wire harness only)
Orange: Fused auxiliary (eight-wire harness only)
Store the harness in its original place. Wrap the
harness together and tie it neatly so it won’t
be damaged.
4-45

✍NOTES
4-46

Service............................................................5-3
Doing Your Own Service Work.........................5-4
Adding Equipment to the Outside
of Your Vehicle...........................................5-5
Fuel................................................................5-5
Gasoline Octane............................................5-5
Gasoline Specications....................................5-5
California Fuel...............................................5-6
Additives.......................................................5-6
Fuels in Foreign Countries...............................5-7
Filling Your Tank............................................5-8
Filling a Portable Fuel Container.....................5-10
Checking Things Under the Hood....................5-10
Hood Release..............................................5-11
Engine Compartment Overview.......................5-12
Engine Oil...................................................5-13
Engine Cover...............................................5-17
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter................................5-21
Automatic Transmission Fluid.........................5-23
Engine Coolant.............................................5-26
Radiator Pressure Cap..................................5-28
Engine Overheating.......................................5-28
Cooling System............................................5-30
Engine Fan Noise.........................................5-35
Power Steering Fluid.....................................5-36Windshield Washer Fluid................................5-37
Brakes........................................................5-38
Battery........................................................5-42
Jump Starting...............................................5-42
All-Wheel Drive..............................................5-47
Rear Axle.......................................................5-48
Front Axle......................................................5-49
Bulb Replacement..........................................5-50
Halogen Bulbs..............................................5-50
Headlamps and Sidemarker Lamps.................5-50
Front Turn Signal and Parking Lamps..............5-54
Taillamps, Turn Signal, Stoplamps and
Back-up Lamps.........................................5-55
Replacement Bulbs.......................................5-56
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement..............5-57
Tires..............................................................5-58
Tire Sidewall Labelling...................................5-59
Tire Terminology and Denitions.....................5-61
Ination - Tire Pressure.................................5-64
Tire Inspection and Rotation...........................5-65
When It Is Time for New Tires.......................5-66
Buying New Tires.........................................5-67
Uniform Tire Quality Grading..........................5-68
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance..................5-69
Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
5-1

Wheel Replacement......................................5-70
Tire Chains..................................................5-71
If a Tire Goes Flat........................................5-71
Changing a Flat Tire.....................................5-72
Removing the Spare Tire and Tools................5-73
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing
the Spare Tire..........................................5-76
Storing a Flat or Spare Tire and Tools............5-82
Compact Spare Tire......................................5-84
Appearance Care............................................5-84
Fabric/Carpet...............................................5-85
Vinyl...........................................................5-86
Leather.......................................................5-87
Instrument Panel..........................................5-87
Interior Plastic Components............................5-87
Glass Surfaces.............................................5-87
Care of Safety Belts......................................5-87
Weatherstrips...............................................5-88
Washing Your Vehicle...................................5-88
Cleaning Exterior Lamps/Lenses.....................5-88
Finish Care..................................................5-88
Windshield and Wiper Blades.........................5-89Aluminum Wheels.........................................5-90
Tires...........................................................5-90
Sheet Metal Damage.....................................5-91
Finish Damage.............................................5-91
Underbody Maintenance................................5-91
Chemical Paint Spotting.................................5-91
Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials..................5-92
Vehicle Identication......................................5-93
Vehicle Identication Number (VIN).................5-93
Service Parts Identication Label.....................5-93
Electrical System............................................5-94
Add-On Electrical Equipment..........................5-94
Headlamp Wiring..........................................5-94
Windshield Wiper Fuses................................5-94
Power Windows and Other Power Options.......5-94
Fuses and Circuit Breakers............................5-95
Instrument Panel Fuse Block..........................5-96
Underhood Fuse Block..................................5-98
Capacities and Specications........................5-101
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts.........5-102
Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
5-2

Service
Your dealer knows your vehicle best and wants you to
be happy with it. We hope you will go to your dealer
for all your service needs. You will get genuine GM parts
and GM-trained and supported service people.
We hope you will want to keep your GM vehicle all GM.
Genuine GM parts have one of these marks:
California Proposition 65 Warning
Most motor vehicles, including this one, contain and/or
emit chemicals known to the State of California to
cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive
harm. Engine exhaust, many parts and systems
(including some inside the vehicle), many uids, and
some component wear by-products contain and/or emit
these chemicals.
5-3

Doing Your Own Service Work
If you want to do some of your own service work, you
will want to use the proper service manual. It tells
you much more about how to service your vehicle than
this manual can. To order the proper service manual,
seeService Publications Ordering Information on
page 7-12.
Your vehicle has an airbag system. Before attempting
to do your own service work, seeServicing Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle on page 1-69.
You should keep a record with all parts receipts and list
the mileage and the date of any service work you
perform. SeePart E: Maintenance Record on page 6-31.{CAUTION:
You can be injured and your vehicle could be
damaged if you try to do service work on a
vehicle without knowing enough about it.
Be sure you have sufficient knowledge,
experience, the proper replacement parts
and tools before you attempt any vehicle
maintenance task.
Be sure to use the proper nuts, bolts and
other fasteners. English and metric
fasteners can be easily confused. If you
use the wrong fasteners, parts can later
break or fall off. You could be hurt.
5-4