2005 CHEVROLET BLAZER brake

5. If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle with an
automatic transfer case, be sure the transfer case is
in a drive gear – not in NEUTRAL.
6. Release the regular brakes.
{CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to get out of your vehicle
if the shift lever is not fully in PARK (P) with
the parking brake rmly set. Your vehicle can
roll.
If you have left the engine running, the vehicle
can move suddenly. You or others could be
injured. To be sure your vehicle will not move,
even when you are on fairly level ground, use
the steps that follow.
Always put the shift lever fully in PARK (P)
with the parking brake rmly set.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
If the transfer case on four-wheel drive
vehicles is in NEUTRAL, your vehicle will be
free to roll, even if your shift lever is in PARK
(P). So, be sure the transfer case is in a drive
gear — not in NEUTRAL.
SeeFour-Wheel Drive on page 2-29.
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.
4-69

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.
Trailer Wiring Harness
The light-duty trailer wiring is a six-wire harness
assembly. The optional heavy-duty trailer wiring is an
eight-wire harness assembly. The harnesses are stored
under the vehicle, along the passenger-side frame
crossmember on two-door vehicles or on the driver’s
side corner frame rear crossmember on four-door
vehicles. The heavy-duty trailer wiring is fused in the
engine compartment fuse block. SeeFuses and Circuit
Breakers on page 5-97. Both harnesses have no
connector and should be wired by a qualied electrical
technician. The technician can use the following
color code chart when connecting the wiring harness to
your trailer.
Dark Blue: Use for electric trailer brakes or auxiliary
wiring (eight-wire harness only).
Red: Use for battery charging; it connects to the
starter solenoid (eight-wire harness only).
Light Green: Back-up lamps.
Brown: Taillamps and parking lamps.
Yellow: Driver’s side stoplamp and turn signal.
Dark Green: Passenger’s side stoplamp and turn
signal.
White: Ground wire.
Light Blue: Auxiliary stoplamp.
Securely attach the harness to the trailer, then tape or
strap it to your vehicle’s frame rail. Be sure you
leave it loose enough so the wiring doesn’t bend or
break, but not so loose that it drags on the ground. Store
the harness in its original place. Wrap the harness
together and tie it neatly so it won’t be damaged.
4-70

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 Air Cleaner/Filter................................5-18
Automatic Transmission Fluid.........................5-19
Manual Transmission Fluid.............................5-22
Hydraulic Clutch...........................................5-24
Engine Coolant.............................................5-25
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........................................................5-41
Jump Starting...............................................5-42
Rear Axle.......................................................5-46
Four-Wheel Drive............................................5-47
Front Axle......................................................5-48
Bulb Replacement..........................................5-49
Halogen Bulbs..............................................5-49
Headlamps..................................................5-49
One-Piece Front Turn Signal Lamps................5-51
Two-Piece Front Turn Signal Lamps................5-52
Taillamps.....................................................5-53
Replacement Bulbs.......................................5-53
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement..............5-54
Tires..............................................................5-56
Tire Sidewall Labelling...................................5-57
Tire Terminology and Denitions.....................5-60
Ination - Tire Pressure.................................5-62
Tire Inspection and Rotation...........................5-64
When It Is Time for New Tires.......................5-65
Buying New Tires.........................................5-66
Uniform Tire Quality Grading..........................5-67
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance..................5-68
Wheel Replacement......................................5-69
Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
5-1

Filling a Portable Fuel Container
{CAUTION:
Never ll a portable fuel container while it is in
your vehicle. Static electricity discharge from
the container can ignite the gasoline vapor.
You can be badly burned and your vehicle
damaged if this occurs. To help avoid injury to
you and others:
Dispense gasoline only into approved
containers.
Do not ll a container while it is inside a
vehicle, in a vehicle’s trunk, pickup bed or
on any surface other than the ground.
Bring the ll nozzle in contact with the
inside of the ll opening before operating
the nozzle. Contact should be maintained
until the lling is complete.
Do not smoke while pumping gasoline.
Checking Things Under
the Hood
{CAUTION:
Things that burn can get on hot engine parts
and start a re. These include liquids like fuel,
oil, coolant, brake uid, windshield washer and
other uids, and plastic or rubber. You or
others could be burned. Be careful not to drop
or spill things that will burn onto a hot engine.
5-10

A. Battery. SeeBattery on page 5-41.
B. Coolant Recovery Tank. SeeEngine Coolant on
page 5-25.
C. Engine Oil Dipstick. See “Checking Engine Oil”
underEngine Oil on page 5-13.
D. Engine Oil Fill Cap. See “When to Add Engine Oil”
underEngine Oil on page 5-13.
E. Automatic Transmission Fluid Dipstick (If Equipped).
See “Checking the Fluid Level” underAutomatic
Transmission Fluid on page 5-19.
F. Power Steering Fluid Reservoir. SeePower Steering
Fluid on page 5-36.
G. Brake Master Cylinder Reservoir. See “Brake Fluid”
underBrakes on page 5-38.
H. Engine Air Cleaner/Filter. SeeEngine Air
Cleaner/Filter on page 5-18.
I. Clutch Master Cylinder Reservoir. SeeHydraulic
Clutch on page 5-24.
J. Engine Compartment Fuse Block. SeeEngine
Compartment Fuse Block on page 5-99.
K. Windshield Washer Fluid Reservoir. See “Adding
Washer Fluid” underWindshield Washer Fluid
on page 5-37.Engine Oil
Checking Engine Oil
It is a good idea to check your engine oil every time you
get fuel. In order to get an accurate reading, the oil
must be warm and the vehicle must be on level ground.
The engine oil dipstick handle is a yellow loop. See
Engine Compartment Overview on page 5-12for
the location of the engine oil dipstick.
1. Turn off the engine and give the oil several minutes
to drain back into the oil pan. If you do not do this,
the oil dipstick might not show the actual level.
2. Pull out the dipstick and clean it with a paper towel
or cloth, then push it back in all the way. Remove it
again, keeping the tip down, and check the level.
5-13

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 little uid can damage
your transmission. Too much can mean that some
of the uid could come out and fall on hot engine
part or exhaust system parts, starting a re.
Too little uid could cause the transmission to
overheat. Be sure to get an accurate reading if you
check your transmission uid.
Wait at least 30 minutes before checking the
transmission uid 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.
To get the right reading, the uid should be at normal
operating temperature, which is 180°F to 200°F
(82°C to 93°C).Get the vehicle warmed up by driving about 15 miles
(24 km) when outside temperatures are above 50°F
(10°C). If it is colder than 50°F (10°C), drive the vehicle
in THIRD (3) until the engine temperature gage
moves and then remains steady for 10 minutes.
A cold uid check can be made after the vehicle has
been sitting for eight hours or more with the engine off,
but this is used only as a reference. Let the engine
run at idle for ve minutes if outside temperatures are
50°F (10°C) or more. If it is colder than 50°F (10°C), you
may have to idle the engine longer. Should the uid
level be low during this cold check, you must check the
uid hot before adding uid. Checking the uid hot
will give you a more accurate reading of the uid level.
Checking the Fluid Level
Prepare your vehicle as follows:
Park your vehicle on a level place. Keep the engine
running.
With the parking brake applied, place the shift lever
in PARK (P).
With your foot on the brake pedal, move the shift
lever through each gear range, pausing for about
three seconds in each range. Then, position the shift
lever in PARK (P).
Let the engine run at idle for three minutes or more.
5-20

Brakes
Brake Fluid
Your brake master cylinder
reservoir is lled with
DOT-3 brake uid. See
Engine Compartment
Overview on page 5-12for
the location of the
reservoir.
There are only two reasons why the brake uid level in
the reservoir might go down. The rst is that the
brake uid goes down to an acceptable level during
normal brake lining wear. When new linings are put in,
the uid level goes back up. The other reason is
that uid is leaking out of the brake system. If it is, you
should have your brake system xed, since a leak
means that sooner or later your brakes will not work
well, or will not work at all.So, it is not a good idea to top off your brake uid.
Adding brake uid will not correct a leak. If you add uid
when your linings are worn, then you will have too
much uid when you get new brake linings. You should
add or remove brake uid, as necessary, only when
work is done on the brake hydraulic system.
{CAUTION:
If you have too much brake uid, it can spill on
the engine. The uid will burn if the engine is
hot enough. You or others could be burned,
and your vehicle could be damaged. Add brake
uid only when work is done on the brake
hydraulic system. See “Checking Brake Fluid”
in this section.
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine when
to check your brake uid. SeePart C: Periodic
Maintenance Inspections on page 6-30.
5-38

Checking Brake Fluid
You can check the brake uid without taking off the cap.
Look at the brake uid
reservoir. The uid level
should be above MIN. If it
is not, 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 brake uid, use only DOT-3 brake
uid. Use new brake uid from a sealed container
only. SeePart D: Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
on page 6-32.Always clean the brake uid 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 of uid 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
brake uid.
Notice:
Using the wrong uid 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 will have to be replaced. Do not
let someone put in the wrong kind of uid.
If you spill brake uid on your vehicle’s painted
surfaces, the paint nish can be damaged. Be
careful not to spill brake uid on your vehicle. If
you do, wash it off immediately. SeeAppearance
Care on page 5-86.
5-39