PONTIAC GRAND PRIX 1998 Owners Manual

10. Then replace the pressure cap. At any time during
this procedure if coolant begins to flow out of the
filler neck, reinstall the pressure cap. Be sure the
arrows on the pressure cap line up like this.
11. Check the coolant in the recovery tank. The level in
the coolant recovery tank should be at the
HOT
mark when the engine is hot or at the COLD mark
when the engine
is cold.
If a Tire Goes Flat
It’s unusual for a tire to “blow out” while you’re driving,
especially if
you maintain your tires properly. If air goes
out
of a tire, it’s much more likely to leak out slowly.
But if
you should ever have a “blowout,” here are a few
tips about what to expect and what to do:
If a front tire fails, the flat tire will create a drag that
pulls the vehicle toward that side. Take your foot
off the
accelerator pedal
and grip the steering wheel firmly.
Steer to maintain lane position,
and then gently brake to
a stop well out of the tr&k lane.
A rear blowout, particularly on a curve, acts much like a
skid and may require the same correction you’d use in a
skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the
accelerator pedal. Get
the vehicle under control by
steering the way you want the vehicle to
go. It may be
very bumpy and noisy, but you can still steer. Gently
brake to a stop
-- well off the road if possible.
If a tire goes flat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment
to change a flat tire safely.
5-26

Changing a Flat Tire
If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly
to a level place. Turn on your hazard
warning flashers.
Changing a tire can cause an injury. The vehicle
can slip
off the jack and roll over you or other
people. You and they could be badly injured.
Find
a level place to change your tire. To help
prevent the vehicle from moving:
1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put the shift lever in PARK (P).
3. Turn off the engine.
To be even more certain the vehicle won’t move,
you can put blocks at the front and rear of the
tire farthest away from the one being changed.
That would be the tire on the other side of the
vehicle,
at the opposite end. The
following steps
will tell you how to use the jack and
change a tire.
5-27

Removing the Spare Tire and Tools
The equipment you'll need
Pull the carpeting from the floor of the
trunk. Then lift
and remove the cover.
..
Remove the spare tire.
5-28

C
Turn the nut holding the jack to the left and remove it.
Then remove the jack and wrench. The tools you’ll
be using include the jack
(A) extension
and protectodguide (B) and wheel wrench (C).
5-29

If there is a wheel cover,
loosen the plastic nut caps with the wheel wrench.
They won’t come
off. Then,
using the flat end
of the
wheel wrench,
pry along the
edge
of the cover until it
comes
off. Be careful; the
edges may be sharp. Don’t
try to remove the cover with
your bare hands.
If your vehicle has wheel nut caps, remove them using
the wheel wrench.
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing the
Spare Tire
1. Using the wheel wrench, loosen all the wheel nuts.
Don’t remove them yet.
2. Turn the jack handle to the right to raise the jack lift
head a few inches.
5-30

FRONT VEHICLE
/ ‘/
- REAR EDGE OF FRONT
WHEEL OPENING LIFT
HEAD
FRONT EDGE OF
REAR WHEEL
OPENING
For jacking at
the vehicle’s front location, put jack lift
about
6 inches ( 15 cm) from the rear edge of the front
wheel opening or between the two bolts
as shown. For jacking at the vehicle’s rear location, put the
jack lift
head about
5.5 inches (14 cm) from the front edge of the
rear wheel opening or just behind the off-set as shown.
Put the compact spare tire near you.
5-31

A CAUTION:
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.
-
A CAUTION:
Raising your vehicle with the jack improperly
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. 3. Raise the vehicle by turning the jack handle to the
right. Raise the vehicle
far enough off the ground for
the
spare tire to fit under the vehicle. Remove all
wheel nuts and take off the flat tire.
5-32

4. Remove any rust or dirt
-1 from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces and
spare wheel.
A CAUTION:
Rust or dirt 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 the 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 scraper or wire
brush later, if you need to, to get all the rust or
dirt off.
.h CAUTION:
Never use oil or grease on studs or nuts. If you
do, the nuts might come loose. Your wheel
could
fall off, causing a serious accident.
5. Replace the wheel nuts
with the rounded end of
the nuts toward the
I wheel. Tighten each nut
by hand until the wheel
is held against the hub.
5-33

6. Lower the vehicle by turning the jack handle to the
left. Lower the
jack completely.
7. Tighten the wheel
nuts
firmly in a
crisscross sequence
as shown.
Incorrect wheel nuts or improperly tightened
wheel nuts can cause the wheel to become loose
and even come
off. This could lead to an accident.
Be sure to use the correct wheel nuts.
If you have
to replace them, be sure to get new GM original
equipment wheel nuts.
Stop somewhere
as soon as you can and have
the nuts tightened with a torque wrench to
100 lb-ft (140 Nom.)
5-34

NOTICE:
Improperly tightened wheel nuts can lead to
brake pulsation and rotor damage.
To avoid
expensive brake repairs, evenly tighten the wheel
nuts
in the proper sequence and to the proper
torque specification.
Don’t
try to put the wheel cover on your compact
spare tire.
It won’t fit. Store the wheel cover in the
trunk until you have the flat tire repaired or replaced.
I NOTICE:
Wheel covers won’t fit on your compact spare. If
you try to put a wheel cover on your compact
spare, you could damage the cover
or the spare.
Storing the Flat Tire and Tools
A CAUTION:
Storing a jack, a tire or other equipment in the
passenger compartment
of the vehicle could
cause iqjury.
In a sudden stop or collision, loose
equipment could strike someone. Store all these
in the proper place.
After you’ve put the compact spare tire on
your vehicle,
you’ll need to store the flat tire in
your trunk. Use the
following procedure to secure the flat tire
in the trunk.
5-35