wheel BUICK CENTURY 1993 Owner's Guide

when your vehicle is being towed, have the ignition key Front Towing Hook-Ups
off. The steering wheel should be clamped in a straight-
ahead position, with a clamping device designed for
towing service.
Do not use the vehicle’s steering column
lock for
this. The transaxle should be in Neutral and the
parking brake released.
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Don’t have your vehicle towed on the front wheels, unless
you must. If the vehicle must be towed on the front
wheels, don’t go more than
35 mph (56 km/h) or farther
than
50 miles (80 km) or your transaxle will be damaged.
If these limits must be exceeded, then the front wheels
have
to be supported on a dolly.
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&!, CAUTION:
A vehicle can fall from a car carrier if It Isn’t
properly secured.
This can cause a colllsion,
serious personal injury and vehicle damage.
The vehicle should be tightly secured with Before hooking up to a tow truck, be sure to read all the
chains or steel cables before it is transported. information in “Towing Your Buick” earlier in this part.
Don’t use substitutes (ropes, leather straps, I
1. Attach T-hook chains behind the front wheels into the
canvas webbing, etc.) that can be cut by sharp bottom of the floor pan on both sides.
edges underneath the towed vehicle. I
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4. Attach a separate safety chain around the outboard end
of each lower control arm. Before hooking up
to a tow truck, be sure to read all the
information in “Towing Your Buick” earlier in this part.
1. Attach T-hook chains on both sides in the slotted holes
in the
floor pan just ahead of the rear wheels.
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8. Then replace the pressure cap. Be sure
the
arrows on the pressure
cap line up like this.
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, then gently brake to a
stop well out of the traffic 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 your tire goes flat; the next section shows how to use
your jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely.
Changing a Flat Tire
If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage ~y
driving slowly to a level place. Turn on your hazard
warning flashers.
A CAUTION:
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 “P” (Park).
3. Turn off the engine.
CAUTION (Continued)
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P). ,
3. Lift off the jack and remove the spare tire.
4. Remove the wheel wrench from the bag.
Century Wagon
The equipment you’ll need is stored in the rear of your
vehicle, behind the spare
tire cover.
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To remove the tire-changing equipment:
1. Remove the wing nut from the center of the spare tire
2. Remove the spare tire.
and remove the adapter.
3. Turn the two wing nuts counterclockwise and remove
the jack retainer plate. Then pull out the jack and
wheel wrench.
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Standard Wheel Cover Wire Wheel Cover
You will be using
the flat end of the wheel wrench to
remove the wheel cover. Pry along the edge of the wheel
cover until it comes off.
4 Removing the wire wheel
cover requires
this wire
wheel key wrench.
Put the flat end into the
notch and carefully pry the small center cover
off.
Take off the special anti-
theft wheel nut. Put the wrench over it like
this.
Lift the wheel cover off.
You may have to pry
carefully at the edge of the wheel cover to get it off.
If
it doesn’t come off with the
minimum effort, it may be
that the anti-theft wheel nut is not completely
off.
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All Vehicles
1. Using the wheel wrench, loosen all the wheel nuts.
Don’t remove them yet.
2. Position the jack under
the vehicle nearest the
tire to be changed. The
jack location should be approximately five
inches
(12.7 cm) from the
wheel well.
A CAUTION:
Getting under a vehlcle when It Is jacked up fs
dangerous. If the vehicle sllps off the jack, you
.could be badly injured or killed. Never get
under a vehicle when it Is supported only by a
rack.
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3. Raise the vehicle by rotating the wheel wrench
clockwise. Raise the
vehicle far enough off the ground so there is
enough
room for the spare tire to fit.
4. Remove all the wheel nuts and take off the flat tire.
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I 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. ’. : .a.
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5. Remove any rust or dirt from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces
or spare wheel.
6. Place the spare on the
wheel mounting surface.
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I A 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.
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7. Replace the wheel nuts
with
the rounded end of
the nuts toward the
wheel. Tighten each nut
by hand until the wheel
is held against the hub.
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8. Lower the vehicle by rotating the wheel wrench
counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.
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