wheel BUICK SKYLARK 1993 Owner's Guide

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Gse the vehicle by
Raise the vehicle
far enough off the ground so there is
enough room for the spare tire to fit.
Remove all the wheel nuts and take
off the flat tire.
.. . -, . . i .
Remove any rust or dirt from the wheel bolts, mounting
surfaces
or spare wheel. Place the spare on the wheel
mounting surface.
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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 w~heel could come
off and cause an accident. When you change
a
wheel, remove any rust or dirt from the places
whiere the wheel attach'es to
the vehicle. In an
emergency, you can use a doth olr a paper towel
to do this; but. be swe to :use a scraper or wire
Ibr'ush later, if
you need inl. to get all the rust or "
dirt off.
1
Never use oil or grease on studs or nuts. If you
do, the n"s might come loose. Your wheel cou!l
fall oEf, causing a serious accidenlt.
_I
I
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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Tighten the wheel nuts firmly in a crisscross sequence as
shown.
Lower the vehicle by rotating the wheel wrench
counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.
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n Now put all the equipment back in the car.
Just follow this drawing:
/! CAUTION:
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 get the right kind.
Stop somewhere as soon as you can and have
the nuts tightened with
a torque wrench. The
torque setting should be
140 N.m (1 00 ft. Ibs.)
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
Wheel covers won’t fit on your compact spare. ~~~~ ;q,yy+4
If you try to put a wheel cover on your cornp~~~~~~~
~~~~~,~~~
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Storing a jack, a tire, or other equipment in the
passenger compartment
of the vehicle COL
cause injury. In a sudden stop or collision, lo ~ ~e
equipment could strike s-neone. Store all these
in the r-7per place.
If You’re Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or
Snow
What you don’t want to do when your vehicle is stuck
is to spin your wheels. The method known as “rocking ”
can help you get out when you’re stuck, but you must
use caution.
If you let yow tires spin at Mgh speed, they can
expl’ode and
yo’u or ,others could be injured. And,
the tra.nsaxle
or other parts of ,the vehilcle cs--
overheat. That could cause an engine fire or
other damage. When you’re stuck, spin the
wheels as little as possible. Do:n’t spin the
wheel~s’ above 35 mph (55
speedometer.,
I
he
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Rocking your vehicle to get it out:
First, turn your steering wheel left and right. That will
clear the area around your front wheels. Then shift back
and forth between “R” and a forward gear
, spinning the
wheels as little as possible. Release the accelerator pedal
while you shift, and press lightly on the accelerator
pedal when the transaxle is in gear. If that doesn’t get
you out after a few tries, you may need
to be towed out.
If you do need to be towed out, see “Towing Your Car”
in the Index.

When to Check: Check your tires once a month or
more.
Don’t forget your compact spare tire. It should be at
60
psi (420 Pa).
How tco Check: Use a good quality pocket-type gage to
check tire pressure. Simply looking at the tires will not
tell you the pressure, especially if
you have radial tires --
which may look~properly inflated even if they’re
underinflated. 1
If your tires have valve caps, be sure to put them back
on. They help prevent leaks~ by keeping out dirt and
moisture.
Tire Inspection and Rotation
To make your tires last longer, have them, inspected and
rotated at the mileages recommended in the
Maintenance Schedule. See “Scheduled Maintenance
Services” in the Index. Use this rotation pattern.
After the tires have been rotated, adjust the
front and
rear inflation pressure as shown on the Tire-Loading
Information label. Make certain that all wheel nuts are
properly tightened. See “Wheel Nut Torque” in the
Index.
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The tire has a puncture, cut, or other damage that
can’t be repaired well because of the size or location
of the damage.
Buying New Tires
To find out what kind and size of tires you need, look at
the Tire-Loading Information label.
The tires installed on your vehicle when it was new had
a Tire Performance Criteria Specification (TPC Spec)
number on each tire’s sidewall. When you get new tires, get ones with that same
TPC Spec number. That way,
your vehicle will continue to have tires that are designed
to give proper endurance, handling, speed rating,
traction, ride and other things during normal service on
your vehicle. If your tires have an all-season tread
design, the TPC number will be followed by a
“MS”
(for mud and snow).
If you ever replace your tires with those not having a
TPC Spec number, make sure they are the same size,
load range, speed rating and construction type (bias,
bias-belted or radial) as your original tires.
A CAUTION:
Mixing tires could cause you to lose control
while driving.
If you mix tires of different sizes or
types (radial and bias-belted tires), the vehicle
may not handle properly, and you could have a
crash. Be sure to use the same size and type
tires on all wheels.
It’s all right to drive with your compact spare,
though. It was developed for limited use on your
vehicle.
I
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
The following information relates to the system
developed by the United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration which grades tires by
treadwear, traction and temperature performance. (This applies only to vehicles sold in the United States.)
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on
the wear rate of the tire when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified government test course. For
example, a tire graded
150 would wear one and a half
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(1 112) times as well on the government course as a tire
graded
100. The relative performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their use, however, and
may depart significantly from the norm due to variations
in driving habits, service practices.and differences in
road characteristics and climate.
’Ikaction - A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest are: A, B,
and C. They represent the tire’s.ability to stop on wet
pavement
as measured under controlled conditions on
specified government test surfaces
of asphalt and
concrete. A tire marked
C may have poor traction
performance.
Warning: The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on braking (straight-ahead) traction tests and does not
include cornering (turning) traction.
Temperature - A, B, C
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B, and C,
representing the tire’s resistance to the generation of
heat and its ability to dissipate heat when tested under controlled conditions on a- specified indoor laboratory
test wheel. Sustained high temperature can cause the
material of the tire to degenerate and reduce tire life, and
excessive temperature can lead to sudden tire failure. The
grade
C corresponds to a level of performance
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No. 109. Grades
B and A represent higher levels of performance on the
laboratory test wheel than the minimum required by law.
Warning: The temperature grade for this tire is
established for a tire that is properly inflated and not
overloaded. Excessive speed, underinflation, or
excessive loading, either separately or in combination,
can cause heat buildup and possible tire failure.
Those grades are molded on the sidewalls of passenger
car tires.
While the tires available as standard or optional
equipment on General Motors vehicles may vary with
respect to these grades, all such tires meet General
Motors performance standards and have been approved
for use on General Motors vehicles. All passenger type
(P Metric) tires must conform to Federal safety
requirements in addition to these grades.
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance
The wheels on your vehicle were aligned and balanced
carefully at the factory to give you the longest tire life
and best overall performance.
. which all passenger car tires must meet under the
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In most cases, you will not need to have your wheels
. aligned again. However, if you notice unusual tire wear or your vehicle pulling one way or the other, the
alignment may need to be reset. If you notice your
vehicle vibrating when driving on a smooth road, your
wheels may need to be rebalanced.
Wheel Replacement
Replace any wheel that is bent, cracked or badly rusted.
If wheel nuts keep coming loose, the wheel, wheel bolts,
and wheel nuts should be replaced. If the wheel leaks air out, replace it (except some aluminum wheels, which
can sometimes be repaired
-- See your Buick dealer) if
any of these conditions exist.
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 Buick
model.
A CAUTION:
Using the wrong replacement wheels, wheel
bolts, or wheel nuts
on your vehicle can be
dangerous.
It could affect the braking and
handling
of your vehicle, make your tires lose
and make you lose control. You could have a
collision
in which you or others could be injured.
Always use the correct wheel, wheel bolts, and
wheel nuts for replacement
earing life, brake cooling,
peedQmeter/Qdometer
cali
im, bumper height, vehicl
nd tire or tire chain clearance to the body an
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