CHEVROLET CAVALIER 1997 3.G Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
If you get the overheat warning but see or hear no
steam, the problem may not be too serious. Sometimes
the engine
can get a little too hot when you:
0 Climb a long hill on a hot day.
0 Stop after high-speed driving.
e Idle for long periods in traffic.
Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or
so:
1. If you have an air conditioner, turn it off.
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan
speed and open the window as necessary.
3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);
otherwise, shift to the highest gear while driving
OVERDRIVE
(D) for four-speed automatic or
DRIVE
(D) for three-speed automatic transaxles. If
you no
longer have the overheat warning, you can
drive. Just to be safe, drive slower for about
10 minutes.
If the warning doesn’t
come back on, you can
drive normally.
If the warning continues, pull over, stop,
and park your
vehicle right away.
If there’s still no sign of steam, you can idle the engine
for two or
three minutes while you’re parked, to see
if the warning stops. But then, if you still have the
warning,
turn off the engine and get everyone out
of the vehicle until it cools down.
You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When you decide it's safe to lift the hood, here's what
you'll see:
2.2L Engine
2.4L Engine
A. Coolant Surge Tank with Pressure Cap
B, Electric Engine Fan
A CAUTION:
An electric fan under the hood can start up even
when the engine is not running and can injure
you. Keep hands, clothing and
tools away from
any underhood electric fan.
5-16
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If the coolant inside the coolant surge tank is boiling,
don’t
do anything else until it cools down.
The coolant level should be at the
FULL COLD line.
If it isn’t, you may have a leak in the radiator hoses,
heater hoses, radiator, water
pump or somewhere else in
the cooling system.
A CAUTION:
Heater and radiator hoses, and other engine
parts, can be very hot. Don’t touch them. If you
do, you can be burned,
Don’t run the engine if there
is a leak. If you run
the engine, it could lose all coolant, That could
cause an engine fire, and you could be burned.
Get any leak fixed before you drive the vehicle.
NOTICE:
Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered
by your warranty.
If there seems to
be no leak, with the engine on, check to
see if the electric engine fan is running.
If the engine is
overheating, the fan should be running.
If it isn’t, your
vehicle needs service.
5-1
. .

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Surge Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
isn’t at the
FULL COLD mark, add a 50/50 mixture of
clean water (preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL TM
coolant at the coolant surge tank, but be sure the cooling
system, including the coolant surge tank pressure cap,
is
cool before you do it. (See “Engine Coolant” in the
Index for more information.)
Steam and scalding liquids from
a hot cooling
system can blow out and burn you badly. They
are under pressure, and if you turn the coolant
surge tank pressure cap
-- even a little -- they
can come out
at high speed. Never turn the
cap when the cooling system, including the
coolant surge tank pressure cap, is hot. Wait
for the cooling system and coolant surge tank
pressure cap to cool if you ever have to turn
the pressure cap.
!
i’,

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A CAUTION:
Adding only plain water to your cooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water, or some other
liquid like alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mix
will. Your vehicle’s coolant warning
system is set for the proper coolant mix. With
plain water
or the wrong mix, your engine could
get too hot but you wouldn’t get the overheat
warning, Your engine could catch fire and you or
others could be burned. Use a
50/50 mix of clean
water and DEX-COOL@coolant.
NOTICE:
In cold weather, water can freeze and crack the
engine, radiator, heater core and other parts.
So
use the recommended coolant.
A CAUTION:
You can be burned if you spill coolant on hot
engine parts. Coolant contains ethylene glycol
and
it will burn if the engine parts are hot
enough. Don’t spill coolant on a hot engine.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 1. You can remove the coolant surge tank pressure cap
when the cooling system, including the coolant surge
tank pressure cap
and upper radiator hose, is no
longer hot.
Turn the pressure cap slowly about
one-quarter turn to
the left and then stop.
If you hear a hiss, wait for that to stop. A hiss means
there is still some pressure left.
2. Then keep turning the
pressure cap slowly, and
remove it.
5-20

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 3. Then fill the coolant surge tank with the proper mix,
up to the FULL COLD mark.
r 1
4. With the coolant surge tank pressure cap off, start
the engine and let it run until you can feel the upper
radiator hose getting hot. Watch
out for the
engine fan.
By this time, the coolant level inside the coolant
surge tank may be lower.
If the level is lower, add
more of the proper mix to the coolant surge tank
until the level reaches the FULL COLD mark.
5-21
. ,.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 5, Then replace the
pressure cap. Be sure the
pressure cap is tight.
If: ~~ re Goes Flat
It’s unl la1 for a tire to “blow out” while you’re driving,
especiauy 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 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 a tire goes flat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 an automatic transaxle shift lever in
PARK (P), or shift a manual transaxle to
FIRST
(1) or REVERSE (R).
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.
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The following steps will tell you how to use the jack and
change a tire.
5-23
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Removing the Spare Tire anc .m 01s
Lift and remove the cover. See “Compact Spare Tire”
later in this section for more information about the
compact spare.