CHEVROLET S10 1994 2.G Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Ge.tting Familiar with Off-Road Driving
It’s a good idea to practice in an area that’s safe and close to home befor\
e
you go into the wilderness. Off-road driving does require some new and
different driving
skills. Here’s what we mean.
Tune your senses to different kinds of signals. Your eyes, for example, need
to constantly sweep the terrain for unexpected obstacles. Your ears need to
listen for unusual tire
or engine sounds. With your arms, hands, feet, and
body you’ll need to respond to vibrations and vehicle bounce\
.
control ling^ your vehicle is the key to successful off-road driving. One of
the best ways to control your vehicle is to control your speed. Here are some
things to keep
in mind. At higher speeds:
you approach things faster and you have less time to scan the ter\
rain for
obstacles.
you have less time to react.
0 you have more vehicle bounce when you drive over obstacles.
0 you’ll need more distance for braking, especially since you’re on an
unpaved surface.
Scanning the Terrain
Off-rdad driving can take you over many different kinds of terrain. You
need to be familiar with the terrain and its many different f\
eatures. Here
are
some things to consider.
Sufface Conditions. Off-roading can take you over hard-packed dirt,
gravel, rocks, grass, sand, mud, snow or ice. Each of these surfaces affects
the steering, acceleration, and braking
of your vehicle in different ways.
Depending upon the kind
of surface you are on, you may experience
slipping, sliding, wheel spinning, delayed acceleration, poor tra\
ction, and
longer braking distances.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Surface Obstacles. Unseen or hidden obstacles can be hazardous. A rock,
log, hole, rut, or bump can startle you
if you’re not prepared for them. Often
these obstacles are hidden by grass, bushes, snow or even the rise and fall of
the terrain itself. Here are some things to consider:
Is the path ahead clear?
Will the surface texture change abruptly up ahead?
Does the travel take you uphill or downhill? (There’s more \
discussion
of these subjects later.)
Will you have to stop suddenly or change direction quickly?
When you drive over obstacles or rough terrain, keep a firm g\
rip on the steering wheel. Ruts, troughs, or other surface features can jerk the wheel
out
of your hands if you’re not prepared.
When you drive over bumps, rocks, or other obstacles, your whe\
els can leave the ground.
If this happens, even with one or two wheels, you can’t
control the vehicle as well or at all.
Because you will be
on an unpaved surface, it’s especially important to
avoid sudden acceleration, sudden turns,
or sudden braking.
In a way, off-road driving requires a different kind
of alertness from driving
on paved roads and highways. There are no road signs, posted \
speed limits
or signal lights. You have to use your own good judgment about what is safe
and what isn’t.
Drinking and driving can be very dangerous on any road. And t\
his is
certainly true for off-road driving. At the very time you need special
alertness and driving skills, your reflexes, perceptions and jud\
gment can be
affected by even a small amount of alcohol. You could have a serious
- or
even fatal
- accident if you drink and drive or ride with a driver who has
been drinking. (See “Drunken Driving” in the Index.)
1
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving On Off-Road Hills
Off-road driving often takes you up, down, or across a hill. Driving safely
on hills requires good judgment and
an understanding of what your vehicle
can and can’t do. There are some hills that simply can’t be driven, no matter\

how well built the vehicle.
Approachiing a Hill
When you approach a hill, you need to decide if it’s one of those hills that’s
just too steep
to climb, descend, or cross. Steepness can be hard to judge.
On
a very small hill, for example, there may be a smooth, constant incline
with only a small change in elevation where you can easily see all the way
to the top. On a large hill, the incline may get steeper as you near the top,
but you may not see this because the crest of the hill is hidden by bushes,
grass, or shrubs.
Here are some other things to consider as you approach a hill\
.
0 Is there a constant incline, or does the hill get sharply steeper in places?
Is there good traction on the hillside, or will the surface cause tire
slipping?
Is there a straight path up or down the hill so you won’t have to make
Are there obstructions on the hill that can block your path (boulders,
turning maneuvers?
trees, logs or
ruts)?
What’s beyond the hill? Is there a cliff, an embankment, a drop-off, a
fence? Get out and walk the hill if you don’t know. It’s the smart way
to find out.
0 Is the hill simply too rough? Steep hills often have ruts, gullies, troughs\

and exposed rocks because they are more susceptible to the eff\
ects of
erosion.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving Uphill
Once you decide you can safely drive up the hill, you need t\
o take some
special steps.
Use a low gear and get a firm grip on the steering wheel.
Get a smooth start up the hill and try to maintain your spee\
d. Don’t use
more power than you need, because you don’t want your wheel\
s to start
spinning or sliding.
turns, you might want to find another route.
Try to drive straight up the hill if at all possible. If the path twists and
Ease up on your speed as you approach the top of the hill.
Attach a flag to the vehicle to make you more visible to approaching
Sound the horn as you approach the top of the hill to let opposing
traffic on trails or hills.
traffic know you’re there.
Use your headlights even during the day. They make you more v\
isible
to oncoming traffic.
..
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q: What should I do if my vehicle stalls, or is about to stall, and I
A: If this happens, there are some things you should do, and there are
some things you must not do. First, here’s what you
should do:
can’t make it up the hill?
Push the brake pedal to stop the vehicle and keep it from rolling
backwards. Also, apply
the parking brake.
If your engine is still running, shift the transmission into reverse,
release the parking brake, and slowly back down the hill in r\
everse.
If your engine has stopped running, you’ll need to restart it. With the
brake pedal depressed and the parking brake still applied, shift the
transmission to
“P” (Park) (or, shift to “N” (Neutral) if your vehicle h\
as
a manual transmission) and restart the engine. Then, shift to \
reverse,
release the parking brake, and slowly back down the hill as s\
traight
as
possible in reverse.
wheel at the
12 o’clock position. This way, you’ll be able to tell if your
wheels are straight and maneuver as you back down. It’s bes\
t that you
back down the hill with your wheels straight rather than in the left or
right direction. Turning the wheel too far to the left or right will
increase the possibility
of a rollover.
Here are some things you
must not do if you stall, or are about to stall,
when going up a hill.
0 As you are backing down the hill, put your left hand on the steering
0 Never attempt to prevent a stall by shifting into “N’ (Neutral) (or
depressing the clutch, if you have a manual transmission) to “rev-up”
the engine and regain forward momentum. This won’t work. Your
vehicle will roll backwards very quickly and you could go out \
of
control.
Instead, apply the regular brake to stop the vehicle. Then app\
ly the
parking brake. Shift into reverse, release the parking brake, and slowly
back straight down.
0 Never attempt to turn around if you are about to stall when going up a
hill.
If the hill is steep enough to stall your vehicle, it’s steep enough to
cause you to roll over
if you turn around. If you can’t make it up the
hill, you must back straight down the hill.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q: Suppose, after stalling, I try to back down the hin and decide I just
A: Set the parking brake, put your transmission in “P’ (Park) (or the
can’t do it. What should I do?
manual transmission in first gear) , and turn off the engine. Leave the
vehicle and go get some help. Exit on the uphill side and st\
ay clear of
the path the vehicle would take if it rolled downhill.
Do not shift the
transfer case to
“N’ (Neutral) when you leave the vehicle. Leave it in
some gear.
Driving Downhill
When off-roading takes you downhill, you’ll want to consider \
a number of
things:
How steep is the downhill? Will I be able to maintain vehicle control?
0 What’s the surface like? Smooth? Rough? Slippery? Hard-packed dirt?
Gravel?
Are there hidden surface obstacles? Ruts? Logs? Boulders?
What’s at the bottom of the hill? Is there a hidden creek bank or even a
river bottom with large rocks?
If you decide you can go down a hill safely, then try to keep your vehicle
headed straight down, and use a low gear. This way, engine drag
can help
your brakes and they won’t have to do all the work. Descen\
d slowly,
keeping your vehicle under control at all times.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q : Are ;there some things I should not, do when driving .down a hiIl?
A : Yes! These are important because if you ignore them you could lase
control and have a serious accident.
Shift to “P’ (Park) (or to Neutral with the manual transmission) and,
while
still braking, restart the engine.
Shift back to a low gear, release the parking brake, and drive straight
If the engine won’t start, get out and get help.
down.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving Across an Incline
Sooner or later, an off-road trail will probably go across the incline of a hill.
If this happens, you have to decide whether to try to drive across the incline.
Here are some things to consider:
(I,
0
0
A hill that can be driven straight up or down may be too steep to drive
across. When you
go straight up or down a hill, the length of the wheel
base (the distance from the front wheels to the rear wheels)\
reduces the
likelihood the vehicle will tumble end over end. But when you \
drive
across an incline, the much more nmow track width (the distance
between the left and right wheels) may not prevent the vehicl\
e from
tilting and rolling over.
Also, drivirig across an indline puts more
weight on the downhill wheels. This could cause a downhil slide or a
rollover.
Surface conditions can be
a problem when you drive across a hill.
Loose gravel, muddy spots, or even wet grass can cause your t\
ires to
slip sideways, downhill. If the vehicle slips sideways, it can hit
something that will trip it (a rock,
a rut, etc.) and roll over.
Hidden obstacles can make the steepness of the incline even worse.
I€
you drive across a rock with the uphill wheels, or if the do\
wnhill
wheels drop into a rut
or depression, your vehicle can tilt even more.
For reasons like these,
you need to decide carefully whether to try to drive
across an incline. Just because the trail goes across the incl\
ine doesn’t mean
you have to drive it. The last vehicle to
try it might have rolled over.
Q: What if I’m driving across an incline that’s not too ste\
ep, but I hit
A: If you feel your vehicle starting to slide sideways, turn downhill\
. This
should help straighten out the vehicle and prevent the side sl\
ipping.
However, a much better way to prevent
hs is to get out and “walk the
course”
so you know what the surface is like before you drive it.
some loose gravel and start to slide dowhhill. What should I do?
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Stalling on an Incline
If your vehicle stalls when you’re crossing an incline, be sure you (and your
passengers) get out on the uphill side, even
if the door there is harder to
open.
If you get out on the downhill side and the vehicle starts to roll over,
you’ll be right in its path.
If you have to walk down the slope, stay out of the path the vehicle will take
if it does roll over.
Driving In Mud, Sand, Snow, Or Ice
When you drive in mud, snow or sand, your wheels won’t get good traction.
You can’t accelerate as quickly, turning is more difficult, and you’ll need
longer braking distances.
It’s best to use a low gear when you’re
in mud - the deeper the mud, the
lower the gear. In really deep mud, the idea is to keep your vehicle moving
so you don’t get stuck.
When you drive on sand, you’ll sense a change in wheel traction. But it will
depend upon how loosely packed the sand is. On loosely packed sand (as on
beaches
or sand dunes) your tires will tend to sink into the sand. This has an
effect on steering, accelerating, and braking. You may want to reduce the air
pressure in your tires slightly when driving on sand. This will improve
traction.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Hard packed snow and ice offer the worst tire traction. On th\
ese surfaces,
it’s very easy to lase control. On wet ice, for example, the traction is
so poor
that you will have difficulty accelerating. And
if you do get moving, poor
steering and difficult braking can cause you to slide out of control.
Driving In Water
Light rain causes no special off-road driving problems. But heavy rain can\

mean flash flooding, and flood waters demand extreme caution.
Find out haw deep the water is before you
drive through it. If it’s deep
enough to cover your wheel hubs, axles, or exhaust pipe, don’\
t
try it - you
probably won’t get through. Also, water that deep can damage\
your axle and
other vehicle parts.
If the water isn’t too deep, then drive through it slowly. At \
fast speeds, water
splashes on your ignition system and your vehicle can stall. S\
talling can also
occur
if you get your tailpipe under water. And, as long as your tailpipe \
is
under water, you’ll never be able to start your engine. Whe\
n you go through water, remember
that when vour brakes get wet, it mav take you longer to
stop.
C. ..
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