CHEVROLET VENTURE 1998 Owners Manual

If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
Steam from an overheated engine can burn you
badly, even if you just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see
or hear steam coming
from it. Just turn it
off and get everyone away
from the vehicle until it cools down. Wait until
there is no sign
of steam or coolant before you
open the hood.
If you keep driving when your engine is
overheated, the liquids in it can catch fire. You or
others could be badly burned. Stop your engine if
it overheats, and get out
of the vehicle until the
engine
is cool.
I NOTICE:
If your engine catches fire because you keep
driving with no coolarmt, your vehicle can be
badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be
covered by your warranty. See “Overheated
Engine Protection Operating Mode” in the Index.
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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.
0 Idle for long periods in traffic.
0 Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or
so:
1. Turn off your air conditioner.
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
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D)
or THIRD
(3).
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 ofthe engine and get everyone out of the
vehicle
until it cools down. Also, see “Overheated
Engine Protection Operating Mode” listed previously in
this section.
You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.
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When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
rou’ll see:
i. Radiator Pressure Cap
3. Electric Engine Fans
3. Coolant Recovery Tank
A CAUTION:
I
An electric engine cooling 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.
If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don’t
do anything else until it cools down.
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The coolant level should be at or above the
FULL COLD mark.
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.
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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 cooling fans are running. If the
engine is overheating, both fans should be running. If
they aren’t, your vehicle needs service.
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Recovery Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant
level isn’t
at or above the FULL COLD mark, add a
50/50 mixture of clean water (preferably distilled) and
DEX-COOL’ engine coolant at the coolant recovery
tank. (See “Engine Coolant” in the Index for
more information.)
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 mixture will. Your vehicle’s coolant
warning system is set for the proper coolant
mixture. With plain water or the wrong mixture,
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 mixture of clean water and
DEX-COOL@ coolant.
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I NOTICE:
In cold weather, water can freeze and crack the
engine, radiator, heater core and other parts.
Use the recommended coolant and the proper
coolant mixture.
a
I ,A CAU I ION:
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.
When the coolant in the coolant recovery tank
is at or
above the
FULL COLD mark, start your vehicle.
If the overheat warning continues, there’s one more
thing you can try.
You can add the proper coolant
mixture directly to the radiator, but
be sure the cooling
system is cool before you do it.
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A CAUTION:
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 radiator
pressure cap
-- even a little -- they can come out
at high speed. Never turn the cap when the
cooling system, including the radiator pressure
cap, is hot. Wait for the cooling system and the
radiator pressure cap to cool
if you ever have to
turn the pressure cap.
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How to Add Coolant to the Radiator
2. Then keep turning the pressure cap, but now push
down as you turn
it. Remove the pressure cap.
1.
You can remove the radiator pressure cap when the
cooling system, including the radiator pressure cap and
upper radiator hose, is
no longer hot. Turn the pressure
cap slowly counterclockwise until it first stops. (Don’t
press down while
turning the pressure cap.)
If you hear a hiss, wait for that to stop. A hiss means
there is still some pressure left.
ii
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3. Fill the radiator with the proper DEX-COOL@
coolant mixture, up to the base
of the filler neck.
(See “Engine Coolant”
in the Index for more
information about the proper coolant mixture.)
L
4. Start the engine and let it run until you can feel the
upper radiator hose getting hot. Watch out for the
engine cooling fans.
5. By this time, the coolant level inside the radiator
filler neck may be lower.
If the level is lower, add
more of the proper DEX-COOL@ coolant mixture
through the filler neck until the level reaches the
base of the filler neck.
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I
F 1
6. 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.
h
L
7. Then fill the coolant recovery tank to the FULL
COLD mark.
8. Put the cap back on the coolant recovery tank.
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