lock GMC SAVANA 1997 Repair Manual

Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts
-- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
-- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a
mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between
hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster if you
do a lot of heavy braking.
If you keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes. If you do, the
pedal may get harder to push down.
If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist. But
you will use it when you brake. Once the power assist is
used up, it may take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABS is an
advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent a braking skid.
When you start your engine and begin to drive away,
your anti-lock brake system will check itself. You may
hear a momentary motor
or clicking noise while this test
is going on. This is normal.
If there’s a problem with the
anti-lock brake system, this
warning light will stay
on.
See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light”
in ANTI -
LOCK
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Here’s how anti-lock works. Let’s say the road is wet.
You’re driving safely. Suddenly an animal jumps out in
front
of you.
You slam on the brakes. Here’s what happens with ABS.
A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. If one
of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computer will
separately work the brakes at each front wheel and at the
rear wheels. The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure faster
than any driver could. The computer is programmed to
make
the most of available tire and road conditions.
You can steer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.
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Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need
to get your foot up
to the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance. If you get too close to
the vehicle in
front of
you, you won’t have time to apply your brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows
or stops. Always leave
enough room up ahead to stop, even though you have
anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel the brakes
vibrate, or you may notice some noise, but this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the very best braking.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system
is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
Steering Tips
Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a reasonable speed.
A lot of the “driver lost control” accidents mentioned on
the news happen on curves. Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each of us is subject to
the same laws of physics when driving on curves. The
traction
of the tires against the road surface makes it
possible for the vehicle to change its path when
you turn
the front wheels. If there’s no traction, inertia
will keep
the vehicle going in the same direction. If you’ve ever
tried to steer a vehicle
on wet ice, you’ll understand this.
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An emergency like this requires close attention and a
quick decision.
If you are holding the steering wheel at
the recommended
9 and 3 o’clock positions, you can
turn it a full
180 degrees very quickly without removing
either hand. But you have
to act fast, steer quickly, and
just as quickly straighten the wheel once you have
avoided the object.
The fact that such emergency situations are always
possible is a good reason to practice defensive driving at
all times and wear safety
belts properly.
Off-Road Recovery
You may find sometime that your right wheels have
dropped
off the edge of a road onto the shoulder while
you’re driving.
OFF - ROAD RECOVE
QUARTER TURN
SLOW DOWN
edge of paved surface
If the level of the shoulder is only slightly below the
pavement, recovery should
be fairly easy. Ease off the
accelerator
and then, if there is nothing in the way, steer so
that your vehicle straddles the edge of the pavement. You
can
turn the steering wheel up to one-quarter turn until the
right fi-ont
tire contacts the pavement edge. Then turn your
steering wheel to go straight down the roadway.
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If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want the
vehicle to go. If you start steering quickly enough,
your
vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready for a
second skid if it
occurs.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel or other material is on the road. For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction, try
your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration or
braking (including engine braking by shifting to a lower
gear). Any sudden changes could cause the tires to slide.
You may not realize the surface is slippery until your
vehicle is skidding. Learn to recognize warning
clues
-- such as enough water, ice or packed snow on
the road to make
a “mirrored surface’’ -- and slow
down when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system (ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid.
Driving at Night
Night driving is more dangerous than day driving.
One reason is that some drivers are likely to be
impaired
-- by alcohol or drugs, with night vision
problems,
or by fatigue.
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Whatever the condition -- smooth ice, packed, blowing
or loose snow
-- drive with caution.
Accelerate gently. Try not to break the fragile traction.
If you accelerate too fast, the drive wheels will spin and
polish the surface under the tires even more.
Your anti-lock brakes improve your vehicle’s stability
when you make a hard stop on a slippery road. Even
though you have an anti-lock braking system, you’ll
want to begin stopping sooner than you would on dry
pavement. See “Anti-Lock‘’
in the Index.
Allow greater following distance on any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fine
until you hit a spot that’s covered with ice.
On an
otherwise clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the sun
can’t reach: around
clumps of trees, behind buildings or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface
of a curve or an overpass may
remain icy when the surrounding roads are clear.
If
you see a patch of ice ahead of you, brake before you
are on
it. Try not to brake while you’re actually on
the ice, and avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in a
serious situation. You should probably stay with your
vehicle unless you know for sure that
you are near help
and you can hike through the snow. Here are some
things to
do to summon help and keep yourself and your
passengers safe:
Turn on your hazard flashers.
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Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert police that
you’ve been stopped by the snow.
Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you.
If you have no blankets or extra clothing, make body
insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags, floor
mats
-- anything you can wrap around yourself or
tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
ll
~~ ~
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your vehicle.
This can cause deadly
CO (carbon monoxide) gas
to get inside. CO could overcome you and kill
you. You can’t see
it or smell it, so you might not
know it is in your vehicle. Clear away snow from
around the base of your vehicle, especially any
that
is blocking your exhaust pipe. And check
around again from time to time to be sure snow
doesn’t collect there.
Open a window just
a little on the side of the
vehicle that’s away from the wind. This will help
keep
CO out.
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9. Make your last connection away from the battery, to
the engine block, frame or other unpainted metal
parts of your vehicle.
A ground location has been
provided through a
stud attached to the body surface.
10. Please remove the cap before using.
11. Now start the vehicle with the good battery and run
the engine for a while.
12. Try to start the vehicle with the dead battery. If it
13. Remove the cables in reverse order to prevent
won’t start after
a few tries,
it probably needs service.
electrical shorting. Take care that
they don’t touch
each other or any other metal.
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A. Engine Block, Frame, Unpainted Metal Engine Part
or Body Surface
B. Good Battery
C. Dead Battery
Towing Your Vehicle
Try to have your GM dealer or a professional towing
service tow your vehicle. They can provide the right
equipment and know-how to tow it without damage.
See “Roadside Assistance’’ in your Index.
If your vehicle has been changed since it was
factory-new, by adding things like fog lamps, aero
skirting, or special tires and wheels, these things could
be damaged during towing.
Before you do anything, turn on the hazard
warning flashers.
When you call, tell the towing service:
0 That your vehicle has rear wheel drive.
The make, model and year of your vehicle.
Whether you can move the shift lever for
the transmission.
If there was an accident, what was damaged.
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A CAUTION:
I
To help avoid injury to you or others:
0 Never let passengers ride in a vehicle that is
0 Never tow faster than safe or posted speeds.
0 Never tow with damaged parts not
0 Never get under your vehicle after .it has
0 Always use separate safety chains on each
being towed.
fully secured.
been lifted by the tow truck.
side when towing a vehicle.
When your vehicle is being towed, have the ignition
key
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 transmission should
be in
NEUTRAL (N) and the parking brake should
be released.
A CAUTION:
A vehicle can fall from a car carrier if it isn’t
adequately secured. This can cause
a collision,
serious personal injury and vehicle damage.
The vehicle should be tightly secured with
chains
or steel cables before it is transported.
Don’t use substitutes (ropes, leather straps,
canvas webbing, etc.) that can be cut by sharp
edges underneath the towed vehicle.
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