tow GMC SIERRA 1996 Service Manual

/A CAUTION:
To help avoid injury to you or others:
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Never let passengers ride in a vehicle that is
being towed.
Never tow faster than safe
or posted speeds.
Never tow with damaged parts not
fully secured.
Never get under your vehicle after it has
been lifted by the tow truck.
Always use separate safety chains on each
side when towing a vehicle.
For pickups (except cab chassis models),
use T-hooks on front of vehicle, J-hooks
on rear.
For cab chassis models, use J-hooks on
front and rear of vehicle.
I 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.
When your vehicle
is being towed, have the ignition
key in the OFF position. 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
and transfer case,
if you have one, should be in
NEUTRAL (N) and the parking brake released.
Don’t have your vehicle towed
on the drive wheels
unless
you must. If the vehicle must be towed on the
drive wheels, be sure to follow the speed and distance
restrictions later
in this section or your transmission will
be damaged.
If these limitations must be exceeded, then
the drive wheels have to be supported on
a dolly.
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Front Towing
Tow Limits -- 35 mph (56 kdh), 50 miles (SO km)
If these limits must be exceeded, then the rear wheels
have
to be supported on n dolly.
Rear Towing
NOTICE:
Towing pickup models from the rear while loaded
with heavy cargo may cause the frame side rails
to flex sufficiently to allow the pickup box to contact the cab and
could cause damage to the
cab and/or box.
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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:
Climb a long hill on a hot day.
0 Stop after high-speed driving.
Idle for long periods in traffic.
Tow a trailer. See “Driving on Grades” in the Index.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try
this for a minute or so:
I. 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
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (0)
or THIRD (3) for automatic transmissions.
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, push the accelerator
until the engine speed is about twice as fast as normal
idle speed. Bring the engine speed back
to normal idle
speed after two or three minutes. Now see
if the warning
stops.
But then, if you still have the warning, turn of
the engine nrzd get everyone nut of the vehicle until it
cools down.
You
may decide not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.
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Engine Fan Noise
Your vehicle has a clutched engine cooling fan. When the
clutch
is engaged, the fan spins fdster to provide more air
to cool the engine.
In most every day driving conditions,
the fan
is spinning slower and the clutch is not fully
engaged. This improves fuel economy and reduces fan
noise. Under heavy vehicle loading, trailer towing andor
high outside temperatures, the
fm speed increases as the
clutch more fully engages.
So you may hear an increase
in fan noise. This is normal and should not be mistaken
as the transmission slipping or making extra shifts.
It is
merely the cooling system functioning properly. The fan
will slow down when additional cooling is not required
and the clutch partially disengages.
You may also hear this
fm noise when you start
the engine.
It will go away as the fan clutch
partially disengages.
If a Tire Goes Flat
It’s unusual for a tire to “blow out” while you’re driving,
especially
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. Fake 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
ITMY 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 tlat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment to change
a flat tire safely.
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Removing the Spare Tire and Tools
2 and 4-DOOr Models
Extended Cab Models
The equipment you’ll need is behind the passenger’s seat.
Turn the wing
nut counterclockwise and remove the jack
cover, if there is one. Remove the jacking equipment.
If you have a chassis cab, refer to the information from the
body supplierhstaller for the location of your spare tire.
If you have
an underbody-mounted spare, never remove
or restow a tire from an underbody carrier while the
vehicle
is supported only by a jack.
You’ll use the jack handle and the ratchet to remove the
underbody-mounted spare tire.
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4. Remove all the wheel
nuts and take off the
flat tire.
5. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces and
spare wheel. 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 wheel could come
off and cause an accident. When you change
a
wheel, remove any rust or dirt from the places
where the wheel attaches
to the vehicle. In an
emergency, you can use a cloth or a paper towel
to do this; but be sure to use
a scraper or wire
brush
later, if you need to, to get all the rust or
dirt off.
I A CAUTIO^:
Never use oil or grease on studs or nuts. If you
do, the nuts might come loose. Your wheel could
fall
off, causing a serious accident.
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~~ Front Position
6. Replace
the wheel nuts
with
the rounded end of
the nuts toward the wheel. Tighten each
wheel
nut by hand using
the wheel. wrench until
the wheel is held against
the hub.
Rear Position
7. Lower the vehicle by rotating the ratchet and wheel
wrench counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.
8. Tighten the nuts
firmly
in a criss-cross
sequence
as shown by
rotating the wheel
wrench clockwise.
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 use the correct wheel nuts.
If you have
to replace them, be sure to get new
GM original
equipment wheel nuts.
Stop somewhere as soon as you can and have the
nuts tightened with
a torque wrench to the
proper torque. See “Capacities and
Specifications” in the Index.
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NOTICE:
Improperly tightened wheel nuts can lead to
brake pulsation and rotor damage. To avoid
expensive brake repairs, evenly tighten the wheel
nuts in the proper sequence and to the proper
torque specification.
9. Put the wheel trim back on. For vehicles with plastic
wheel
nut caps, tighten the caps until they are finger
tight, then tighten them an additional one-half turn
with the ratchet and wheel wrench.
Storing a Flat or Spare Tire aqd Tools
Storing a jack, a tire or other equipment in the
passenger compartment
of the vehicle could
cause injury. In a sudden stop or collision, loose
equipment could strike someone. Store all these
in the proper place.
Store the flat tire where the spare tire was stored.
For an underbody spare tire carrier, stow
the tire under
the rear of the vehicle
in the spare tire carrier. To stow
the tire:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Put the tire on the ground at the rear of the vehicle
with the valve stem pointed down and
to the rear.
Tilt
the retainer downward and through the wheel
opening. Make sure that the retainer is
fully seated
across the underside
of the wheel.
Attach the ratchet,
with the UP mark facing you,
near the hook at the end of the jack handle. Insert the
other end, on an angle, through the hole
in the rear
bumper and
into the hoist shaft.
Raise
the tire fully against the underslue 01 le
vehicle. Continue turning the ratchet
until mere are
two “clicks”
or “ratchets.” The spare tire hoist
cannot
be over-tightened.
Grasp and push against
the tire to be sure it is stored
securely and
does not move.
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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 REVERSE
(R) and a forward gear (or
with a manual transmission, between FIRST (1) or
SECOND (2) and REVERSE(R)), spinning the wheels
as little as possible. Release the accelerator pedal while
you
shift. and press lightly on the accelerator pedal
when the transmission is
in gear. If that doesn't get you
out after a few tries. you nlay need to be towed out. Or,
you
can use your recovery hooks if your vehicle has
them.
If you do need.to be towed out, see "Towing Your
Vehicle" in the Index.
Using the Recovery Hooks
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The recovery hooks, when used, are under a lot of
force. Always pull the vehicle straight out. Never
pull on the hooks at
a sideways angle. The hooks
could break off and you
or others could be
injured from the chain
or cable snapping back.
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I NOTICE:
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Never use the recovery hooks to tow the vehicle.
Your vehicle could
be damaged and it would not
be covered
by warranty.
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