maintenance GMC SIERRA 2003 User Guide

Parking on Hills
{CAUTION:
You really should not park your vehicle, with a
trailer attached, on a hill. If something goes
wrong, your rig could start to move. People
can be injured, and both your vehicle and the
trailer can be damaged.
But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here’s
how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t shift into
PARK (P) yet.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer
wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your
parking brake and shift into PARK (P).
5. Release the regular brakes.
When You Are Ready to Leave After
Parking on a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold the pedal down
while you:
start your engine,
shift into a gear, and
release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the
chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more often when you’re
pulling a trailer. See the Maintenance Schedule for more
on this. Things that are especially important in trailer
operation are automatic transmissionuid (don’t overll),
engine oil, axle lubricant, belt, cooling system and
brake system. Each of these is covered in this manual,
and the Index will help yound them quickly. If
you’re trailering, it’s a good idea to review these sections
before you start your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch nuts and bolts
are tight.
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Tires..............................................................5-56
Inflation -- Tire Pressure................................5-57
Tire Inspection and Rotation...........................5-58
When It Is Time for New Tires.......................5-59
Buying New Tires.........................................5-60
Uniform Tire Quality Grading..........................5-61
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance..................5-62
Wheel Replacement......................................5-62
Tire Chains..................................................5-64
If a Tire Goes Flat........................................5-64
Changing a Flat Tire.....................................5-65
Spare Tire...................................................5-82
Appearance Care............................................5-82
Cleaning the Inside of Your Vehicle.................5-83
Care of Safety Belts......................................5-84
Weatherstrips...............................................5-85
Cleaning the Outside of Your Vehicle..............5-85Sheet Metal Damage.....................................5-87
Finish Damage.............................................5-87
Underbody Maintenance................................5-87
Chemical Paint Spotting.................................5-88
GM Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials...........5-88
Vehicle Identification......................................5-90
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).................5-90
Service Parts Identification Label.....................5-90
Electrical System............................................5-91
Add-On Electrical Equipment..........................5-91
Windshield Wiper Fuses................................5-91
Power Windows and Other Power Options.......5-91
Fuses and Circuit Breakers............................5-91
Capacities and Specifications..........................5-99
Capacities and Specifications.........................5-99
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
.........5-100
Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
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Service
Your dealer knows your vehicle best and wants you to
be happy with it. We hope you’ll go to your dealer
for all your service needs. You’ll get genuine GM parts
and GM-trained and supported service people.
We hope you’ll want to keep your GM vehicle all GM.
Genuine GM parts have one of these marks:
Doing Your Own Service Work
If you want to do some of your own service work, you’ll
want to use the proper service manual. It tells you
much more about how to service your vehicle than this
manual can. To order the proper service manual,
seeService Publications Ordering Information on
page 7-9.
Your vehicle has an air bag system. Before attempting
to do your own service work, seeServicing Your Air
Bag-Equipped Vehicle on page 1-70.
You should keep a record with all parts receipts and list
the mileage and the date of any service work you
perform. SeePart E: Maintenance Record on page 6-17.
{CAUTION:
You can be injured and your vehicle could be
damaged ifyou try to do service work on a
vehicle without knowing enough about it.
•Be sure you have sufficient knowledge,
experience, the proper replacement parts
and tools before you attempt any vehicle
maintenance task.
CAUTION: (Continued)
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CAUTION: (Continued)
•
Be sure to use the proper nuts, bolts and
other fasteners. “English” and “metric”
fasteners can be easily confused. If you
use the wrong fasteners, parts can later
break or fall off. You could be hurt.
Adding Equipment to the Outside of
Your Vehicle
Things you might add to the outside of your vehicle can
affect the airflow around it. This may cause wind
noise and affect windshield washer performance.
Check with your dealer before adding equipment to the
outside of your vehicle.
Fuel
Use of the recommended fuel is an important part of the
proper maintenance of your vehicle.
Gasoline Octane
Use regular unleaded gasoline with a posted octane
of 87 or higher. If the octane is less than 87, you may
get a heavy knocking noise when you drive. If this
occurs, use a gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher as
soon as possible. Otherwise, you might damage
your engine. A little pinging noise when you accelerate
or drive uphill is considered normal. This does not
indicate a problem exists or that a higher-octane fuel is
necessary. If you are using 87 octane or higher-octane
fuel and hear heavy knocking, your engine needs
service.
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Automatic Transmission Fluid
When to Check and Change
A good time to check your automatic transmissionfluid
level is when the engine oil is changed.
Change both thefluid andfilter every 50,000 miles
(83 000 km) if the vehicle is mainly driven under one or
more of these conditions:
•In heavy city traffic where the outside temperature
regularly reaches 90°F (32°C) or higher.
•In hilly or mountainous terrain.
•When doing frequent trailer towing.
•Uses such as found in taxi, police or delivery
service.
If you do not use your vehicle under any of these
conditions, change thefluid andfilter every
100,000 miles (166 000 km).
SeePart A: Scheduled Maintenance Services on
page 6-4.
How to Check
Because this operation can be a little difficult, you may
choose to have this done at the dealership service
department.
If you do it yourself, be sure to follow all the instructions
here, or you could get a false reading on the dipstick.
Notice:Too much or too littlefluid can damage
your transmission. Too much can mean that some
of thefluid could come out and fall on hot engine
part or exhaust system parts, starting afire.
Too littlefluid could cause the transmission to
overheat. Be sure to get an accurate reading if you
check your transmissionfluid.
Wait at least 30 minutes before checking the
transmissionfluid level if you have been driving:
•When outside temperatures are above 90°F (32°C).
•At high speed for quite a while.
•In heavy traffic–especially in hot weather.
•While pulling a trailer.
To get the right reading, thefluid should be at normal
operating temperature, which is 180°Fto200°F
(82°Cto93°C).
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3. Check both sides of the dipstick, and read the lower
level. Thefluid level must be in the COLD area,
below the cross-hatched area, for a cold check or in
the HOT area or cross-hatched area for a hot
check.
4. If thefluid level is in the acceptable range, push the
dipstick back in all the way; thenflip the handle
down to lock the dipstick in place.
How to Add Fluid
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine what
kind of transmissionfluid to use. SeePart D:
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants on page 6-15.
Addfluid only after checking the transmissionfluid while
it is hot. (A cold check is used only as a reference.) If
thefluid level is low, add only enough of the properfluid
to bring the level up to the HOT area for a hot check.
It doesn’t take muchfluid, generally less than one
pint (0.5 L).Don’t overfill.
Notice:We recommend you use onlyfluid labeled
DEXRON
®-III, becausefluid with that label is
made especially for your automatic transmission.
Damage caused byfluid other than DEXRON
®-III is
not covered by your new vehicle warranty.
•After addingfluid, recheck thefluid level as
described under“How to Check”.
•When the correctfluid level is obtained, push the
dipstick back in all the way; thenflip the handle
down to lock the dipstick in place.
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Brakes
Brake Fluid
Your brake master cylinder reservoir isfilled with DOT-3
brakefluid. SeeEngine Compartment Overview on
page 5-12for the location of the reservoir.
There are only two reasons why the brakefluid level in
the reservoir might go down. Thefirst is that the
brakefluid goes down to an acceptable level during
normal brake lining wear. When new linings are put in,
thefluid level goes back up. The other reason is
thatfluid is leaking out of the brake system. If it is, you
should have your brake systemfixed, since a leak
means that sooner or later your brakes won’t work well,
or won’t work at all.
So, it isn’t a good idea to“top off”your brakefluid.
Adding brakefluid won’t correct a leak. If you addfluid
when your linings are worn, then you’ll have too
muchfluid when you get new brake linings. You should
add (or remove) brakefluid, as necessary, only when
work is done on the brake hydraulic system.
{CAUTION:
If you have too much brakefluid, it can spill on
the engine. Thefluid will burn if the engine is
hot enough. You or others could be burned,
and your vehicle could be damaged. Add brake
fluid only when work is done on the brake
hydraulic system. See“Checking Brake Fluid”
in this section.
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine when
to check your brakefluid. SeePart C: Periodic
Maintenance Inspections on page 6-14.
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Replacing Brake System Parts
The braking system on a vehicle is complex. Its many
parts have to be of top quality and work well together if
the vehicle is to have really good braking. Your
vehicle was designed and tested with top-quality GM
brake parts. When you replace parts of your braking
system–for example, when your brake linings
wear down and you need new ones put in–be sure
you get new approved GM replacement parts.
If you don’t, your brakes may no longer work properly.
For example, if someone puts in brake linings that
are wrong for your vehicle, the balance between your
front and rear brakes can change—for the worse.
The braking performance you’ve come to expect can
change in many other ways if someone puts in the
wrong replacement brake parts.
Battery
Your new vehicle comes with a maintenance free
ACDelco®battery. When it’s time for a new battery, get
one that has the replacement number shown on the
original battery’s label. We recommend an ACDelco
®
battery. SeeEngine Compartment Overview on
page 5-12for battery location.
Warning:Battery posts, terminals and related
accessories contain lead and lead compounds,
chemicals known to the State of California to cause
cancer and reproductive harm. Wash hands after
handling.
Vehicle Storage
If you’re not going to drive your vehicle for 25 days or
more, remove the black, negative (−) cable from
the battery. This will help keep your battery from
running down.
{CAUTION:
Batteries have acid that can burn you and gas
that can explode. You can be badly hurt if you
aren’t careful. See“Jump Starting”next for
tips on working around a battery without
getting hurt.
Contact your dealer to learn how to prepare your
vehicle for longer storage periods.
Also, for your audio system, seeTheft-Deterrent
Feature on page 3-75.
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All-Wheel Drive
Lubricant checks in this section also apply to these
vehicles. However, there are two additional systems that
need lubrication.
Transfer Case
When to Check Lubricant
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine how
often to check the lubricant. SeePart C: Periodic
Maintenance Inspections on page 6-14.
How to Check Lubricant
To get an accurate reading, the vehicle should be on a
level surface.
If the level is below the bottom of thefiller plug hole,
you’ll need to add some lubricant. Add enough lubricant
to raise the level to the bottom of thefiller plug hole.
Use care not to overtighten the plug.
What to Use
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine what
kind of lubricant to use. SeePart D: Recommended
Fluids and Lubricants on page 6-15.
(A) Fill Plug (B) Drain Plug
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Rear Axle
When to Check Lubricant
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine how
often to check the lubricant. SeePart A: Scheduled
Maintenance Services on page 6-4.
How to Check Lubricant
To get an accurate reading, the vehicle should be on a
level surface.The proper level is from 5/8 inch to 1 5/8 inch (15 mm to
40 mm) below the bottom of thefiller plug hole. Add
only enoughfluid to reach the proper level. The proper
level for vehicles with QUADRASTEER™(4 Wheel
Steer) is from 0 to 1/4 inch (0 to 6 mm) below thefiller
plug hole. Add only enoughfluid to reach the proper
level.
What to Use
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine what
kind of lubricant to use. SeePart D: Recommended
Fluids and Lubricants on page 6-15.
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