engine Oldsmobile Achieva 1995 s Owner's Guide

Here are some things you can check before a trip:
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Windshield Washer Fluid: Is the reservoir full? Are
all windows clean inside and outside?
Wiper Blades: Are they in good shape?
Fuel, Engine Oil, Other Fluids: Have you checked
all levels?
Lamps: Are they all working? Are the lenses clean?
Tires: They are vitally important to a safe,
trouble-free trip. Is the tread good enough for
long-distance driving? Are the tires all inflated
to the
recommended pressure?
Weather Forecasts: What’s the weather outlook
along your route? Should you delay your trip a short
time to avoid
a major storm system?
Maps: Do you have up-to-date maps?
Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as “highway
hypnosis?” Or
is it just plain falling asleep at the wheel?
Call
it highway hypnosis, lack of awareness, or
whatever.
There is something about an easy stretch
of road with
the same scenery, along with the hum of the tires on the
road, the drone
of the engine, and the rush of the wind
against the vehicle that can make you sleepy. Don’t let it
happen to you! If it does, your vehicle can leave the
road in
less than a second, and you could crash and be
injured.
What can you
do about highway hypnosis? First, be
aware that it can happen.
Then here are some tips:
0 Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
comfortably cool interior.
Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road ahead and to
the sides. Check your rearview mirrors and your
instruments frequently.
If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest, service,
or parking area and take a nap, get some exercise,
or
both. For safety, treat drowsiness on the highway as
an emergency.
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Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mounta
driving in flat
or rolling terrain. .ins
is different
from
If you drive regularly in steep country, or if you’re
planning
to visit there, here are some tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.
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Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all fluid
levels and also the brakes, tires, cooling system and
transaxle. These parts can work hard on mountain
roads.
Know how to go down hills. The most important
thing to know is this:
let your engine do some of the
slowing down. Shift
to a lower gear when you go
down a steep or long hill.
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Winter Driving
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Know how to go uphill. Drive in the highest gear
possible.
Stay
in your own lane when driving on two-lane
roads
in hills or mountains. Don’t swing wide or cut
across the center
of the road. Drive at speeds that let
you stay
in your own lane.
As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There could
be something
in your lane, like a stalled car or an
accident.
You may see highway signs on mountains that warn
of special problems. Examples are long grades,
passing or no-passing zones, a falling rocks area,
or
winding roads. Be alert to these and take appropriate
action. Here
are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Oldsmobile in good shape for winter. Be
sure your engine coolant
mix is correct.
You may want to put winter emergency supplies in
your trunk.
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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. 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.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
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Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little faster than
just idle. That is, push the accelerator slightly. This
uses less fuel for the heat that you get and it keeps the
battery charged.
You will need a well-charged battery to
restart the vehicle, and possibly for signaling later on
with your headlamps. Let the heater run for awhile.
Then, shut the engine off and close the window almost
all the way
to preserve the heat. Start the engine again
and repeat this only when you feel really uncomfortable
from the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the
fuel
as long as you can. To help keep warm, you can get
out of the vehicle and do some fairly vigorous exercises
every half hour
or so until help comes.
Recreational Vehicle Towing
There may be times when you want to tow your
Oldsmobile behind another vehicle for use at your
destination. Be sure to use the proper towing equipment
designed for recreational towing. Follow the instructions
for the towing equipment.
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Do not tow a trailer if your vehicle is equipped with the
2.3L Quad 4 DOHC engines (Code D).
Your vehicle can tow a trailer if it is equipped with the
3.1L V6 (Code M) and proper trailer towing equipment.
To identify what
the vehicle trailering capacity is for
your vehicle, you should read the information in
“Weight of the Trailer” that appears later in this section.
But trailering is different than just driving your vehicle
by itself. Trailering means changes in handling,
durability, and fuel economy. Successful, safe trailering
takes correct equipment, and it has to be used properly.
That’s the reason for this part.
In it are many
time-tested, important trailering tips and safety rules.
Many of these are important for your safety and that of
your passengers.
So please read this section carefully
before you pull a trailer.
Load-pulling components such as the engine, transaxle,
wheel assemblies, and tires are forced to work harder
against the drag of the added weight. The engine is
required to operate at relatively higher speeds and under
greater loads, generating extra heat. What’s more, the
trailer adds considerably to wind resistance, increasing
the pulling requirements.
If You Do Decide To Pull A Trailer
If you do, here are some important points.
0 There are many different laws, including speed limit
restrictions, having
to do with trailering. Make sure
your rig will be legal, not only where you live but
also where you’ll be driving.
A good source for this
information can be state or provincial police.
0 Consider using a sway control.
You can ask
a hitch dealer about sway controls.
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Don’t tow a trailer at all during the first 1000 miles
(1 600 km) your new vehicle is driven. Your engine,
axle or other parts could be damaged.
Then, during the first
500 miles (800 km) that you
tow a trailer, don’t drive over
50 mph (80 km/h) and
don’t make starts at full throttle. This helps your
engine and other parts
of your vehicle wear in at the
heavier loads.
Obey speed limit restrictions when towing a trailer.
Don’t drive faster than the maximum posted speed
for trailers (or no more than
55 mph (90 km/h)) to
save wear on your vehicle’s parts.
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Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear before you start
down a long
or steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down, you might have to use your brakes
so much that
they would get
hot and no longer work well.
On a long uphill grade, use the highest gear possible.
If
you cannot maintain posted speeds, driving at a lower
speed may help avoid overheating your engine and
transaxle.
If you have a manual transaxle with fifth gear,
it’s better
not to use fifth gear. Just drive in fourth gear (or, as
you
need to, a lower gear).
Parking on Hills
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.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Apply your regular brakes, but don’t shift into
PARK
(P) yet, or into gear for a manual transaxle.
Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
When the wheel chocks are
in place, release the
regular brakes until
the chocks absorb the load.
Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your parking
brake, and then shift to PARK
(P), or REVERSE (R)
for a manual transaxle.
Release the regular brakes.
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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 transaxle fluid (don’t overfill),
engine
oil, belt, cooling system, and brake adjustment.
Each
of these is covered in this manual, and the Index
will help
you find 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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5. Check that the jumper cables don’t have loose or
missing insulation.
If they do, you could get a shock.
The vehicles could be damaged, too. Before you
connect
the cables, here are some things you should
know. Positive
(+) will go to positive (+) and
negative (-) will go to negative (-) or a metal engine
part. Don’t connect
(+) to (-) or you’ll get a short
that would damage the battery and maybe other
parts, too.
6. Connect the red positive (+) cable to the positive (+)
terminal of the vehicle with the dead battery. Use a
remote positive
(+) terminal if the vehicle has one.
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7. Don’t let the other end touch metal. Connect it to the
positive
(+) terminal of the good battery. Use a
remote positive
(+) terminal if the vehicle has one.
8. Now connect the black negative (-) cable to the good
battery’s negative
(-) terminal. Don’t let the other
end touch anything until the next step. The other end
of
the negative cable doesn’t go to the dead battery. It
goes to a heavy unpainted metal part
on the engine
of the vehicle with the dead battery.
9. Attach the cable at least 18 inches (45 cm) away
from the dead battery, but not near engine parts that
move. The electrical connection
is just as good
there, but the chance
of sparks getting back to the
battery
is much less.
10. Now start the vehicle with the good battery and run
the engine for a while.