Oldsmobile Aurora 1997 Owner's Manuals

If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
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I
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
CAUTION: (Continued) 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 coolant, 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:
Climb a long hill on a hot day.
0 Stop after high-speed driving.
0 Idle for long periods in traffic.
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.
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 0fSth.e 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 eet service
help right away.
3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);
otherwise, shift to the highest gear while
driving
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (@)
or THIRD (3).
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When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll
see:
A. Coolant Surge Tank with Pressure Cap
B. Two Electric Engine Cooling Fans
I A CAUTION:
An electric 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 surge tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down.
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If it isn’t, the coolant level should be indicated by a
CHECK
COOLANT LEVEL message on the Driver
Information Center. If it
is, you may have a leak in the
radiator hoses, heater hoses, radiator, water
pump or
somewhere else in the cooling system.
.
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.
NOTICE:
Engine damage if you keep running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.
See “Overheated Engine Protection Operating
Mode” in the Index.
If there seems to be
no leak, with the engine on, check to
see if the electric engine fans are running.
If the engine
is overheating, both fans should be running. If they
aren’t, your vehicle needs service.
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How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Surge Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
isn’t at
FULL COLD, add a 50/50 mixture of clean
water
(preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL@ coolant at
the coolant surge tank, but be sure the cooling system,
including the coolant surge tank pressure cap, is cool
before you do it. (See “Engine Coolant’’ in the Index
for
more information.)
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 coolant
surge tank pressure cap
-- even a little -- they
can come out at
high speed. Never turn the
cap when the cooling system, including the
coolant surge tank pressure cap, is hot. Wait
for the cooling system and coolant surge tank
pressure cap to cool if you ever have to turn the
pressure cap.
I

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 mix will. Your vehicle’s coolant warning
system is set for the proper coolant mix. With
plain water
or the wrong mix, 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 mix of clean
water and DEX-COOL@ coolant.
NOTICE:
In cold weather, water can freeze and crack the
engine, radiator, heater core and other parts.
So
use the recommended coolant.
~~ ~ ~
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.
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1. You can remove the coolant surge tank pressure cap
when the cooling system,-including the coolant surge
tank pressure cap and upper radiator hose, is
no
longer hot. Turn the pressure cap slowly about
one-quarter
turn to the left and then stop.
If you hear a hiss, wait for that to stop. A hiss means
there is still some pressure left.
2. Then keep turning the pressure cap slowly, and
remove it.
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3. Then fill the coolant surge tank with the proper mix,
up to FULL COLD. 4. With the coolant surge tank pressure cap off, start the
engine and let
it run until you can feel the upper
radiator hose getting hot. Watch out for the
engine fans.
By this time, the coolant level inside the coolant
surge tank may be lower.
If the level is lower, add
more of the proper mix to the coolant surge tank
until the level reaches FULL COLD.
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5. Then replace the pressure cap. Be sure the pressure
cap is tight.
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. Take 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 may 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 flat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely.
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Ckanging a Flat Tire
If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly to a level place. Turn on your hazard
warning flashers.
Changing
a tire can cause an injury. The vehicle
can slip
off the jack and roll over you or other
people. You and they could be badly injured.
Find
a level place to change your tire. To help
prevent the vehicle from moving:
1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put the shift lever in PARK (P).
3. Turn off the engine.
To be even more certain the vehicle won't move,
you can put blocks
at the front and rear of the
tire farthest
away from the one being changed.
That would be the tire on the other side of the
vehicle, at the opposite end.
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The following steps will tell you how to use the jack and
change a tire.
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