OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE 1998 Owners Manual

How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Recovery Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant
level isn’t at
the COLD mark, add a 50/50 mixture of
clean water (preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL@
engine coolant at the coolant recovery tank. (See
“Engine Coolant” in the
Index for more information.)
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 mixture will. Your vehicle’s coolant
warning system is set for the proper coolant
mixture. With plain water or the wrong mixture,
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 mixture of clean water and
DEX-COOL@ coolant.
NOTICE:
In cold weather, water can freeze and crack the
engine, radiator, heater core and other parts.
Use the recommended coolant and the proper
coolant mixture.
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-4 the COLD mark, start your vehicle.
When the coolant
in the coolant recovery tank is at
A CAUTION:
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.
If the overheat waning continues, there’s one more
thing YOU can try. You can add the proper coolant
mixture directly to the radiator, but be sure the
cooling system is cool before you do it.
I A CAUTION:
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 radiator
pressure cap
-- even a little -- they can come out
at high speed. Never turn the cap when the
cooling system, including the radiator pressure
cap,
is hot. Wait for the cooling system and
radiator pressure cap to cool
if you ever have to
turn the pressure cap.
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How to Add Coolant to the Radiator
NOTICE:
Your engine has a specific radiator fill procedure.
Failure to follow this procedure could cause
your
engine to overheat and be severely damaged.
1. You can remove the radiator pressure cap when
the cooling system, including the radiator pressure
cap and upper radiator hose, is no longer hot. Turn
the pressure cap
slowly counterclockwise until it
first stops. (Don't press down while turning the
pressure cap.)
If
you hear a hiss, wait for that to stop. A hiss means
there is still some pressure left.
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2. Then keep turning the pressure C&5, but now push
down
as you turn it. Remove the pressure cap.
3. After the engine cools,
open the coolant
air
bleed valve.
There
is one bleed valve. It is located on the
thermostat housing.
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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4. Fill the radiator with the proper DEX-COOL@
coolant mixture, up to the base
of the filler neck.
(See “Engine Coolant”
in the Index for more
information about the proper coolant mixture.)
If you see a stream of coolant coming from an air
bleed valve, close the valve. Otherwise, close the
valve after the radiator is filled.
5. Rinse or wipe any spilled coolant from the engine
and the compartment.
6. Then fill the coolant recovery tank to the
COLD mark.
7. Put the cap back on the coolant recovery tank, but
leave the radiator pressure cap off.
8. Start the engine and let it run until you can feel the
upper radiator hose getting hot. Watch out for the
engine cooling fans.
9. By this time, the coolant level inside the radiator
filler neck may be lower. If
the level is lower, add
more of the proper
DEX-COOL@ coolant mixture
through the filler neck until the level reaches the
base of the filler neck.
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If a Tire Goes Flat
I --
10. Then replace the pressure cap. At any time during
this procedure if coolant begins to flow out
of the
filler neck, reinstall the pressure cap. Be sure the
arrows on the pressure cap line up like this.
1 1. Check the coolant in the recovery tank. The level
in the coolant recovery tank should be at the
HOT
mark when the engine is hot or at the COLD mark
when the engine
is cold. 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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Changing 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.
i
The following steps will tell you how to use the jack and
change a
tire.
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Removing the Spare Tire and Tools
The equipment you’ll
need
is in the trunk.
Pull the carpeted mat up
from the floor
of the trunk.
Turn the center nut
on the compact spare cover to the
left to remove it. Then lift and remove the cover.
Remove the spare tire.
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A
C
Turn the nut holding the jack to the left and remove it.
Then remove the jack and wrench. The
tools you'll be using include the jack (A), extension
and protectodguide
(B) and wheel wrench (C).
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1. Using the wheel wrench, remove plastic nut, loosen all the wheel nuts. Don't remove them yet.
2. Turn the jack handle to the left to raise the jack lift
head
a few inches.
#
J REAR EDBE OF FRONT
WHEEL OPENING
For jacking at the vehicle's front location, put the
jack lift head about
8 inches (20 cm) from the rear
edge of the front wheel opening
or just behind the
two bolts as shown.
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