coolant OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE 1993 Owners Manual

How to Use this Manual
Vehicle Symbols (CONT.)
These symbols are on some of your
controls:
Windshield Wipers
These symbols are used on warning Here are some other symbols you
and indicator lights: may see:
Engine Coolant
Temperature Fuse
Windshield Washer
Lighter
Battery Charging
System
w Windshield Defroster
p3
Horn
Fuel
Engine Oil Pressure
Rear Window
Defogger
Wh
Speaker
Windshield Defogger
and Heater Hood Release
Anti-Lock Brakes
Rear Window Wiper
Rear Window
WasherlWiper
Ventilating Fan
Power Window
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Features & Controls
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
This gage shows the engine coolant
temperature. If the gage pointer moves
into the red area, your engine is too hot!
It means that your engine coolant has overheated.
If you have been operating
your vehicle under normal driving conditions, you should pull off the road,
stop your vehicle and
turn off the engine
as soon as possible.
HOT COOLANT CAN BURN YOU
BADLY!
In Problems on the Road, this manual
shows what to do. See the
Index under
Engine Overheating.
Brake System Warning Light
Your Oldsmobile’s hydraulic brake
system is divided into two parts. If one
part isn’t working, the other part can
still work and stop you. For good braking,
though, you need both parts working
well.
If the warning light goes on, there
could be a brake problem. Have your
brake system inspected right away.
This light should come on as you start
the vehicle.
If it doesn’t come on then,
have it fixed
so it will be ready to warn
you if there’s a problem.
This light will
also come on when you
set your parking brake, and will stay on
if your parking brake doesn’t release
fully.
If it stays on after your parking
brake is fully released, it means you have a brake problem.
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If the light comes on while you’re
driving, pull off the road and stop
carefully. You may notice that the pedal
is harder to push. Or, the pedal may go
closer to the floor. It may take longer to
stop.
If the light is still on, have the
vehicle towed for service.
(See the Index
under Towing Your Oldsrnobile.)
Your brake system may not be
h working properly if the brake
-kg light is on. Driving with
cllu ,,&e warning light on can lead
to
an accident. If the light is still
on after you’ve pulled off the road
and stopped carefully, have the
vehicle towed for service.
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Comfort Controls & Audio Systems
114
Climate Control System
Your vehicle’s heater and air conditioner
work best
if you keep your windows
closed. Your vehicle also has
flow-
through ventilation, described later in
this section, to bring outside air into
your vehicle.
If you have the optional engine block
heater and use it during cold weather,
0°F (-18°C) or lower, your heating
system will more quickly provide heat
because the engine coolant is already
warmed. See the
Index under Engine
Block Heater.
OFF Press to turn the system off. Press
any climate control setting to turn the
system
on.
3f : Slide the lever to the right to
increase fan speed, to the left to
decrease fan speed.
Temperature Control Lever: Slide the
lever to the right for warmer, heated air;
slide it to the left for cooled air.
Air Conditioner
When the temperature outside is above
freezing, the air conditioner compressor
will automatically condition the air
when you press
RECIRC (the AIC
indicator light will glow), DEFOG or
DEF (the A/C indicator light will not
Press
A/C (the A/C indicator light will
glow) to condition the
air when you
press
UPPER, BI-LEV or LOWER.
To turn off the air conditioner
compressor in these settings, press
A/C
again (the indicator light will go off).
Each time you turn on the ignition, the
air conditioner will default to the setting
you had selected before last turning off
the ignition. glow).
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Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you
don’t shift your transaxle into
P (Park)
properly, the weight of the vehicle may
put too much force on the parking pawl
in the transaxle. You may find it difficult
to pull the shift lever out of
P (Park).
This is called “torque lock.” To prevent
torque lock, always be sure
to shift into
P (Park) properly before you leave the
driver’s seat. To find out how, see the
Index under Shifting Into P (Park).
When you are ready to drive, move the
shift lever out of P (Park) before you
release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need
to have another vehicle push yours a
little uphill to take some of the pressure
from the transaxle,
so you can pull the
shift lever out of
P (Park).
Winter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Oldsmobile in good shape
for winter. Be sure your engine
coolant
mix is correct.
* Snow tires can help in loose snow, but
they may give you less traction on ice
than regular tires.
If you do not expect
to be driving in deep snow, but may
have to travel over ice, you may not
want
to switch to snow tires at all.
You may want to put winter
emergency supplies in your vehicle.
Include
an ice scraper, a small brush
or broom,
a supply of windshield
washer fluid, a rag,
some winter outer
clothing, a small shovel, a flashlight,
a
red cloth, and a couple of reflective
warning triangles. And,
if you will be
driving under severe conditions,
include a small bag
of sand, a piece of
old carpet or a couple of burlap bags
to help provide traction. Be sure you
properly secure these items
in your
vehicle.
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3. Attach a separate safety chain around
the end of each axle inboard of the
spring.
4. Be certain your vehicle is towed no
faster than
35 mph (56 km/h) and no
farther than
50 miles (80 km) to
avoid damage to your transaxle.
damaging a vehicle
luring a tow over rough surfaces,
Install a towing dolly beneath the
wheels that would otherwise be on
the ground during the tow. This
will increase clearance between
the
wheel lift equipment and the
underbody of the towed vehicle.
Engine Overheating If Steam is Coming from Your Engine
You will find a coolant temperature gage
on your Oldsmobile's instrument panel.
See the
Index under Coolant
Temperature
Gage.
A Steam from an overheated
r - n engine can bum you badly,
even
if you just open the hood. Stay
away from
the engine if you see or
hear steam coming 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 opening 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.
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Problems on the Road
I Enaine overheating (CONT:)
you keep driving with no coolant
your vehicle can be badly
damaged. The costly repairs wou
not be covered bv vour warrantv.
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.
Stop after high speed driving.
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.
3. Try to keep your engine under load
(in a drive gear where the engine
runs slower).
If you no longer have the overheat
warning, you can drive. Just
to be safe,
drive slower for about ten 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.
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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 OFF THE
ENGINE AND
GET EVERYONE
OUT OF THE VEHICLE until it cools
down.
You may decide not to lift the hood but
to get service help right away.
Cooling System
When you decide it’s safe to lift the
hood, here’s what you’ll see:
(A) Coolant recovery tank
(B) Radiator pressure cap
(C) Electric engine fan, or fans if you
have the rear climate control system
or the
3800 V6 engine.
I A An electric fan under the hod
L 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
recovery
tank is boiling, don’t do
anything else
until it cools down.
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Engine Overheating (CONTI)
The coolant level should be at or above
the
FULL HOT mark. If it isn’t, you
may have a leak in the radiator hoses,
heater hoses, radiator, water pump or
somewhere else in the cooling system.
I, rn Heater and radiator hoses, and
b other engine parts, can be
VGI~ 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
cou
be burned. Get any leak fix
before you drive the vehicle Engine damage from running your
: engine without coolant isn’t
i.: covered
by your warranty.
If there seems to be no leak, check to
see if the electric engine fan(s) is
running. If the engine is overheating, the
fan(s) should be running. If it isn’t, your
vehicle needs service.
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Recovery
Tank:
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but
the coolant level isn’t at or above the
FULL HOT mark, add a 50/50 mixture
of
clean water (preferably distilled) and
a proper antifreeze at the coolant
recovery
tank. (See the Index under
Coolant for more information about the
proper coolant mix.)
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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 a proper
antifreeze.
I
In cold- weatl , w r can .
and crack the engine, radial
heater core
and other parts. ‘,A
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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When the coolant in the coolant
recovery
tank is at or above the FULL
HOT mark, start your vehicle.
If the overheat warning continues,
there’s one more thing you can try. You
can add the proper coolant
mix directly
to the radiator, but be sure the cooling
system is cool before
you do it.
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Problems on the Road
Engine Overheating (CONX)
I A Steam and scalding liquids I
I from a hot cooling system can
blow out and bum you badly. They
I
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.
~ I Vow to Add Coolant to the Radiator:
I. 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 to the left
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.
2. Then keep turning the pressure cap,
but now push down as you turn it.
Remove the pressure cap.
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