OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE 2003 Owners Manual

Secondary Latch System
Your vehicle may have an underbody mounted tire hoist
assembly equipped with a secondary latch system.
It‘s designed to stop a tire from suddenly falling off your
vehicle
if the cable holding the spare tire is damaged.
For the secondary latch to work, the tire must be stowed
with the valve stem pointing down.
Front-wheel-drive vehicles use the underbody tire hoist
assembly to store either the compact spare or a flat
road tire. See “Storing a Flat or Spare Tire and
Tools”
in the Index for instructions on storing the spare or
flat tire correctly.
If your vehicle is equipped with all-wheel-drive, the
underbody tire hoist assembly stores only the compact
spare tire. See “Storing the Spare Tire and Tools”
later in this section for instructions. To store a flat
full-size tire correctly, see “Storing the Flat Tire
on
an All-Wheel-Drive Vehicle” later in this section. Before beginning this procedure read all the
instructions. Failure to read and follow the
instructions could damage the hoist assembly
and you and others could get hurt. Read and
follow the instructions listed below.
To release the spare tire from the secondary latch,
do the
f .. )wing:
Someone standing too close during the procedure could be injured by the jack.
If the
spare tire does not slide
off the jack completely,
make sure no one is behind you or on either
side of you as you pull the jack out from
the spare.
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1. Place the jack under the vehicle, ahead of the rear
bumper. Position the center
lift point of the jack
under the center of the compact spare tire.
2. Turn the folding wrench clockwise to raise the jack
until it lifts the secondary latch device under the
wheel plate.
5. Grasp the compact spare tire with both hands and
6. Reach under the vehicle and remove the folding
pull
it out
from under the vehicle.
wrench and jack.
Have the hoist assembly inspected as soon as you can.
You will not be able to store a spare or flat tire usinG
the hoist assembly until it has been repaired or replaced. 3. Keep raising tne jack untii rne compact spare tire
stops moving upward and is held firmly in place,
this lets you know that the secondary latch
has released.
4. Lower the jack by turning the folding wrench
counterclockwise. Keep lowering the jack until
the compact spare tire is resting on the folding
wrench. ~- -~
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Removing the Wheel Covers
If the wheel has a center cap, use the handle of the
folding wrench to pry
it off. Then, with the other end of
the folding wrench, loosen the nuts.
If your vehicle has the plastic “bolt-on” wheel covers,
loosen the bolts completely using the folding wrench,
and remove the wheel cover.
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing
the Spare Tire
1. Loosen the wheel
nuts
- but do not
remove them
- using
the folding wrench.
(Turn the handle about
180 degrees, then flip
the handle back to
the starting position.
This avoids taking the
wrench
off the lug nut
for each turn.)
For wheels with
a wheel lock key, use the wheel
lock key between the lock nut and folding wrench.
The key is supplied
in the front passenger door
pocket.
Notice: To help avoid damage to lock nut or wheel
lock key, do not
use an impact wrench with this key.
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2. Near each wheel,
there is
a notch in
the vehicle's body.
Position the jack and
raise the jack head until
it fits firmly into the
notch
in the vehicle's
frame nearest the
flat tire.
Notice: Do not place the jack under the rear axle
control arms or you may damage your vehicle.
Only use the areas shown for proper jack location.
Do not raise the vehicle yet. Put the compact spare
tire near
you.
Getting under a vehicle when it is jacked up is
dangerous. If the vehicle slips off the jack you
could be badly injured or killed. Never get under
a vehicle when
it is supported only by a jack.
Raising your vehicle with the jack improperly
positioned
can damage the vehicle and even
make the vehicle fall.
To help avoid personal
injury and vehicle damage, be sure to fit the
raising the vehicle.
)'""' iaek lie ...- hnad ..--- intn ...- - thn -..- pmper h~~~~c~ befcre
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3. Attach the folding
wrench to the jack,
and turn the wrench
clockwise to raise
the jack head a
few inches.
4. Raise the vehicle by turning the folding wrench
clockwise in the jack. Raise the vehicle far enough
off the ground so there is enough room for the
compact spare tire to
fit under the wheel well.
5. Remove all the wheel nuts and take off the flat tire.
6. Remove any rust or dirt
from the wheel bolts, mounting surfaces
and spare wheel.
Rust or dirt on the wheel, or on the parts to
which
it is fastened, can make the wheel nuts
become loose after a time. The wheel could
come
off and cause an accident. When you
change a wheel, remove any rust or dirt from
the places where the wheel attaches
to the
vehicle.
In an emergency, you can use a cloth
or a paper towel to do this;
but be sure to use
a scraper or wire brush later, if you need to,
to get all the
rust or dirt off.
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I
Nev,. use oil or grease on st,,s or nuts. If you
do, the nuts might come loose. Your wheel
could fall
off, causing a serious accident.
7. Install the compact spare tire and put the wheel
nuts back on with the rounded end
of the nuts
toward the wheel. Tighten each nut by hand until
the wheel is held against the hub.
8. Lower the vehicle by attaching the folding wheel
wrench to the jack and turning the wrench
counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.
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9. Tighten the wheel nuts
firmly in a crisscross
sequence, as shown.
Incorrect wheel nuts or improperly tightened
wheel nuts can cause the wheel
to come loose
and even come
off. This could lead to an
accident. Be sure to use the correct wheel
nuts. If you have to replace them, be sure to
get new
GM original equipment wheel nuts.
Stop somewhere as soon as you can and have
the nuts tightened with a torque wrench to the
proper torque specification. See ”Capacities
and Specifications”
in the Index for wheel nut
torque specification.
Nofice: Improperly tightened wheel nuts can lead
to brake pulsation and rotor damage.
To avoid
expensive brake repairs, evenly tighten the wheel
nuts
in the proper sequence and to the proper torque
specification. See “Capacities and Specifications”
in the index for the wheel nut torque specification.
10. Don’t try to put a wheel cover on the compact spare
tire. It won’t fit. Store the wheel cover securely in
the rear of the vehicle until you have the flat tire
repaired or replaced.
Notice: Wheel covers won’t fit on your compact
spare.
If you try to put a wheel cover on your
compact spare, you could damage the cover or
the spare.
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Storing a Fla' or Spare 'ire : d Tools
Storing a jack, a tire, or other equipment in the
passenger compartment of the vehicle could
cause injury. In
a sudden stop or collision,
loose equipment could strike someone.
Store all these in the proper place. The
underbody-mounted spaL, tire needs to
be stored with the valve stem pointing down.
If the spare tire
is stored with the valve stem
pointing upwards, its secondary latch won't
work properly and the spare tire could loosen
and suddenly fall from your vehicle. If this happened when your vehicle was being
driven, the tire might contact
a person or
another vehicle, causing injury and, of
course, damage to itself as well. Be sure the
underbody-mounted spare tire
is stored with
its valve stem pointing down.
5-8 1

Storing the Spare Tire and Tools
1. Lay the tire near the rear of the vehicle with the
valve stem down.
2. If the vehicle has aluminum wheels, remove the
small center cap by tapping the back of the cap
with the extension of the shaft.
3. Slide the cable retainer through the center of the
wheel and start to raise the tire.
Make sure the retainer is fully seated across the
underside
of the wheel.
4. When the tire is almost in the stored position,
turn the tire
so the valve is towards the rear of
the vehicle.
This will help when you check and maintain tire
pressure in the spare.
5. Raise the tire fully against the underside of the
vehicle. Continue turning the folding wrench until you
feel more than two clicks. This indicates that the
compact spare tire is secure and the cable is tight.
The spare tire hoist cannot be overtightened.
PUSH & PULL
6. Make sure the tire is stored securely. Push, pull,
and then try to rotate or turn the tire.
If the tire
moves, use the folding wrench to tighten the cable.
Put back all tools as they were stored in the jack storage
compartment and put the compartment cover back
on.
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To put the cover back on, line up the tabs on the right
of the cover with the slots in the cover opening. Push the
cover in place and push down the tab
so that it rests
in the groove. This secures the cover in place.
B
Store the center cap or the plastic “bolt-on” wheel
covers until a full size tire is put back on the vehicle.
When you replace the compact spare with a full-size tire,
reinstall the bolt-on wheel covers or the center cap.
Tighten them “hand tight” over the wheel nuts, using the
folding wrench.
Storing the Flat Tire on a Front-Wheel
Drive Vehicle
Follow the procedure for storing a spare tire listed
previously.
A. Strap
9. Bag and Tools
C. Jack
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