engine PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 1995 Service Manual

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:
Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
comfortably cool interior.
0 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.
Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from
driving in flat or rolling terrain.
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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.
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.
a
a
0
a
Know how to go uphill. Shift down to DRIVE (D).
This will help cool your engine and transaxle, and
you can climb the hill better.
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 faIIing rocks area, or
winding
roads. Be alert to these and take appropriate
action.
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Winter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Pontiac in good shape for winter. Be sure
your engine coolant
mix is correct.
your trunk.
You may want to put winter emergency supplies in 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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clo'th 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.
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.
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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 wm, you can get
out of the vehlcle and do some fairly vigorous exercises
every half hour or
so until help comes.
Loading Your Vehicle
d OCCUPANTS VEHICLE CAP. WT.
FRT. CTR. RR. TOTAL LBS. KG
TIRE-LOADING INFORMATION
MAX.
LOADING & GVWR SAME AS VEHICLE
CAPACITY WEIGHT XXX COLD TIRE
TIRE SIZE SPEED PRESSURE
RTG
PSI/KPa
FRT.
RR.
SPA.
IF TIRES ARE HOT, ADD 4PS1/28KRa
SEE OWNER‘S MANUAL FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATiON
Two labels on your vehicle show how much weight it
may properly carry. The Tire-Loading Information label
found on the rear edge
of the driver’s door tells you the proper
size, speed rating
and recommended inflation
pressures for the tires
on your vehicle. It also gives you
important information about the number
of people that
can be in your vehicle
and the total weight that you can
carry. This weight is called the Vehicle Capacity Weight
and includes the weight of all occupants, cargo, and all
nonfactory-installed options.
MFD BY GENERAL MOTORS CORP
DATE GVWR GAWR FRT GAWR RR
THIS VEHICLE CONFORMS TO ALL APPLI-
CABLE U.S. FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE
SAFETY,
BUMPER, AND THEFT PREVENTION
STANDARDS
IN EFFECT ON THE DATE OF
MANUFACTURE SHOWN ABOVE.
The other label is the Certification label, found on the
rear edge
of the driver’s door. It tells you the gross
weight capacity
of your vehicle, called the GVWR
(Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). The GVWR includes the
weight of the vehicle,
all occupants, fuel and cargo.
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Towing a Trailer
I NOTICE:
Pulling a trailer improperly can damage your
vehicle
and result in costly repairs not covered by
your warranty. To pull a trailer correctly, follow
the
advice in this part, and see your Pontiac
dealer for important information about towing
a
trailer with your vehicle.
Your vehicle can tow a trailer if it is equipped with the
SE package and proper trailer towing equipment. Do not
tow a trailer with the SSE package. To identify what the
vehcle tmilering 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.
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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.
Consider using a sway control.
You can ask a hitch dealer about sway controls.
0
0
0
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 (808 km) that you
tow
a trailer, don’t drive over 50 mph (80 kmk) 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.
Three important considerations have to do with weight:
Weight of the Trailer
How heavy can a trailer safely be?
It should never weigh more than
1,000 pounds (450 kg).
But even that can be
too heavy.
It depends on how you plan to use your rig. For
example, speed, altitude, road grades, outside
temperature and how much your vehicle is used to pull a
trailer are all important. And, it can also depend on any
special equipment that you have on your vehicle.
You can ask your dealer for our trailering information
or
advice, or you can write us at:
Customer Assistance Center
Pontiac Division
One Pontiac Plaza
Pontiac,
MI 48340-2952
In Canada, write to:
General Motors of Canada Limited
Customer Assistance Center
1908 Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, Ontario
L1H 8P7
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Making Thms
NOTICE:
Making very sharp turns while trailering could cause the trailer to come in contact with the vehicle. Your vehicle could be damaged. Avoid
making very sharp turns while trailering.
When you’re turning with a trailer, make wider turns
than normal.
Do this so your trailer won’t strike soft
shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees, or other objects.
Avoid jerky or sudden maneuvers. Signal well in
Tldvance.
’Ibrn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle has to have a
different turn signal flasher and extra wiring. The green
arrows on your instrument panel will flash whenever
you signal a turn or lane change. Properly hooked up,
the trailer lamps will also flash, telling other drivers
you’re about to turn, change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green arrows on your
instrument panel will flash for turns even if the bulbs on
the trailer are burned out.
Thus, you may think drivers behind
you are seeing your signal when they are not. It’s
important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working.
Your vehicle has bulb warning lights. When you plug a
trailer lighting system into your vehicle’s lighting
system, its bulb warning lights may not let you know if
one of your lamps goes out.
So, when you have a trailer
lighting system plugged in, be sure to check your
vehicle and trailer lamps from time to time to be sure
they’re all working. Once you disconnect the trailer lamps, the bulb warning lights again can tell you if one
of your vehicle larnps is out.
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, shift down to DRIVE (@) and
reduce your speed to around 45 mph (70 kmph) to
reduce the possibility of engine and transaxle
overheating.
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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. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t shift into
PARK (P) yet.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your parking
brake, and then shift to
PARK (P).
5. Release the regular brakes.
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, belts, 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. Find the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals on
each battery.
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 basic
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.
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