PONTIAC GRAND-AM 1994 Owners Manual

Problems on the Road
To Jump Start Your
Pontiac: (CONK)
5. Check that the jumper cables don’t
have loose or missing insulation.
If
they do, you could get a shock. The
vehicle? 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.
6. Connect the red positive (+) cable to
the positive (+) terminal of the vehicle
with the dead battery.
Use a remote positive (+) terminal if
the vehicle has one.
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Problems .' on the .Road
3 Towing Your Pontiac
'ry to have a GM dealer or a professional
)wing service tow your Pontiac. The
sua1 towing equipment is:
L Sling-type tow truck (see Notice
below)
!. Wheel-lift tow truck
:. Car carrier
NOTICE:
Do not use a sling-type tow truck or
damage to your vehicle will occur.
If your vehicle has been changed or
modified since it was factory-new by
adding aftermarket items like fog lamps,
aero skirting, or special tires and wheels,
these instructions and illustrations may
not be correct.
Before you do anything, turn on the
hazard warning flashers.
When you call, tell the towing service:
0 That your vehicle cannot be towed
from the front or rear with sling-type
equipment, as described later in this
section.
0 That your vehicle has front-wheel
drive.
0 The make, model, and year of your
vehicle.
0 Whether you can still move the shift
lever.
0 If there was an accident, what was
damaged.
When the towing service arrives, let the
tow operator know that this manual
contains detailed towing instructions sad
illustrations: The operator may want to
see them.
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When your vehicle is being towed, have
the ignition key off. The steering wheel
should be clamped
in a straight-ahead
position,
with a clamping device designed
for towing service.
Do not use the
vehicle’s steering column lock for this.
The transaxle should be
in NEUTRAL
(N) and the parking brake released.
The ignition key must be in the OFF
position to prevent the automatic door
locks from locking during towing.
Don’t have your vehicle towed on the
front wheels, unless you must. If the
vehicle must be towed on the front
wheels, don’t go more than
35 mph
‘56 i. km/h) or farther than 50 miles
:SO km) or your transaxle will be
ilamaged. If these limits must be
:xceeded, then the front wheels have to
,e supported on a dolly.
,I 7
F
B
tc
Y
I
1
‘owing from the
?ont-Vehicle Hook-Up
efore hooking up to a tow truck, be sur(
1 read all the information in “Towing
our Pontiac” earlier
in this section.
NOTICE:
Do not tow with sling-type
equipment because fascia/fog light
damage will occur. Use wheel-lift
or car carrier equipment. Additional
ramping may be required for car
carrier equipment.
153...
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NOTICE: ~ ~~
Towing a
vehicle over rough
surfaces could damage a vehicle.
Damage can occur from vehicle to
ground or vehicle to wheel-lift
equipment.
To help avoid damage,
install a towing dolly and raise the
vehicle
until adequate clearance is
obtained between the ground and/or
wheel-lift equipment.
Do not attach winch cables or
J-hooks to suspension components
when using car carrier equipment.
Always use T-hooks inserted
in the
T-hook slots.
00. 154
Attach T-hook chains into the slots in the
bottom
of the floor pan, just behind the
front wheels on both sides.
Attach a separate safety chain around the
outboard end of each lower control arm.
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Towing from the
Rear-Vehicle Hook-Up
Before hooking up to a tow truck, be sure
to read all the information
in “Towing
Your Pontiac” earlier
in this section. Also
be sure to use the proper hook-up for
your particular vehicle.
NOTE: The ignition key must be in the
OFF position to avoid the automatic door
lock from locking during tow.
Attach T-hook chains on both sides of the
underbody just ahead of the wheels.
NOTICE:
Do not tow with sling-type
equipment or rear bumper valance
will be damaged. Use wheel-lift or
car carrier equipment (additional
ramping may be required for car
carrier equipment). Use safety chains and wheel straps.
32
NOTICE:
Towing a vehicle over rough
surfaces
could damage a vehicle.
Damage occur from vehicle to
ground or vehicle to wheel-lift’
equipment.
To help avoid damage,
install a towing dolly and raise the
vehicle
until adequate clearance is
obtained between the ground md/w
wheel-lift equipment.
Do not attach winch cables or
J-hooks to suspension
componxmts
when using car carrier equipment.
Always
use T-hooks inserted in the
T-hook slots.
155...
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Problems on the Road
Towing from the
Rear-Vehicle
Hook-Up
(CONT.)
Attach a separate safety chain to each side
of the axle inboard of the spring.
Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature gage
or the warning light about a hot engine on
your Pontiac’s instrument panel. See
“Coolant Temperature Gage” and
“Coolant Temperature Warning Light”; in
the Index. You will also find
a low
coolant warning light
on your Pontiac’s
instrument panel.
If Steam Is Coming From
Your Engine 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.
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If No Steam 1s 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:
0 Climb a long hill on a hot day.
0 Stop after high speed driving.
0 Idle for long periods in traffic.
Tow a trailer.
[f you get the overheat warning with no
sign of steam, try this for a minute or so:
1. If you have an air conditioner, turn it
off.
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.
[f 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
4ND 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 surge tank with pressure cap
(B) Electric engine fan ii" , I .. i I. i. 4:. .;I'
.r': 5.
157...
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Problems on the Road
1 Cooling System (CONK)
If the coolant inside the coolant surge
tank is boiling, don’t do anything else
until it cools down. The coolant level should be at or above
FULL COLD. 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. ~~~
NOTICE:
Engine
damage from running your
engine without coolant isn’t covered
by your warranty.
If there seems to be no leak, check to see
if the electric engine fan is running. If the
engine is overheating, the fan should be
running. If it isn’t, your vehicle needs
service.
e e e 158
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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 or above
FULL
COLD,-add a 50/50 mixture of clean
water (preferably distilled) and a proper
antifreeze
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 about
the proper coolant
mix.)
NOTICE:
In cold weather, water can freeze
and crack the engine, radiator,
heater core and other
parts. So use
the recommended coolant.
L
159...
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