Oldsmobile Cutlass (1999 year). Manual - part 13

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5-10

If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine

CAUTION:

Steam from an overheated engine can burn 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 you
open 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.

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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5-11

If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine

If you get an engine 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:
D Climb a long hill on a hot day.
D Stop after high

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speed driving.

D Idle for long periods in traffic.
D Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or so:

1. If your air conditioner is on, turn it off.

2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan

speed and open the window as necessary.

3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);

otherwise, shift to the highest gear while 
driving 

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 AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D) 

or THIRD (3).

If you no longer have the overheat warning, you can drive.
Just to be safe, drive slower for about 10 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.

If there’s still no sign of steam, idle the engine for three
minutes while you’re parked. 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.

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 Cooling Fans

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5-12

CAUTION:

An electric engine cooling fan under the hood 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 surge tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down.

The coolant level should be at or above the FULL
COLD 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.

CAUTION:

Heater and radiator hoses, and other engine
parts, can be very 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 could be burned.
Get any leak fixed before you drive the vehicle.

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5-13

NOTICE:

Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.

NOTICE:

When adding coolant, it is important that you use
only DEX

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COOL

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 (silicate

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free) coolant.

If coolant other than DEX

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COOL is added to the

system, premature engine, heater core or
radiator corrosion may result. In addition, the
engine coolant will require change sooner 

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 at

30,000 miles (50 000 km) or 24 months,
whichever occurs first. Damage caused by the use
of coolant other than DEX

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COOL

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 is not

covered by your new vehicle warranty.

If there seems to be no leak, with the engine on, check to
see if the electric engine cooling fans are running. If the
engine is overheating, both fans should be running. If
they aren’t, your vehicle needs service.

How to Add Coolant to the Coolant 
Surge Tank

If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
isn’t at the FULL COLD mark or slightly higher, add a
50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and
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 coolant 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.)

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5-14

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 coolant surge
tank pressure cap 

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 even a little 

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 they can come

out at high speed. Never turn the cap when the
cooling system, including the coolant surge tank
pressure cap, is hot. Wait for the cooling system
and coolant surge tank pressure cap to cool if you
ever have to turn the pressure cap.

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5-15

CAUTION:

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, drinkable water and
DEX

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COOL

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 coolant.

NOTICE:

In cold weather, water can freeze and crack the
engine, radiator, heater core and other parts. So
use the recommended coolant.

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.

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5-16

1. You can remove the coolant surge tank pressure cap

when the cooling system, including the coolant surge
tank pressure cap and upper radiator hose, is no
longer hot. Turn the pressure cap slowly
counterclockwise (left) about two or two and
one

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half turns. If you hear a hiss, wait for that to

stop. This will allow any pressure still left to be
vented out the discharge hose.

2. Then keep turning the pressure cap slowly, and

remove it.

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5-17

3. Then fill the coolant surge tank with the proper

mixture, to the FULL COLD mark or slightly higher.

4. With the coolant surge tank pressure cap off, start the

engine and let it run until you can feel the upper
radiator hose getting hot. Watch out for the engine
cooling fans.

By this time, the coolant level inside the coolant
surge tank may be lower. If the level is lower, add
more of the proper mixture to the coolant surge tank
until the level reaches the FULL COLD mark or
slightly higher

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5-18

5. Then replace the pressure cap. Be sure the pressure

cap is hand

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tight.

Check the level in the surge tank when the cooling
system has cooled down. If the coolant isn’t at the
proper level, repeat Steps 1 to 3 and reinstall the
pressure cap or see your dealer.

If a Tire Goes Flat

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 

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 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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5-19

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.

CAUTION:

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.

The following steps will tell you how to use the jack and
change a tire.

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5-20

Removing the Spare Tire and Tools

The equipment you’ll need
is in the trunk. Turn the
center retainer nut on the
compact spare cover
counterclockwise to 
remove it.

Lift and remove the cover. (See “Compact Spare Tire”
later in this section for more information about the
compact spare.) You will find the jacking instructions
label on the underside of the tire cover.

Turn the wing nut
counterclockwise and
remove it. Then lift off the
adapter and remove the
spare tire.

Remove the jack and jack handle from the trunk. Your
vehicle’s jack and jack handle are stored in a foam tray.

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5-21

The tools you’ll be using include the jack (A) and jack
handle (B).

Removing the Flat Tire and Installing the
Spare Tire

1. On vehicles equipped with steel wheel covers, do not

try to remove the nut caps from the wheel cover.
Give the cover a sharp pull or gently pry on the edge
of the cover to remove it from the wheel.

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5-22

2. Some models are equipped with aluminum wheels.

Remove the cover plate to find the wheel nuts.
Carefully use the wedge end of the wheel wrench to
pry it off.

3. Then use the jack handle to loosen all the wheel nuts.

Don’t remove them yet.

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5-23

4. Position the jack and raise the jack head until it fits

firmly into the notch in the vehicle’s frame nearest
the flat tire. Put the compact spare tire near you.

CAUTION:

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.

CAUTION:

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 jack lift head into
the proper location before raising the vehicle.

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5-24

5. Raise the vehicle by turning the wheel wrench

clockwise. Raise the vehicle far enough off the ground
so there is enough room for the spare tire to fit.

6. Remove all of the wheel nuts.

7. Then take off the flat tire.

8. Remove any rust or dirt

from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces and
spare wheel.

CAUTION:

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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5-25

CAUTION:

Never use oil or grease on studs or nuts. If you
do, the nuts might come loose. Your wheel could
fall off, causing a serious accident.

9. Install the tire and replace the wheel nuts with the

cone end of the nuts toward the wheel. Tighten each
nut by hand or with the jack handle until the wheel is
held against the hub.

10. Lower the vehicle by turning the jack handle

counterclockwise. Lower the jack completely.