Pontiac Sunbird Owner's Manual page 169

Problems on the Road
Engine Overheating
(CONT.)
If 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
2. Turn
on your heater to full hot at the
off.
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.
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.
If you have a 2.0L
LA
engine, your
engine coolant system will have a
coolant recovery tank. If you have a 3.1L
V6 engine, your engine coolant s y s t e m
will have a coolant surge
tank.
There are important differences between
these two cooling systems. Read this
section carefully.
Cooling System-2.OL
LA
Engine:
When you decide it's safe to lift the
hood, here's what you'll see:
(A) Coolant recovery
tank.
(B)
Thermostat housing pressure cap.
(C) Electric engine fan.
r
An electric fan under the hood
can start up even when the
ergine is not running and can injure
you. Keep hands, clothing and tools
away from any underhood electric
fin.
I
1
If the coolant inside the coolant
recovery
tank
is boiling, don't do
anything else until it cools down.
rn rn
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