vehicle service manuals

[Boz86]

Put a new brake booster in my truck yesterday for about $60.

Made much simpler by having the manufacturer's service manual in hand. I find them way more specific than the aftermarket service manuals (e.g. Chiltons, Haynes). Which is kinda obvious given the relative sizes. My truck's manuals (3) look like they're about a five times the size of the single Haynes manual.

So if you've got a vehicle you're going to keep a while and work on yourself, I recommend getting the manufacturer's service manuals. Used, of course.

[ketchup]

Totally agree on this.  When I had my '88 Chevy Sprint, I had the original factory service manual, plus a gigantic book of parts diagrams with parts numbers and sizes of absolutely everything.  It was an extremely valuable resource for working on that car, far better than the Haynes manual.  They're not easy to find though for older, less common cars.  I found mine on Craigslist 2000 miles away and ended up mailing the guy a $25 check (I felt comfortable with it because really, this would be an oddly specific scam, and it was only $25) and he mailed them out that week.

I still have them.  I really should unload them so they can help another Sprint owner out.

[BlueMR2]

Yes, the OEM manuals are WELL worth the money for a DIYer.  Even if you have to get them new (as I did).  Haynes/Chiltons are better than nothing of course, but if you plan on doing much work on your own this is a place you shouldn't cheap out.

It's also nice to get to know your local bodyshop guys.  Sometimes they'll give you an old estimating/parts guide that they were going to throw out.  VERY handy for ordering major repair items as it lists all the part numbers in an even easier to find way than the OEM manuals.

[Left]

I've been told that but I've found youtube to be the best manual by far :S I'm just too visual a person that reading it doesn't always make it clear

[worms]

I've been told that but I've found youtube to be the best manual by far :S I'm just too visual a person that reading it doesn't always make it clear

I always found that getting hold of the parts manual was a huge help in understanding the service manual as you got a much better exploded diagram of complex components and could understand what you were needing to do, when the manual might just say "disconnect the...".

[Boz86]

I always found that getting hold of the parts manual was a huge help in understanding the service manual as you got a much better exploded diagram of complex components and could understand what you were needing to do, when the manual might just say "disconnect the...".

That's a good point. This service manual had everything I needed on the brake booster, but at one point early in it says "remove the wrap around clip from the inboard stud."  I looked high and low and couldn't find it. Finally gave up and went ahead, the booster came out like it was supposed to.

On the reinstall instructions (pretty unnecessary but it has the torque values -- not that I could get a torque wrench in there), it says to reinstall the wrap around clip on the inboard stud. Right. never saw hide nor hair of that thing.

[AlexK]

Those Haynes manuals are junk. "disconnect negative battery cable. Rebuild engine. Connect negative battery cable"

My Geo Metro factory manual is 3" thick and covers only one year. It has detailed wiring diagrams and shows the pinout of every connector. It's amazing and worth the $40 it cost on ebay.

[gimp]

Anyone know where I can find the factory/manufacturer's service manual for my car - buick regal gs 2000? I've looked for ages and can't find shit. I'd really, really love some help with this.

[ketchup]

Anyone know where I can find the factory/manufacturer's service manual for my car - buick regal gs 2000? I've looked for ages and can't find shit. I'd really, really love some help with this.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=2000+buick+regal+service+manual&_frs=1  Kind of pricey, but it's there.

[gimp]

How in the hell did I not find this. What the hell?

Thank you, I really appreciate it.

$100 is kind of pricey but if it helps me fix one small thing, it will have paid off. Don't you think?

[FIreDrill]

Thanks for posting this!  I've been using Haynes manuals so far but I just got a PDF of the service manual for our 2006 forester.  The Service Manual covers one year and is over 3700 pages! Way more detailed and will help a ton with my current project of replacing the head gaskets.

[ketchup]

How in the hell did I not find this. What the hell?

Thank you, I really appreciate it.

$100 is kind of pricey but if it helps me fix one small thing, it will have paid off. Don't you think?

Absolutely.  I'd buy one for my car for $100, especially if I planned on keeping it a long time (which I tend to).

[schimt]

Thanks for posting this!  I've been using Haynes manuals so far but I just got a PDF of the service manual for our 2006 forester.  The Service Manual covers one year and is over 3700 pages! Way more detailed and will help a ton with my current project of replacing the head gaskets.

a digital copy is better then nothing, but i perfer having a physical copy that i can have in the shop to reference while doing work.

But no doubt, the service manual is well worth it if you plan on doing anything more advanced then a brake job. Wiring digrams, special tools you might need, great exploded views, torque specs. Not a must have for a backyard mechanic, but very useful.

[gimp]

Thread necro: Good god, this thing is fucking awesome. $100 shipped for three fat textbooks, and it's already paid for itself thrice over in a couple months. The jobs I already did would probably have cost me $2-300 labor plus more expensive parts than I got off ebay etc.

[DollarBill]

You can get digital copies here...but I haven't used them yet.
http://alldatadiy.com/

[gimp]

That is nifty too! Thanks.