Car repair manual

[beenalongtime]

In the old days, *up to the mid 80's*, a Motor manual was THE brand I would look for. (miss those things) Chilton's and Hayes are OK for somethings and also available at a lot of public libraries (who also have access to the online databases). That and their photocopiers and Youtube are good for planned repairs. They have also had errors in them in my past experiences.
For home, to keep, I agree with the factory manuals. The only issue I might have with factory manuals, is "vehicle specific tools" that a dealership might have, might be confusing to someone who isn't mechanical (and doesn't know work around's or general use tools to use).

[Vinh]

Where are you guys buying the factory service manuals? They don't seem to be commercially available and eBay has mostly outdated pirated discs.

[trailrunner]

When I bought my first new Toyota (a 1986 pickup), I bought the Toyota manual. I think it less than $100, and it was a great investment. When I bought my 2002 Rav4, I also bought the Toyota manual. I think it was $200 or $300. I cringed a bit, but bought it anyway. Same thing for my wife's 2004 Highlander. We still have the Rav4 and Highlander, so I guess the manuals were a good investment. When I bought my 2011 Tundra, I looked into buying the Toyota manual, but it was something like $800. I couldn't justify that. When I traded my Tundra in for a 2017 Tacoma, I didn't even bother asking about the Toyota manual.

Has anyone ever bought a subscription to alldata? I think their prices were something like $25 per year for consumers. Might be a reasonable alternative to factory manuals.

[Joe in PNG]

Back in my mechanicing days for a religious organization, we had a bunch of miscellaneous manuals in the shop, from miscellaneous makers. Most of which we tossed out, as I was in serious doubt we'd be working on any AMC products or 70's era GMs. Instead, we would up getting a Mitchell online manual, which worked well enough.

As for Haynes vs Chilton, I found the Haynes to be a lot more user friendly, with better illustrations.

[NH Shooter]

I haven't used a traditional auto repair manual in a long time. There are many online enthusiast forums where most DIY info is freely available (including technical bulletins), and often better illustrated with photos.

In my experience if you exercise your Google Fu you'll be better off.

[rayrevolver]

Nothing beats How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot. I bought a copy back in 1990 when I bought my '72 Beetle. The Beetle has been gone for 18 years, but I still have the manual, dirty, greasy, and held together with duct tape, because it's so well written and entertaining even if you're not working on a VW.

Chris

Loved that one. And the Bentley. And saw this one linked, which I also had:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/08958...K7BS5S79DE9C4F


Helped rebuild a 1973 Super, finished at midnight and hit the road to make my first college class at 7am. The oil cooler had split but I had no time, so I used a case of Castrol 20w50 and stopped every hour to topoff through the desert between CA and AZ. Fell asleep, hit a road marker... What a cluster. But I made my first class!

Swapped the cooler without dropping the motor in the dorm parking lot. Car ran great through school, making the trip through desert with no problems. Phoenix without AC in the summer was rough though.

If anyone has a 67 bug/bus/double cab laying around I'll take it off your hands!

[Ananth]

Where are you guys buying the factory service manuals? They don't seem to be commercially available and eBay has mostly outdated pirated discs.

I've bought factory service manuals online directly from Helm, Bishko, and on Amazon. You can find genuine FSM's on Ebay, though it can take some digging.

Dealerships may have them too, if you don't mind parting with an arm and a leg.

When I bought my 2011 Tundra, I looked into buying the Toyota manual, but it was something like $800. I couldn't justify that. When I traded my Tundra in for a 2017 Tacoma, I didn't even bother asking about the Toyota manual.

The FSM for my brother's 2005 Silverado would've been $550 for a five-volume set from Helm back when his truck was newer. Dealer price was half again as much. The same set from Helm is just south of $400 now. A Chilton manual, Youtube, and an occasional call to the friendly local dealer service tech has been a workable substitute.

[NEPAKevin]

Has anyone ever bought a subscription to alldata? I think their prices were something like $25 per year for consumers. Might be a reasonable alternative to factory manuals.

One of our shops has the OL1 repair subscription but that's $165+ tax/month so it better not be the same.

[Vinh]

I have a subscription to alldata (consumer/amateur version). Incomplete, sporadic information, limited usefulness. Maybe the pro version is better.