Hi everyone,
I'm curious what you guys like to use for repair manuals these days.
I used to use the older Chilton manuals in the early 00's to work on my old Mustang and Silverado. I remember them to be okay, but generally lacking in a lot of the specifics for certain maintenance processes.
I have a truck (2005 F-150) that has just reached 200,000 miles and I decided to hang on to it for probably the long haul. This means I will be doing a lot of the servicing myself, which means i need good reference material for servicing and parts replacement.
What is the "go-to" for maintenance manuals (or other resources entirely?).
What do you recommend?
Best regards,
Look into ALLDATAdiy or Mitchell 1 DIY
I think Mitchell is a little easier to use for novice mechanics and it's less expensive.
If you visit their websites they have videos of their repair resources and I think they even provide a couple of "sample vehicles" so you can "test drive" their products
With ALLDATA since it's owned by Autozone from my experience there were times I needed the manual for a couple of things and I went to one of their stores and they just printed it out for me for free. So you might want to try this option; they have access to the professional version.
A couple more options for you:
- helminc.com
- public library resources
I used ALLDATADiy for all 3 of my vehicles: the link is listed in my signature below. I highly recommend them, and it’s also what Scotty has recommended in the past (and himself uses).
You can also try Mitchell DIY site. Several of my mechanics have Mitchell (but the comprehensive professional package which is super expensive, makes sense for a shop/business). But, it turns out Mitchell makes one for DIYers that is actually very affordable.
Do it Yourself Automobile Repair Manuals - Mitchell 1 DIY (eautorepair.net)
I haven’t tried Mitchell so can’t comment on that - it might be worth getting both for a month and trying them out to see which you like better and then go with that.
Some vehicles have the official repair manual from the manufacturer. BUT these are HARD to come by, as they are meant for dealer mechanics. These are the best ones, but they aren’t so easy to find or get.
You can try to search the Internet for a copy for your specific car. But don’t spend so much time on it, if you can’t find it within 5-10 minutes, it probably doesn’t exist in that form.
AllDataDIY manuals are essentially the same as those: on my 2 GM vehicles, I have the multiple volume (and expensive) set of printed manuals as well as the electronic online AllDataDIY and the instructions and diagrams are identical.
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In other words, one does not have more than the other.
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Also, the labor time for a job is listed (in ALLDataDIY) so you can get an idea of how much labor time it takes and what you would be charged. Most shops go by book time whether or not it takes them that long to do the job.
Lots of useful thoughts here. Thanks guys, will look into it further.
I generally try to avoid subscription based services. ( I prefer property ownership as a general rule since property can retain it's value), but it might be the best case in this scenario.
Library is a good suggestion. Never would have thought about that. Would be interesting to see what they have there.
Thanks all.
You may want to also check out Ford truck forums.
As mentioned above, you may get lucky and find an old technicians service manual that someone has made available for download.
Check out this site for ideas:
https://www.f150forum.com/f118/factory-service-manuals-449087/
Very useful. Thank you.
