"All it takes is one decision,
A lot of guts, a little vision"
Placebo - Slave to the ...
"All it takes is one decision,
A lot of guts, a little vision"
Placebo - Slave to the Wage
Member since:05.11.2002
Reviews:21
Members who trust:10
At some point or other, most self respecting car owner will have turned their hand to a spot of DIY spanner work, either to save a few bob come service time or simply because their inquisitive noses lead them to poke around at their shiny new motor. When this starts to happen, sooner or later will come the time when you rush headlong into a job and end up making a complete and utter hoop of things, connecting things so ar*e about face that your car ends up in a worse state than it started in. Removing both driveshafts from a Fiesta at the same time without supporting the differential and removing a Suzuki Vitara front hub while in 2wd mode are two of my personal greatest hits.
If you like to spend your time in ways other than piecing back together the intricate jigsaw that is a differential or hunting round your workshop for those springs that shot out of the hub at the speed of light, then you may want to invest in some kind of owners manual to save you these wee traumas. And with every manual written being based on a complete stripdown and rebuild, you can safely assume that a Haynes workshop manual will be able to help with any problems you come across.
Whatever
car or motorbike (or boat for that matter) you own, chances are Haynes will have written a manual covering it. Just about every model from every major car manufacturer from the early sevenies to the present day has a manual dedicated to it with some earlier editions having recieved updates. Manuals for modern cars are always available from stock from car accessory stores, Halfords, Autosave etc, while those based on older cars can either be ordered for you from these outlets or directly from Haynes using their website. Prices are roughly £12.99 for new manuals while older ones often recieve a discount to gat them off the shelves quicker. Inside the manual you will find all the technical specifications on your car in all its forms, as well as a general information section, a section on how to complete virtually every job imaginable broken down into sections (engine, transmission, electrics etc) as well as wiring diagrams and a section containing supplements and updates. Every task from changing an air filter to engine and transmission overhaul are covered, with colour pages on step-by-step body repair and how to diagnose faults from the condition of your spark plugs.
So, just follow the step by step instructions in the manual and you should be able to have that new engine slotted in and running so you can be out of the garage in time for the evening episode of Neighbours then? Not quite I'm afraid, life's never quite that simple. A fair deal of fathoming out is often required, as some of the instructions can be quite vague at times. For example, a Haynes manual might say "connect the MAP sensor to it's corresponding multiplug connector". Fine if you know what a MAP sensor is and where it roughly goes, but to a novice mechanic faced with a row of multiplugs and the inability to tell a MAP sensor from a map light, this can be quite confusing. So its back to the Index, look up MAP sensor, find the page and hope it gives you a picture of it and where it goes. Then it's off to the wiring diagram to find the colour of the wire its supposed to be connected to, and only then will you realise that you'd been staring at it all along and it wouldn't have plugged in anywhere else anyway. This aspect of figuring things out as you go is great if you plan to learn a bit about your car as you go, but the initial confusion of things not being 100% clear is often what puts people off trying.
For anyone who has a wee bit of experience with cars, a Haynes manual will most often be adequate for the job. Lists of tools required are given so you can prepare for the job ahead and newer manuals give a 1 - 5 rating of how hard the task is, 1 being an easy job like an oil change and 5 being a crankshaft job. So follow the instructions, use a little common sense and use the guiding photos as much as you can and you shouldn't really go wrong.
But for those people who aren't particularly mechanically blessed but still fancy having a go, there are a few alternatives to a Haynes manual. Official workshop manuals can often be bought from main dealers, these will be designed for apprentice mechanics so should be quite easy to get through, but are often very expensive, in the excess of £50. Newer ones are sometimes available on CD-ROM, but often require a decoding system called a "dongle" to make them work, which only dealers have access to. There are other manuals on the market, Clymer motorcycle manauls for example are go into much more details with their explainations and have colour photos to guide you every step of the way. Where a Haynes manual might say "remove roadwheel and disc retaing screw then withdraw brake disc", a Clymer would say "using 3/4" socket and ratchet, undo four wheel studs then remove roadwheel (see picture). Then using a suitable phillips head screwdriver, unscrew brake disc retaing screw and using a rubber mallet (see fig 4.1) carefully remove brake disc." Great if you really need your instructions spoon fed right down your throat, but if you kinda know your stuff you may find some of the directions slightly patronising. Plus, Clymer maunuals cost around £30, weigh a tonne and are so nicely presented you daren't risk them getting them oily by taking them into the garage.
For a source of information on your car, as a guiding hand for general weekly maintenance or as the basis for a full on rebuild, a Haynes manual will be an invaluable addition to your glovebox. Cheap and easy to come by, relatively easy to follow and bloody handy when all your car wants to do is splutter in the morning, no motorist should be without one. The troubleshooting sections are a godsend when you need to diagnose a problem quickly, the specifications sections will settle any dispute about how much Brake horsepower your car makes and using one will give you a better understanding of what makes your car tick. Indispensable.
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Just one small niggle, since the introduction of the airbag, I haven't seen a glovebox big enough to store the Haynes manual
Mike
Spike_ 16.05.2003 21:49
Definitely indispensible, super duper review blokey. Spike - aka The Artist Formerly Known As Howiemon. Or just Howiemon, for short.
LostWitness 02.05.2003 09:18
You can make money out of these too. My brother and I used to buy loads really cheaply at boot fairs, and then advertised them in Auto Trader for a fiver. We must have made a few hundred quid between us, which was a lot when I was 15.
May 1st, 2003
(May 12th, 2003)
very helpful by (100%):
