Best Repair Manual?

[Lazzman]

Looking for a good comprehensive repair manual for the Explorer. I have been using a disc I bought on ebay, it is supposedly the same one ford uses but I am skeptical. It is a great disc but is a bit hard to navigate. It also does not show tune up and basic repairs in detail.

I know Chiltons and Haynes both make books was wondering which was better? Also I did go to the dealership where the parts kid told me that they don't sell a ford repair manual. He said Haynes or someone like that publishes them for Ford. I would really like to get my hands on a factory repair manual.

Any ideas would be really helpful.

 

[spta97]

I've used both for various cars and I prefer the Haynes. I found the Chilton's was confusing and hard to follow and they crammed too many years into one book.

 

[spindlecone]

Google Helm Inc. they sell all the official ford publications, not cheap tho

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

For Explorers, the Haynes is better, IMO. The Chilton includes a bunch of information on Rangers which is no help to us (i.e. 4 cylinder engines).

 

[EMG7895]

The factory manual on cd from ebay is very good.

 

[Lazzman]

Thanks for all the help. I have two factory ebay CD manuals for Ford 1998 trucks. They are comprehensive and not bad for $12/piece. Though they do not show you how to perform routine maintenance like replacing brake pads-they do not even show where the PCV Valve is located on a 1998 V6 Sohc engine.

Just came from the bookstore and spent quite a bit of time with the Chiltons book for ford 1991-1999 ranger/ explorer- well to put it lightly this book sucks. Bad schematics, poor instructions that are not up to date for most of the vehicles and the spectrum of models spans 10 years. You are at their mercy as to which vehicle they choose to use as an example. I pity the fool who uses this book and does a repair for the first time with no automotive experience. The leave out so many details.

Thanks so much again for the info- I will look into haynes & Helm.

 

[spindlecone]

Do Ck into the Helm books, they are official, complete ford factory manuals pertaining to model year, mine is at least 2K pages, the electrical manual is separate.
Got both off of ebay, 120 bux brand new.

 

[Glacier991]

I realize not everyone wants to spend the $ to buy them, and I do understand. That said, there is no substitute for the official FORD factory books. No, they are not cheap, but they are model specific and excellent. If there is a downside, they are often referencing special tools and testers often only seen at FORD dealerships.....but overall, ya can't beat em.

Once you get used to the CD's, Haynes and Chiltons are a joke, Once you get used to the Factory manuals, the CD's are still good, and often times all you can have, but MAN, what a difference. On Transmissions, the Factory manuals make ATSG manuals look like a Cliff's Notes on a Novel.

ps. The factory manuals also need a companion in the Emnissions controls area, the CD's can provide that.


Ideally get the factory manuals and the cd's.

 

[gijoecam]

The official Ford CD is tough to use initially, but once you figure out where the things are that you're looking for, you'll find that they are better than any other manuals out there. They're more detailed and have more specific information. Chilton and Haynes both pale in comparison.

And the Ford manual DOES show you how to replace the brake pads.

-Joe

 

[spindlecone]

Helm 1-800--782-4356

 

[Lazzman]

Thanks for all the info, my CD's are really good at lots of things but sometimes they do fall short. As I mentioned before when I owned my Toyota MR2 Turbo, Toyota put out the service manual that was nicknamed the Big Green Book. Was a college course book compared to the kindergarten Haynes and Chiltons manuals.

I think the haynes and chiltons will actually get you in more trouble then not having them at all.

 

[spta97]

Thanks for all the info, my CD's are really good at lots of things but sometimes they do fall short. As I mentioned before when I owned my Toyota MR2 Turbo, Toyota put out the service manual that was nicknamed the Big Green Book. Was a college course book compared to the kindergarten Haynes and Chiltons manuals.

I think the haynes and chiltons will actually get you in more trouble then not having them at all.

I disagree. The factory manuals tend to assume you are a master certified ASE mechanic before you even jack it up. The Haynes manual is geared toward the weekend mechanic (like me). It has the torque specs and decent pictures although my only complaint is that it does not give all the pictures of the 5.0 V8. It seems to be biased towards the 6 cyl.

I had a factory manual for my Chevy Spectrum. I pulled it out when my timing chain snapped and here's how it read:

Step #1 - Remove Engine

I stopped reading after that.

 

[gijoecam]

That may be the case, but if that's what the factory manual said was step 1, the Chiltons or Haynes manuals should list the same step.

The difference is that the factory manual will explain HOW to remove the engine. More often than not, the others simply assume you can get it that far.

I would say that the only thing the OEM manuals assume is that you have access to a NGS tester in the service bay for troubleshooting electrical or vacuum problems. If it's that involved, I don't want to do the work anyways!

Don't forget about the EVTM and the schematics on the Ford CD.... the Chilton and Haynes diagrams aren't as complete.

-Joe

 

[spta97]

Well, there was no mention of how to remove the engine in that book. If you are looking to do things like:

Replacing brakes
Changing Oil
Changing shocks
Changing fluids

Then the Haynes manual is $15 well spent. The torque ratings have always worked well for me with the exception of the rear shocks - I snapped one of the upper bolts once.

 

[EMG7895]

The cd manual I have has most if not all of that, the trick is learning how to navigate and search the manual, at first its very confusing but once you figure out the system you find things you never even thought existed, for example to remove the brown wire on my shift motor harness, i found the instructions in a tcase rebuild section instead of the motor removal section.

 

[95limited]

To compare the Haynes manual with the Ford CD is like comparing a pocket dictionary with a set of encyclopedias. It does take awhile to learn how to find things on the CD, but it worth the time. I just replaced shocks for the first time in my life and the printouts from the CD really helped. If you need a procedure for changing oil, you need a mechanic, not a manual.

 

[Glacier991]

Ok let me sum it up if I can be so bold. Chilton's and Haynes, for the money and ease of acquisition and use, sure beat nothing at all. They try and cover a lot of variations and sometimes don;t exactly represent what you are looking at under the hood. They are of necessity limited in scope. Are they awful, no.

the next step up for the FORD Trucks (including the explorer) is the FORD factory CD. It can be a little difficult to get used to, and it needs a computer, but it is very extensive and model specific, by year, so what you see in the "manual" is what you see under the hood. It also includes emissions manuals and excellent schematics. Sometimes it goes a little far into things, past where a shade tree mechanic might follow, but at least it covers it all. They cost about the same as Haynes and Chiltons.

Factory Manual. The Granddaddy. As someone said, like an encyclopedia. Expensive, very, good, very. Value for info probably much less than the CD, and you really need the CD for emissions and good schematics.

Ok enough summation. My call? If money is an object buy CD versus Factory. If you do not have computer access (in this day and age) Chiltons and Haynes are a toss-up (I personally prefer haynes) but I say "God bless your soul" if that is all you got. <finis>

(my CD's are always in the CD drive, and my factory manuals are dog-eared)

 

[spta97]

I got a DVD from eBay on the Explorer and it sucks. I cannot find anything in it - I'll have to give it another shot tonight or perhaps I just got ripped?