Shop Manuals....

[JNICHOLS]

Hello all,

New to the group....wow what a great resource.....so here is my story.


Just purchased a '00 Explorer XLT...only 52K miles. Purred like a kitten on all the test drives, but I get it home and start it and it sounds like an old desiel VW rabbit!!! It actually only does this on hot starts (maybe 50% of the time) and lasts for a minute or two tops. My research has led me to the 2U3Z-6D256-CA kit for the front timing chain. I feel very comfortable takleing the job but would like to have a manual to reference.

So the question is for those of your who have been around these trucks for a while, which is the best shop manual? Choices would be Haynes, Chilton, or Ford, and if you use the Ford manuals are they really worth the extra expense?

P.S. - Thinking about running SeaFoam...anyone had luck with this product and chain noise...or should I just tear into it and install the kit?

Thanks,

Jeff N.

 

[scucci]

The generic chilton's manuals are not very good. You can get the Ford Factory Service on CD at:
http://www.service-bulletins.com/
or Ebay. Also for 24.95 you can get a year subscription at:
http://www.alldata.com/
and have access to the manual and more importantly all the TSB's and recalls. The TSB for the timing chain tensioner has a different procedure than the service manual calls for.

Hope this helps,
Scucci

 

[aldive]

You might want to look into http://www.iatn.net/alldata/.

I find this a most helpful source of info.

 

[JNICHOLS]

Thanks for the info...I knew about the TSB's at AllData...I will look into their manual listings more closely...just to clarify...the CD manuals at http://www.service-bulletins.com/ say they cover all models of truck/suv for that model year for only $24.95. Has anyone used these? That seems very reasonable as the "paper" Ford manuals I see are in the hundreds. For the price this would seem the way to go as it is only a few $$ more than a Chilton, and I just happen to have a computer in my shop...how convenient is that???

Thanks!!!

 

[scucci]

I have the manuals from service-bulletins.com. It is an original Ford Dealer CD, not a copy. It is superb.

Scucci

 

[Lazzman]

Helm's Manuals are the best. The exact same manual the dealers refer to when repairing the X.

I believe they can be purchased for around $180 from the Helm website.

The $5 ebay cd-roms are more useful than Haynes/Chiltons, but leave much to be desired. They seem to leave out certain relevant information.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You could download a Ford CD from WWW.FordCDs.Com. Check my thread for more information: Dead Link Removed

 

[JNICHOLS]

Wow...fordcds.com has just what I was looking for (and for my 95 E250, 93 F250 and motorhome chasis)....Thanks BrooklynBay....not sure about the legalities...but oh well...Ford gets enough of our money anyway!!!