Why good service manuals are as important as wrenches in my humble opinion. Tools are to the mechanic as blood is to the human body. One of the most important tools can be a repair manual. Hear me out before you turn the page. Too often I see people avoid purchasing an auto repair manual because they considered it a wasteful expenditure.
When in fact it may provide the most bang for your buck. The most efficient way to get between two points is a straight line. Auto service manuals can provide this point-to-point route. There is no way for a professional technician to remember all of the procedures and specifications needed to repair cars properly.
This also applies to even the most experienced do-it-yourself driveway mechanic. Good solid repair information plus a little knowledge and experience will bring you to your desired result fixing the car. And take you there with the least amount of frustration. It can also lower the cost in parts as the diagnostic tree charts help you test individual components.
Factory repair information
The most reliable source of information about a specific vehicle comes from the company that builds it. Car makers create a complete set of repair diagrams and auto service manuals for the cars it produces.
Although this information is created mainly for professional mechanics that service those models at the dealership level it can also provide a tremendous amount of assistance to Diy auto mechanics. Since many inherent problems develop on certain car lines service manuals need to be constantly updated.
This is what separates the professional auto repair information from the do it yourself information found in auto parts stores. If you work at a dealership your shop is supplied with updates referred to as technical service bulletins. In the old days they sent the paper bulletins to the shop and they were physically added to the repair manuals.
Car repair manualsIt is more common today for these updates that repair common problems to be issued online in a database format. It is also becoming more common for car repair manuals to be published by independent companies rather than the car makers themselves.
This makes the communication between the manufacturer and the publisher extremely important. Some companies are better at this communication process than others. And this is why the quality of the repair information will differ between car lines.
In some cases the publishers try to condense the format to much. This allows for more coverage in less physical space. This can also make the car repair information less specific. It is not uncommon for mechanic's either professional or driveway to have to use their brain more then expected. Sometimes you have to put the pieces together to get the vehicle repaired the right way on the first attempt.
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