(August 22, 2020 at 7:22 pm)onlinebiker Wrote: (August 22, 2020 at 6:54 pm)arewethereyet Wrote: https://justgivemethedamnmanual.com/serv...n/S_Series
Yeah. I have seen those. They are a step up from a Haynes or Chiltons - but they are not as complete as the factory manual.
I have a couple sets of factory.The 95 set is three heavy three ring folders weighing about 10 lbs. It covers an insane amount of information.
This guy was selling the 96 and the 2001 set with the 2002 addendums. (2002 was the last s-series and nearly identical to 2001).
He only wanted $50 for both. Cheap for the factory editions.
FSM are the gold standard for repairing a vehicle. Chilton's is a joke, and Hayne's is worse. I had an '81 Buick Le Sabre and had some trouble with the "check engine" light coming on, intermittently. The Haynes book gave some minimal diagnostic clues, and then said, "take it to a professional" if their clues didn't work.
![Dodgy Dodgy](https://atheistforums.org/images/smilies/dodgy.gif)
I was working as an electrical engineer at the time, so I wasn't working as a "professional" mechanic, anymore. I didn't have time to dick with it, so took it to one of my friends to get it fixed, and he had the REAL manual that took one through the flow chart for an effective repair. I had access to the "professional" manuals when I worked as a mechanic. They are day and night different from Haynes and Chiltons, although Chilton's is, as I mentioned, better. I think I paid $35 for the FSM for that Buick, but I paid that in '92. The prices only go up on them. Back in the day, it was "Motor's Manuals" that were the straight dope on how to fix things. I have the Factory Service Manual for my '70 Chevy truck, which I bought from an online vendor for about $40. Worth every penny. I also have the Factory Assembly Manual, which shows how to put the truck together like they did at the factory, and how the optional equipment is installed.
Massively helpful when working on it. It shows things like how the heater hoses should be routed, for example. One wouldn't think that that would be a big deal, but if a strain is put on a component, it is eventually going to fail from that strain. It's why manufacturers have molded hoses for their cooling systems. With enough expansion and contraction, one of those "universal fit" hoses are going to tear the nipple off the radiator or the heater core. Always at the worst possible time, too, it would seem. YMMV