mory

ive got the haynes manual and i tell you, this guy is somthin els. its suppose to tell u about the whole car how to do mostly everything. but since ive joined this site, you guys have helped me more than the damn book. he gives very vague meanings of things. he does not show pictures of most of the parts that are being replaced and dont tell where they all are located. for example, he says that the presure regulator is not serviceable. ive changed mines. if i didnt ask you guys ii would have been at the dealer trying to find a new fuel rail. he dosent give direct insite on how to back probe the TPS. he dosent even give u pictures of the oil presure switch. he dosent even go into finding problems in detail. you guys have been my manual and i thank u all. one thing i must admit is that the book has been helpful in some areas. i dont know maybe im just asking for to much from the guy. if he reads this hes probably laughing at me because he has my dream car in his garage from these damn manuals.

thepoz89

Get a service manual for your car. You can find them at swap meets for around fifty bucks.
POZ

br()bert

Yeah my haynes manual has been just to get a basic idea about something. The book is off sometimes. (take a look at the heat core replacment!!!!!!) Chiltons is a much better manual.

TomP

Actually, you -are- asking too much. For the things you listed, I would never tell someone to go to their Haynes book. You want the GM service manual from http://www.helminc.com for the in-depth stuff.

Although I will say, that the GM Service Manual also says that the fuel pressure regulator is a non-servicable item, and that the whole rail needs to be replaced. I don't think GM figured that the aftermarket would start making fuel pressure regulator diaphragms!

Like you said, the Haynes is good for a few things. It'll tell you how to drop the transmission out (that's not in the GM book, by the way). It'll tell you how to drop the gas tank out, rebuild a rear caliper, remove an axle assembly, take apart the front suspension, replace your water pump, remove the heads, install rocker arms & lifters, and change your timing chain. What I like best is the torque specs listed at the beginning of each chapter. Sometimes it's hell to find a torque spec in the GM Service Manual, the specs are usually buried.

Also, in the Haynes, a lot of instructions are -exact- duplicates of the GM book (for instance, rebuilding a rear caliper, or changing the timing chain). So that means I can get the Haynes dirty instead of my GM book. (Although, my GM book is in 3 easy-to-carry pieces... the damn binding glue broke a lonnng time ago.)

mory

yeah i guess your right TomP. i just see a person who is not inclined confused about the instuctions when they read it. but i guess that would be with any instructions.

Doward

Haynes Manual in 4 easy steps -

Place car on jackstands
Remove negative battery terminal
Remove part in question
Installation is reverse of removal.



It's good for some things, like TomP pointed out - Tq specs in particular!

Trickster

I have usually found torque specs in the GM manual listed in the installation section for the item being removed and then on other items they are listed at the end of the section for that subject. One of the few things that I have found useful in the Chilton manual is the vacuum hose routing in the emissions section. Other than that they are too vague on too many subjects. And TomP, my service manual does tell me how to drop the transmission down and take it apart also.

mory

trickster thats a good point. when i was changing my hoeses he had nothing to offer. another thing is in the code section he has to many of the same things that could be causing the trouble codes.

drdave88

iTrader: (3)

specs in the haynes manuals arent always right. i adjusted the valve lash in my 66 mustang according to their specs, the crank wouldnt even roll all the way over w/o hitting the valves. it was holding them open so far, it wasnt even funny. for the most part though, thats about all its good for, ive found is torque specs.

Trickster

I have the codes for 82 - 92 and am in the process of scanning them into my computer now. I will talk to the admins and see if they can find a spot on the board somewhere. This is all the engines from the 4 cylinders to the 8 cylinders.

92RSSlowmaro

Haynes manuals are designed for the modern idiot - they take common repairs and dumb them down so you can do it step by step. They are the bible of mechanically impaired induviduals.

Chiltons is the real one to fear. Their hardback covers offer additional support when used as jackstands.

TomP

I have the 700r4 teardown also- in fact, if you buy the ATSG (Automatic Transmission Service Group) 700r4 manual, it's almost an exact photocopy of the 700r4 teardown section in the GM service manual! The only benefit to the ATSG book is the few pages in which they cover the TSB's for the 700r4's updates.

But I don't remember anything in my '86 Helms about taking the trans down... I guess they added that part, or I missed it! I used my Haynes when I took the trans out.

Apeiron

For my car I have the Helm, Haynes, Chilton and Alldata. There are greasy fingerprints through all of them. The Helm is by far the best, but some of it is year-specific so the others are good for some supplementary info.

TomP

Hey Apeiron, what's up! I didn't know Alldata had a manual; I'll have to check it out- I guess it's on their website? Hey is that how you knew about that TSB for the master cylinder bores (J65 vs J50)?

Apeiron

My Alldata "manual" is mostly just a binder of stuff I've printed out. Some of the TSB stuff I've found from there and some I've been given by local dealers.

CaptPicardsZ28

I have both the haynes and chilton. What I dont find in one I usually get from the other. Anything else I can get from Trickster.

Apeiron

A parts and illustration manual is worth its weight in gold too.

Trickster

A good factory assembly manual isn't too bad either.

Apeiron

Is there a separate factory assembly manual for these cars?

mory

how can you find a factory manual? what do i look for as far as what car? do they go by engine or the car its self?

Trickster

Yes, I have seen them on e-bay and picked one up for the 1982 camaro's. They supposedly were used by assembly line workers during assembly of the car. It contains full illustrations of the car components and part numbers. Here is the link for one that is on e-bay now for $5.00.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...912861561&rd=1

Trickster

Hey Mory,

You can order the service manual for your car from Helms Inc. and pay a large price for it. Another option is to browse e-bay for gm service manuals. I have picked up about 13 manuals recently for camaros and firebirds for about $200.00. You want to get one by year, it will cover all the engine models and be specific to your car although some of it will pertain to other years and models.

Apeiron

Sounds like the old Fisher body manuals, those got integrated with the service manuals somewhere along the line.

TomP

My dad kept a Fisher manual from one of the old cars... can't remember if it was the '77 Nova or the '76 Ford LTD.

Mory, I posted the link above for Helm.

Trickster

As of right now, the GM service manual for an 1989 camaro is $146.00 from Helms and is a print to order item. There is currently a 1989 GM service manual from helms on e-bay for $9.99 right now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...913061804&rd=1

And there are at least two others on there coming to an end in the next 3 days. So if anyone is interested look into them.

TomP

Dammmmmn!! And I thought my Helm manual was expensive in 1994- the GM service manual was $60, and the owners manual was $15!

Still it's the best $150 anyone could spend!

GreyFox

haynes manual - 15.95

knowledgeable people who can real life walk me through something and speak to me in terms i can understand - membership to the board - free

if i woulda known how useless that book is to me after i found this page i would never have bought it, although it has come in handy a couple of times, however haynes lightly touches most of topics enough for the "home mechanic" home mechanic=guy who wants to change oil everyonce in a while. what i need is knowledge.

TomP

I still wouldn't say it's useless; I still use mine. Like I said, it depends on the situation.

mory

i do use mine also. but i agree with the knowlege point. haynes is more of a replace parts book. i guess thats what its made for. ive really learned so much from every guy on this board. by the way, i wonder if haynes owns a camaro?

92RS3.1L

Yeah, I do agree with that, being a modern idiot. It was easy to follow step by step when I replaced my brakes, so it helped because I am a mechanically impaired individual.

BigNg

amazing that there is an almost 100 $ difference between the manual for an 83 and an 84, on the helms site.... or did I read something wrong?

Trickster

You read it wrong, the service manuals for both years are $75.00 each.

BigNg

Trickster, I went back and checked twice, I'm getting the following results (okay, it was a 74.25 $ difference) but am I comparing apples to oranges? the stock numbers only vary by what looks like the year? I want to make sure I get the right thing!

See if you get the same from the links I have posted below.......

'83 - 23.00

http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.a...FJJFE6SAQUFU62

'84 - 97.25

http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.a...HJXR8C5ASN7D2A

Apeiron

The 83 manual is sitting on the shelf, occupying their space and costing them money, so they probably have an incentive to sell it cheap. The 84 manual is out of stock and has to be printed when ordered, which would cost considerably more.

Trickster

My apologies BigNg, this post had been going for camaros and since you didn't specify or have a particular model in your profile, I assumed (big mistake there) that was the models you were referring to. I got a nice service manual for the 84 firebird off e-bay for $12.00 about a month ago

BigNg

12 bucks! Now that's my kind of deal, (cheap bastard that I am!)

No apologies required Trickster, I have modified my profile.

Trickster

Then you would love this one, an 86 firebird manual for $7.50.:lala: :lala:

kretos

i'd take one for an 88 camaro for that cheap

Trickster

The 88 camaro with supplement was $22 + 5.00 for shipping.