There is nothing quite like the satisfaction of successfully completing a DIY automotive project. Take your car down off the stands, button up the hood and go for a successful test drive. Everything seems right with the world, plus you’ve turned you spare time into $$. But, there is a flip side to DIY. There is nothing quite like the sense of desperation you will experience when on a Sunday afternoon, three quarters of the way into a project, too late to back out, your daily driver on the blocks, you find you need a can or tube of something you don’t have and can’t get, the special tool you bought doesn’t work, or worst of all, you broke some doodad only available from the dealer when the wrench slipped. Be prepared DIY is full of successes and failures. The pages here are full of cautionary tales about home mechanics who took on too much with too little experience and poor diagnostic skills. If at all possible hone your mechanical skills on a project that isn’t mission critical, after all surgeons begin their training on cadavers. Expect some rough patches and you’ll find it’s a great hobby.
All the manuals offer some level of insight into the mysteries of auto repair and for a beginner the original “Volkswagen Repair for the Complete Idiot” is unbeatable. It spelled out some of the pitfalls that so often turn a simple repair into a nightmare and spelled out in simple terms how to best deal with the problems with the tools that are available at a DIY shop. I read that book more than 40 years ago for the entertainment value and gave away more than a dozen copies over the years as gifts to wannabe DIYers. But a shelf full of the most detailed and accurate books and the finest most complete set of tools will not give someone the innate talent and “feel” for things mechanical. And without that the cross threaded plugs, stripped bolts, misaligned pulleys, busted knuckles, etc., will soon sour the untalented from making the effort.
“Volkswagen Repair for the Complete Idiot”
I have that manual someplace.
I seem to have given my copy away or lost it. I recall John Muir avoided the EFI system in that first edition. It would be a lot of fun to read through the old edition now.
Still in print
I couldn’t pass that up MTraveler. My local book store had that book in stock and I picked it up and was just skimming through it. The original was in a spiral wire binder but this edition seems to have kept most if not all of the original’s text and art work with later models blended in. The author’s reference to marijuana and all things hippy were much more in vogue 40 years ago but may not be recognized for their humor by younger readers today. Thanks for the link.
I have to say, as an anal retentive perfectionist, I always hated the Haynes and Chilton manuals. They constantly left me in a state of frustration as hidden clips and bolts would stymie my efforts at removing things. Once my Toyota dealer (back in 1988) clued me in on the factory manual I never bought another Haynes or Chilton book. I have found the Toyota and Honda (Helm) manuals to be easy to read and understand. The diagrams are a life saver. The only killer is that the factory books have gotten darned expensive!!!
One more thing. The factory manual always includes the torque specs. Everybody on this board knows the value of properly tightening nuts and bolts and the cheap books can leave you guessing.
Seems like I have a decision to make. Just went to Helm’s website, and nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the price they’re asking for the service manual for my car o.O If that’s the direction I decide to go, does anybody know where I can get a used copy or something for cheap-ish? I’ve tried Amazon, and I couldn’t find one. Any other suggestions?
You will save enough money doing one or two oil changes to pay for a Haynes or Chilton manual. then moving on to air filters. spark plugs and cabin air filters. That cabin air filter is a real money-saver. The Toyota dealer offers me a special price of $39- to put in a filter that cost me $14 and took me- who had never done one- 5 minutes. Next time 3 minutes- them I’ll be saving $500 per hour…
And don’t forget headlights and taillights- you have to do those yourself.
MTraveler’s post above about the highs and lows of DIY was perfect!
You can save a lot of money replacing the brakes yourself. That is relatively easy to do.
The 2005 Honda Accord manual cost me $72 in '05. I wonder they cost today.
I could get by with a Chilton or Haynes manual if I had to. They DO have the torque values in most cases.
It is impossible to buy a BMW shop manual, or a Bimmer scan tool, or a … They really play it close to the vest.
BMW automotive tools are available from Hazet. They are somewhat less expensine than Snap-On. Hazet tools are not chromed; environmental considerations over there.
If you decide on a factory service manual check ebay, people often buy them from dealers who’ve gone out of business and resell them, that’s where I bought the Ford factory manuals for my '97 and 02 Escorts. I think I bought them for about $20-$30 for each set, but I still use my Haynes and Chilton’s more than I do the factory manuals simply because for someone without mechanic training they are much easier to understand.
If you start doing your own repairs, no matter how simple the repair seems 90% of the time there will be obstacles hurled at you where you’ll have to use creative thinking. All I can say is at those times rather than getting discouraged or angry, stop take a break and cool down a little.
Several years ago I started changing the spark plugs in my '88 Escort, should have been a 15-30 minute job, as I was removing one of the plugs it seized in the head, part of the way in and part of the way out. I had no other choice but to go ahead and remove it knowing it was probably stripping the threads out of the head. When I got the plug out the threads of the plug were filled with aluminum from the head and no threads to put a new plug into, so I was trying to figure out how I could fix it without having to pull the head. I went to an auto parts store and bought a tap designed to re-tap the threads, got it home and it was too large to fit into the recession where the plug fits. I got to thinking, the metal in the old plug was strong/hard enough to strip the threads out so a plug should be able to re-tap them. I took the other old plugs, put one in my spark plug socket and applying as much pressure as I could to it got it to start cutting new threads. I’d turn it about one/two revolutions and take it out and clean the threads of the plug out and re-insert it. I kept doing this until I finally had new threads cut into the aluminum. This was between 10-15 years ago and the new threads that I cut using the old plugs are still holding. (creative thinking?)
Until you’ve done some small jobs and feel comfortable with making repairs don’t jump into something big and allow yourself about twice as long as you expect it to take so you’re not rushed. Getting in a hurry usually leads to mistakes and/or unexpected problems. Even though I’ve been doing most of my own repairs for years, when I have to do something I’ve never done before I spend plenty of time studying before jumping in head first.
I’ve probably got somewhere between $3-$5K tied up in tools. I’d be afraid to even estimate how many thousands of dollars I’ve saved using them doing my own repairs in the past 36 years, but I’d feel safe in saying it’s probably been enough to buy a couple new cars. You don’t have to buy all your tools at one time, buy the basics then do as I did buy other/better tools as you have the money or when they are on sale. In the past 5 years I’ve upgraded my regular straight open end/box end wrenches to ratchet/pivot type wrenches, it was a few hundred dollar investment, but worth every cent when you have a hard to get to nut/bolt where you’d be fighting to get the wrench off/on continually and wasting time. Buy good quality tools otherwise you’ll be buying replacement tools all the time and will end up with junk, but you’ll have the price of good tools in it. I’ll admit a few of the tools that I may only use once or once every couple years are cheap tools. I can’t see spending $50 for something I’m only going to use one time when a cheap $5. tool is available, but better than 90% of my tools are very good quality tools.
I change my own oil/filter, coolant, brakes, timing belt/water pump, starters, alternators, struts, tie rod ends, ball joints, steering rack, fuel pumps, a/c, etc. I also troubleshoot and replace coils, crank sensors, cam sensors, idle speed controllers, mass air flow sensors, throttle position sensors, etc. If you have the manuals and a $10-$20 multi meter you can test almost anything electrical yourself instead of taking the car to a garage and paying them $100 an hour to do it for you, plus some mechanics just start throwing parts at a problem without doing any testing. I don’t really call those types mechanics.
I enjoy saving $800-$1000 on a single timing belt/water pump change which usually takes me about 1/2 a day. In the past year I know of these major repairs I’ve done, 2 timing belt/water pump changes, automatic transmission shift cable, replaced an a/c compressor, pulled a vacuum on the system and recharged it, pulled an oil pan and cleaned the oil pump pick up screen, and replaced 2 struts all for under $300 in parts (includes free replacement on lifetime warranty struts). The cost of these services at a garage would have probably ran some where between $3-5K parts and labor. Just in the past year I’ve probably saved enough to pay for all the tools I’ve collected and lost over the past 36 years.
Another advantage to doing your own work is you decide where to buy your parts. A mechanic isn’t going to shop for the best price/warranty. Usually when I need replacement parts I go to Auto Zone and buy a part with a lifetime warranty. With the lifetime warranty if it ever wears out again just take it off, take it back to the store and get another one free. Most of the normal wear parts on my '88 Escort have lifetime warranty front/rear brake pad/shoes, right/left tie rod ends, right/left control arms, steering rack, right/left front axles, ignition module, water pump, clutch/pressure plate/release bearing, front/rear struts, fuel pump and maybe others I can’t think of right now. Doing my own work and lifetime parts is how I’ve been able to afford to keep my '88 Escort on the road even though it now has 518,600 miles. Oil changes, gas and insurance are more than 95% of the cost of keeping it going.
I have 7 cars to maintain with the oldest being 25 years old and the newest one being 10 years old. If I didn’t do most of my own work there’s no way I could do it. Always remember if it can’t be fixed with a hammer, GET A BIGGER HAMMER!!! LOL
The end.
Sorry for not reading all the other posts first but I have to weigh in on the side of the factory service manual. I usually buy the factory manual for every car I get. On my latest though, I didn’t want to spend the $200 so got the chepo Chiltons. I have to say that it has so little detail that it is nearly worthless comparted to the factory manual. The factory manual will provide trouble shooting charts and procedures and illustrations of all of the various parts and models and the step by step repair procedures. Reading the procedures will tell you whether or not you want to tackle something.
Its just something you learn step by step as the need arises and a great plus if you have someone to help.
This discussion of manuals seems timely. I just found OEM service manuals for my vehicle on eBay for ~$20. I figured I couldn’t pass up that deal. I suppose if I can’t make heads or tails of it I’ll find the Chilton manual and try both I suppose. That or, like I said, I do have an experience mechanic in my family that I can go to if I need help. I also managed to snag a copy of Auto Repair For Dummies at the local library, and have been reading through that too. Thanks for all the input