Haynes manuals
Discussion
I gave up with them after a mk3 Astra, the alternator change said remove pivot bolt. Problem was the pivot bolt was ~150mm long, the gap between the bolt head and the chassis leg was ~50mm.
They had quite obviously taken the engine out and then done all the other bits.
I now use copes of manufacturer manuals, I purchased copies of Volvo, Ford, Honda and Lotus without issues.
They had quite obviously taken the engine out and then done all the other bits.
I now use copes of manufacturer manuals, I purchased copies of Volvo, Ford, Honda and Lotus without issues.
I've always had Haynes manuals for the cars and motorbikes in the past.
I have one for my motorbike, but don't have one for either of our current cars.
If I had more of a project car (or need to change another timing belt)I would probably buy a Haynes.
A paper book is more reliable than the internet, which relies on power and infrastructure and the interface won't fail if you drop it on the floor or get oil or grease on it.
I have one for my motorbike, but don't have one for either of our current cars.
If I had more of a project car (or need to change another timing belt)I would probably buy a Haynes.
A paper book is more reliable than the internet, which relies on power and infrastructure and the interface won't fail if you drop it on the floor or get oil or grease on it.
Edited by MC Bodge on Monday 20th October 22:16
I still use a Haynes manual from time to time. Recently took out the dashboard, heater matrix and steering column from our T25 using it. But it does not cover the little gems that a specialist forum offers. (For example the shear bolts on the steering column, Haynes just stated to remove these, the forum suggested using a decent set of mole grips to remove them..... you can guess how I removed them after some head scratching....)
Also, I have found the pictures look more and more grainy in the Haynes manuals nowadays. I remember the old RD250 Haynes manual had great clear photos, but nowadays it just looks like a grainy old mess - this maybe linked to my deteriorating eye sight??
Some of the exploded views in Haynes are useful and the wiring diagrams can also help.
But essentially they are dying. I used to get a manual for every car I had - but now don't bother. Modern stuff is more than adequately covered by youtube and owners forums etc.
Mike
Also, I have found the pictures look more and more grainy in the Haynes manuals nowadays. I remember the old RD250 Haynes manual had great clear photos, but nowadays it just looks like a grainy old mess - this maybe linked to my deteriorating eye sight??
Some of the exploded views in Haynes are useful and the wiring diagrams can also help.
But essentially they are dying. I used to get a manual for every car I had - but now don't bother. Modern stuff is more than adequately covered by youtube and owners forums etc.
Mike
Haynes has always assumed that the reader knew what they were doing when many didn't. It has never given the reader any idea of how difficult a task is going to be.
OP, I have the offical Land Rover Discovery workshop manual and it is about 6" thick. The Haynes is less than an inch thick. Something must be missing from the Haynes
.
I was very disappointed with the Spitfire. I thought it would be like one of their normal books and not another history of the Spitfire books.
OP, I have the offical Land Rover Discovery workshop manual and it is about 6" thick. The Haynes is less than an inch thick. Something must be missing from the Haynes
.I was very disappointed with the Spitfire. I thought it would be like one of their normal books and not another history of the Spitfire books.
pingu393 said:
Haynes has always assumed that the reader knew what they were doing when many didn't. It has never given the reader any idea of how difficult a task is going to be.
Spanner ratings! Hit and miss as they are.Haynes are a good starting point, although older ones seemed better, and you often do need to work things out yourself.
The latest editions are not as good as earlier ones, too many areas now say to go to a dealer for specialist assistance where they used to tell you how to do it. Pretty sure I found it in the book for the Mini (the proper one, not the latest BMW thing) that the version which went to the last versions missed out the detail of areas which were covered previousl. I presume this is down to health and safety and the compensation culture.
We just got an '05 Freelander and pretty much the first thing I did was get the Haynes manual - hopefully won't need it but it is comforting to have and much easier to read with oily hands than something on a laptop.
We just got an '05 Freelander and pretty much the first thing I did was get the Haynes manual - hopefully won't need it but it is comforting to have and much easier to read with oily hands than something on a laptop.
mike9009 said:
Also, I have found the pictures look more and more grainy in the Haynes manuals nowadays. I remember the old RD250 Haynes manual had great clear photos, but nowadays it just looks like a grainy old mess - this maybe linked to my deteriorating eye sight??
It's the s
t recycled toilet paper they're printed on now; they used to be printed on thick, high-rag content paper that was resistant to greasy paw prints and allowed the pictures to be reasonably clear, but some green freak obviously decided that trees are the future and made them crap(and probably a lot cheaper to print). As far as I can tell this happened some time in the late 90s.StuntmanMike said:
They were better years ago, they have unfortunately really dumbed down over the past twenty years.
Hardly anybody works on their own vehicles now (most people wouldn't have the knowledge or tools) and little needs doing other than servicing, brakes and timing belts on most cars. The odd design fault/quirk can often be resolved on an owners forum.
Pat H said:
They were pretty good for Minis, 2CVs, Escorts, Land Rovers and Triumph Spitfires.
But the modern Haynes manuals are too superficial.
The internet has long since overtaken the Haynes manual as the best place to start when contemplating car DIY.
They used to be good for older cars, (when those older cars were new) not least because then, there was not really anything else a person could turn to for help, (like the internet forums we have now) But the modern Haynes manuals are too superficial.
The internet has long since overtaken the Haynes manual as the best place to start when contemplating car DIY.
Also the quality of the paper used for them seems to have gone downhill, now it is so poor (almost like newspaper) the photos look like they have been printed on toilet paper, and are all blurred and fuzzy, and difficult to see what is being referred in the text.
Pan Pan said:
the photos look like they have been printed on toilet paper, and are all blurred and fuzzy, and difficult to see what is being referred in the text.
There are generally not enough arrows or identifiers showing the relevant components on the photos.The company probably are struggling a bit though. Paper books about car maintenance in 2014...
As you say, in the olden days, unless you had a Ford or Vauxhall, there wouldn't be many people to ask about fixing them.
Edited by MC Bodge on Wednesday 22 October 14:49
MC Bodge said:
StuntmanMike said:
They were better years ago, they have unfortunately really dumbed down over the past twenty years.
Hardly anybody works on their own vehicles now (most people wouldn't have the knowledge or tools) and little needs doing other than servicing, brakes and timing belts on most cars. The odd design fault/quirk can often be resolved on an owners forum.
I'd still buy the Haynes manual as a reference but I find forums a much more useful resource.
FWIW, I think the amount of owners doing work on their own cars is slowly diminishing.
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