Haynes manuals

[miniman]

I've always had a Haynes manual for cars, but never got round to buying one for the Discovery. Do any of you still buy a specific manual, or just use online free resources? The Haynes approach seems to have a halo of quality and accuracy about it, but can it be as good as watching a YouTube video of someone actually doing the job?

[andy-xr]

It's the book of lies, I dont see any value in them and have found I get more accurate information from forums and YouTube

[Mr Happy]

andy-xr said:

It's the book of lies, I dont see any value in them and have found I get more accurate information from forums and YouTube

Agreed. There are four ways in ascending amount of time taken to do any job on a car

1: The quick way
2: The dealership way
3: The dealership out to fleece you way
4: The Haynes way

[Marc p]

I just got annoyed with them, they always did them on brand new cars, so when your working on your 15 year old car and they use the phrase 'just undo this bolt', whilst you come to the realisation that not only is the bolt siezed, it's also in the worlds most awkward place and can't seem to see anyway of removing it without dropping a whole subframe assembly, you kind of lose faith as the 'workshop manual' gets launched across the garage in a mixture of anger and frustration.

[Pat H]

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.

[Mr Ben]

Although no need for them now...

Gave up on them when undertaking suspension work on my old E46 and twice in one paragraph it stated 'using a suitable tool'!!

5 minutes on this forum and a link to an illustrated DIY proved far more valuable.

[PositronicRay]

I have an MB W/S manual on a disc. I shudder to think how thick a Haynes manual would be to cover the same info.

You tube and owners club forums are fantastic for the real world "how to do it"

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

I very rarely use them now.
Youtube and owners clubs are great resources.

[Beer Man]

They do one for the AVRO Lancaster too. Which was immensely helpful when trying to find a christmas present for my old man once.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lancaster-onwards-Owners-W...

[Krikkit]

I still use them - usually a combo of forum knowledge, manufacturer workshop manuals (where available) and the Haynes to give you the idea of the best way to do a job. A lot of manufacturer workshop manuals are massively cautious with procedures, and usually laden with special tools (the Haynes is a god-send for that as they usually suggest alternatives).

[miniman]

I've done a few jobs using a YouTube video for reference. As it goes, all turned out fine, but I did have a slightly nagging "what if this guy is a halfwit?" going through my head.

[Pet Troll]

I rarely use a haynes for guidance on doing a repair job, I do find them quite useful for things like wiring diagrams and very useful on the odd occasion you need to know the wheelbase, or fuel tank capacity, or the weight etc

[Limpet]

I have a Haynes manual for the Golf, but when recently removing bits of the interior, YouTube was so much more valuable. I find there's very little you can't find online now, and the real world tips and experiences in forums are worth ten times the content in a Haynes manual.

I still remember the steps for changing an indicator stalk on my S60 were massively over-complex and involved removing the steering wheel airbag and clock spring, and removing the steering wheel itself. What I actually did was remove the column shroud, unplug the old stalk and plug in the new one. It took 2 minutes.

[ADEuk]

They're brilliant for cambelts - simply place between jack and engine to protect the sump.

[varsas]

I usually use a Haynes manual in concert with other resources, I find parts lists (you know, exploded diagrams with each part marked) and especially the old worshop manuals very helpful. Allways nice to read a few different views as to how things are done.

Sadly there is no Haynes manual for the car I'm currently working on. If there was one available I'd definalty buy a copy.

[shoehorn]

ADEuk said:

They're brilliant for cambelts - simply place between jack and engine to protect the sump.

I call those Fix it or fk it manuals,as most people who use them have little clue and generally will do one or the other.

[furrywoolyhatuk]

I bought a haynes for my discovery 1 and found it pretty useless, it now resides in the back seat pocket where it has stayed. It's not helped by grainy black and white photos. Iv tended to rely more on specialist forums and the Internet in general.

[Mound Dawg]

Always used to be a handy guide when buying a car. If it had a Haynes manual a quick flick throughout it would tell you where the previous owner had had problems. Just look for the sections with the oily paw prints all over them.

But ignore the boot print on page 48, there's always a boot print on page 48 of a Haynes manual.

[feef]

I've found more recent Haynes book of lies to be far less useful than they used to be. Some really in-depth and useful info seems to be omitted in more recent editions. Maybe it's just newer cars, but I've found myself doing more and more maintenance without a manual until I get to something where I need some specs or figures. Other than that, I find it quicker and easier to work it out on my own than consult the manual

[Slidingpillar]

If I'd followed the Haynes manual, I'd have bought a special tool, recruited an assistant and we'd have spent an hour changing the broken brake pump on my Discovery. Rang a dealer I knew, got the low down and did the whole job in 10 minutes on my own. And I was working very slowly as I kept thinking it could not possibly be that simple!

No idea if they normally billed for the longer time though.