Haynes or Chilton?

[Vvajk]

I got my CJ with the intent of doing a bunch of the work myself to kinda of educate myself to be a better mechanic. So, I'm looking at grabbing a CJ repair manual. Which do you recommend? Haynes or Chilton? And why? Or is there another manual out there that beats em both?

 

[Kane]

Get one of each. I like the wiring diagrams in the chiltons but the haynes for me has better detail on mechanical work and torque figures are easier to find

 

[phinleft]

Kane is right on. I find more mechanical information in the Haynes manual, and find it easier to locate specifications. I use the chilton for tracing wires!

 

[Sasquach]

I have a reprint of the factory service manual 3 book set and for me is a "must have". Paid $80 on ebay for them.

 

[BajaEdition]

I agree with Kane 100%
both have their good points and I buy both, I find that I read each to get a good idea on how to tackle a problem I have never done. I will offer you one bit of advice they both do not say, when dismantling something, lay the parts in orientation of how they go back together. You will be suprised how many things have a front and back and you cannot tell just looking. Opps.

 

[Vvajk]

Well that settles it then. I guess it makes sense. Might as well get all the info possible. And Baja: Good advice on the parts. I've heard that some guys will set up a video camera on a tripod to record themselves dismantling a complicated part(s) and even talk out loud to the camera describing what they're doing so they can go back and watch it if they get stuck on reassembly.

 

[CJKrawler]

a friend gave me a good suggestion, use a piece of cardboard, lay the new part on, put all of the bolts through the cardboard exactly where they came from, so you have it laid out right there for you.

 

[nctom]

I am building a great library of photos of my CJ. Every time I take something off or apart, I photograph it, clean it then reinstall. I annotate most of the photos so I can remember what I learned! Here's what I did for my new headlight switch.

 

[Old Dog]

As the rest said buy both.
here's the FSM you can download and save..84-86 Factory Service Manual... - Page 2 - JeepForum.com

 

[Vvajk]

I am building a great library of photos of my CJ. Every time I take something off or apart, I photograph it, clean it then reinstall. I annotate most of the photos so I can remember what I learned! Here's what I did for my new headlight switch.

Hey that's a great idea. Maybe you could publish your own manual by the time you're finished!

 

[Vvajk]

As the rest said buy both.
here's the FSM you can download and save..84-86 Factory Service Manual... - Page 2 - JeepForum.com

Awesome! That's really great. Thanks!

 

[kickitandholdit]

both

 

[BajaEdition]

I am building a great library of photos of my CJ. Every time I take something off or apart, I photograph it, clean it then reinstall. I annotate most of the photos so I can remember what I learned! Here's what I did for my new headlight switch.

You put some of those photos together and send post them up according to category and I promise I will get cj to feature them somewhere. It may not be in the forum but it will be in out tech library, Those would be a valuable asset to publish and help many of us. Great Idea

 

[xj287]

I've used both Haynes and Chilton in the past, but I've found that MOTOR is the way to go....at least on the profetional leval anyway. Dont forget you can get dealer leval info from alldata, which is updated daily, even on older models like CJ's (well, down to '82 anyway).

 

[dslywalker]

Moses Ludel has great write ups also in his books

 

[Kane]

I am building a great library of photos of my CJ. Every time I take something off or apart, I photograph it, clean it then reinstall. I annotate most of the photos so I can remember what I learned! Here's what I did for my new headlight switch.

Man when I get spare time to work on my Jeep I dont have any extra for going that far. I did that on a bike build once and the write ups and pics took as long as the build.