One of the easiest and most convenient ways to help the drive to keep Mother Earth happy is to cut back on the consumption of paper products. This is largely why many companies are already shifting a lot of business processes involving packaging and documentation. Mobile phones are coming in smaller eco-friendly boxes. Many tech stuff come with virtual manuals instead of paper manuals. Heck, even auto manufacturers aren’t shying away from this practice—which is why we now have a lot of models with online manuals.
Online auto repair manuals are great because they never consume any trees (um, for paper, right?) and all they do is cause a little eye strain (although you might be able to view them using your spankin’ new laptops, netbooks or tablets or other mobile devices with fancy optimized displays that won’t cause too much strain on your precious orbs of sight).
Car owners can still purchase paper / printed manuals since sometimes there really is nothing more convenient than a book you can read through without having to rely on technology—just good old brain processing power. Still, there’s no denying the economic and ecologic impact that adoption of purely online or digital resources can bring.
Maybe you think I’ve just been watching too many reruns of An Inconvenient Truth or that special about Garbage Island, but it’s true—I think all of the little ways people and business come up with to reduce carbon footprint and encourage recycling will all add up to have a big effect. That’s just another reason why I love online auto repair manuals so much.
Showing posts with label free online auto repair manuals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free online auto repair manuals. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas from Repair Manuals Online!
The year has almost drawn to a close, but we hope that you continue to get your fill of online repair manuals right here at our blog. It's been one heck of a year, and we hope to bring you more news, more information, more tips and tricks for 2011. Of course, this is a Christmas post and not a New Year's post, so we'll leave the “what's in store for next year” bit for a later post.
Remember, you can always get into the spirit in this season of giving. So why not hop on over to your trusted online auto repair manual tool or site and gift it to your friends? You can get them a subscription, or you can buy them an online repair manual, or you can simply forward a couple of useful links. Heck, why not tell them about http://repairmanualsonline.blogspot.com/ in the process? You might even be able to chance upon some holiday deals or some yuletide treats if you're lucky.
Of course, a standard car repair manual in paper or book format will do nicely for anyone, too. As long as it helps get the job done and get the job done right, then we're sure that whoever you gift that manual to will be very appreciative of your present. It's definitely going to help any mechanic or DIY auto enthusiast happy, regardless if the one you get is a digital or a physical repair manual.
Anyway, we all hope you're well and warm this Christmas, surrounded by your loved ones and confronted by a welcome barrage of gifts and good wishes. And food. Let's not forget the food. May you have a bountiful feast, or at the very least a modest meal to keep your tummy happy.
Again, Merry Christmas to all!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Some Quick Safety Tips for Christmas Eve
Since we’re in the topic of general car care, and we’re feeling really cold this Christmas Eve, we thought we’d share some quick safety guidelines for each time you work on your ride. These are compiled from some of our favorite online repair manuals.
- Simply avoid smoking every time you need to perform a task on your ride. You don’t want anything catching fire or blowing up now, do you?
- Avoid getting chemicals into your eyes. These include cleaners and antifreeze. Make sure you wash your hands after using such stuff and store them in places where your kids or your pets will be able to access them.
- Make sure that your garage or workshop has adequate ventilation at all times. This won’t be a problem if you work outside your place; otherwise, try to keep those doors and windows open to provide proper ventilation.
- Jewelry doesn’t belong in the garage. Sure, you look all bad-ass with all that bling, but if your necklace or rings get caught in some car part, you can get in serious trouble or you might even get into an accident.
- If you have long hair, tie it at the back so that it doesn’t get in the way. This will also keep your hair from getting ruined or caught in certain openings in your ride’s parts.
- We can’t stress this enough: make sure that your ride’s parking brake is engaged when you work on the vehicle. You must also ensure that the engine is shut off and that the car’s gear shifter is in the Park position.
- Use some wheel blocks to prevent rolling. If you don’t have proper blocks, you can use makeshift wooden blocks or even some decent-sized rocks.
- Have a fire extinguisher nearby in case of emergencies.
Anyone in DIY auto repair should keep those things in mind to prevent injuries and accidents. Remember: safety in the shop is the number one priority.
Advanced Merry Christmas, guys!
- Simply avoid smoking every time you need to perform a task on your ride. You don’t want anything catching fire or blowing up now, do you?
- Avoid getting chemicals into your eyes. These include cleaners and antifreeze. Make sure you wash your hands after using such stuff and store them in places where your kids or your pets will be able to access them.
- Make sure that your garage or workshop has adequate ventilation at all times. This won’t be a problem if you work outside your place; otherwise, try to keep those doors and windows open to provide proper ventilation.
- Jewelry doesn’t belong in the garage. Sure, you look all bad-ass with all that bling, but if your necklace or rings get caught in some car part, you can get in serious trouble or you might even get into an accident.
- If you have long hair, tie it at the back so that it doesn’t get in the way. This will also keep your hair from getting ruined or caught in certain openings in your ride’s parts.
- We can’t stress this enough: make sure that your ride’s parking brake is engaged when you work on the vehicle. You must also ensure that the engine is shut off and that the car’s gear shifter is in the Park position.
- Use some wheel blocks to prevent rolling. If you don’t have proper blocks, you can use makeshift wooden blocks or even some decent-sized rocks.
- Have a fire extinguisher nearby in case of emergencies.
Anyone in DIY auto repair should keep those things in mind to prevent injuries and accidents. Remember: safety in the shop is the number one priority.
Advanced Merry Christmas, guys!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Online Auto Repair Manual Reviews: Freeonlineautorepair.com
We’ve already provided a bunch of reviews centered on some of the preeminent paid or premium online car repair manual services on the world wide web, along with some posts pointing to a couple of free online repair manuals. Today, we’ll be setting our sights on a free online auto repair manual site, the aptly named Free Online Auto Repair web site over at http://www.freeonlineautorepair.com/.
The one positive that stood out for us is that the information at freeonlineautorepair.com is organized in a variety of ways. You can browse through listings like Common Diagnostic & Repair Topics, Quick Tips for cars and trucks, and an alphabetically arranged Repair Directory.
The Repair Directory is perhaps the most useful for many who are looking for something close to a repair manual specific to particular makes and models. Just click on the link to your vehicle’s make and you’ll be taken to a page that lists all the site’s entries featuring that automobile manufacturer. There are some active links for certain vehicle models, although it’s more of a hit or miss thing here. You can also find some pieces of general reference material that you can use, like tip and tricks for general automotive care and maintenance and a fancy online PDF glossary of car-related terms.
Perhaps the biggest drawback even with the seemingly numerous listings is that the information can be really limited. The coverage isn’t very comprehensive, with only a few entries included for some makes. Well, what can you do? It’s a free site. You’re in luck if you can find what you need in their listings.
When push comes to shove, freeonlineautorepair.com is not the best automotive repair resource on the Internet, and it certainly won’t be an alternative for premium auto repair manuals that you can use for comprehensive data. Still, there are some features on the site that you can use, albeit only a very limited amount.
The Repair Directory is perhaps the most useful for many who are looking for something close to a repair manual specific to particular makes and models. Just click on the link to your vehicle’s make and you’ll be taken to a page that lists all the site’s entries featuring that automobile manufacturer. There are some active links for certain vehicle models, although it’s more of a hit or miss thing here. You can also find some pieces of general reference material that you can use, like tip and tricks for general automotive care and maintenance and a fancy online PDF glossary of car-related terms.
Perhaps the biggest drawback even with the seemingly numerous listings is that the information can be really limited. The coverage isn’t very comprehensive, with only a few entries included for some makes. Well, what can you do? It’s a free site. You’re in luck if you can find what you need in their listings.
When push comes to shove, freeonlineautorepair.com is not the best automotive repair resource on the Internet, and it certainly won’t be an alternative for premium auto repair manuals that you can use for comprehensive data. Still, there are some features on the site that you can use, albeit only a very limited amount.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Age-Old Debate: Free versus Paid
Online automotive repair manuals can be distinguished from one another depending on whether they are freely available and accessible or if you need to pay in order to have a subscription or to access the full version. Many are debating that the Internet contains a vast amount of information, enough to allow users to find whatever data they need to be able to do anything—and this includes automotive repair and maintenance.
Still, there’s the argument that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, even in auto repair. After all, if you really want the best, the most reliable and the most comprehensive information available, then you’ll have to pay up. Some paid online repair manual services have good claims about accuracy, since some of them do complete dismantling of particular vehicle makes and models in order to understand how the vehicle’s parts go together.
In the end, you’ll have to consider this: The bottom line is always your needs, and that’s where your decision will depend on. Do a quick search of the information that you require. If you can get answers for your question without having to pay a cent, would you still be in need of a premium online repair manual?
As we’ve said before, those who have some dough to spare should go ahead and subscribe to an online repair manual for their vehicle’s particular make and model anyway. After all, it’s not a question of “if” your car will break down or some of its components start to fail, only “when.” But since not everyone can afford to subscribe to good online car repair manuals, free online repair manuals and sometimes even those message boards are really useful and offer good alternatives for those who can’t or won’t shell out the money for the paid versions.
Still, there’s the argument that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, even in auto repair. After all, if you really want the best, the most reliable and the most comprehensive information available, then you’ll have to pay up. Some paid online repair manual services have good claims about accuracy, since some of them do complete dismantling of particular vehicle makes and models in order to understand how the vehicle’s parts go together.
In the end, you’ll have to consider this: The bottom line is always your needs, and that’s where your decision will depend on. Do a quick search of the information that you require. If you can get answers for your question without having to pay a cent, would you still be in need of a premium online repair manual?
As we’ve said before, those who have some dough to spare should go ahead and subscribe to an online repair manual for their vehicle’s particular make and model anyway. After all, it’s not a question of “if” your car will break down or some of its components start to fail, only “when.” But since not everyone can afford to subscribe to good online car repair manuals, free online repair manuals and sometimes even those message boards are really useful and offer good alternatives for those who can’t or won’t shell out the money for the paid versions.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
We Love Online Repair Manuals
As you can probably tell from the very name of this blog, we here all love online auto repair manuals. What can best explain this profound, unapologetic affection for online car repair manuals?
Well, it’s not really one thing or another, but rather something that has gradually crept up into my consciousness as a DIY enthusiast and a fanboy of cars and customization (and yeah, having done quite the number of repair tasks as well over the years also has a lot to do with it).
See, most people know things thanks to experience. It’s the same way with mechanics and enthusiasts. Having worked on vehicles for years, you get to have a certain idea or maybe even a feel for your car, so you’ll have some kind of instinct when something goes wrong. But what if you’re just starting out? Or even if you’re experienced, but you’re performing a repair job on a new car or some model that you’ve never had the chance to work on before?
This is where online repair manuals come in. They offer something like the ABCs of vehicle repair. They give us instructions to follow, tell us the probable reason why something is not working, and there are even some nifty pictures that make it easier for many of us.
What’s better than online repair manuals? Well, that can be none other than FREE online auto repair manuals. If you’re only going to use something once or twice, why pay for it? So long as you have some decent research skills using Google, Bing or whichever search engine you prefer, you’ll be able to find one in no time. And you don’t have to spend a single cent.
So those are just some of the reasons why we love online repair manuals. There are plenty more, but we don’t want this to be a tl;dr post or anything. Besides, a lot of us still have some early Christmas shopping to do, right?
Well, it’s not really one thing or another, but rather something that has gradually crept up into my consciousness as a DIY enthusiast and a fanboy of cars and customization (and yeah, having done quite the number of repair tasks as well over the years also has a lot to do with it).
See, most people know things thanks to experience. It’s the same way with mechanics and enthusiasts. Having worked on vehicles for years, you get to have a certain idea or maybe even a feel for your car, so you’ll have some kind of instinct when something goes wrong. But what if you’re just starting out? Or even if you’re experienced, but you’re performing a repair job on a new car or some model that you’ve never had the chance to work on before?
This is where online repair manuals come in. They offer something like the ABCs of vehicle repair. They give us instructions to follow, tell us the probable reason why something is not working, and there are even some nifty pictures that make it easier for many of us.
What’s better than online repair manuals? Well, that can be none other than FREE online auto repair manuals. If you’re only going to use something once or twice, why pay for it? So long as you have some decent research skills using Google, Bing or whichever search engine you prefer, you’ll be able to find one in no time. And you don’t have to spend a single cent.
So those are just some of the reasons why we love online repair manuals. There are plenty more, but we don’t want this to be a tl;dr post or anything. Besides, a lot of us still have some early Christmas shopping to do, right?
Monday, December 6, 2010
The Best Things in Life aren’t Free
We know; the saying actually goes “the best things in life are free.” The fact is, that’s not true a lot of times. When you consider the context of online auto repair manuals, it can hold true for some, and not for others.
Sometimes, it depends on how diligent and crafty you can get when it comes to your Google search terms. Sometimes, it depends on how lucky you are that someone somewhere decided to scan his or her copy of an automotive manual or a car repair guide and uploaded it to the Internet. Sometimes, you won’t even have to go through all that trouble because your good ol’ local library has auto repair manuals (whether it’s a book or a CD-ROM) in their catalog. Sometimes, your trusted mechanic will have all the answers and—if you’re really lucky and friendly—he might give you the info and advice for free.
Still, there are times when you just won’t be able to find free online repair manuals for your particular vehicle, or the one you find just doesn’t explain your current troubles and issues. In such cases, the best recourse is to just buy the repair or service manuals off licensed retailers or from online repair manual providers.
Subscriptions to or orders for online car repair manuals are worth the investment, though—especially if you see your vehicle as more than just a vehicle. The price you’ll pay for a book or an annual subscription to an online repair manual is definitely small compared to the hefty repair and maintenance fees you might have to pay if you don’t want to do such tasks on your own.
So, yeah, sometimes the best things in life simply aren’t free. That doesn’t mean they’re not worth spending on, however. If you’ve got enough left on your car budget and you really want to save on mechanic fees, try checking out your online repair manual options now and hopefully come to a decision on which one to subscribe to.
Sometimes, it depends on how diligent and crafty you can get when it comes to your Google search terms. Sometimes, it depends on how lucky you are that someone somewhere decided to scan his or her copy of an automotive manual or a car repair guide and uploaded it to the Internet. Sometimes, you won’t even have to go through all that trouble because your good ol’ local library has auto repair manuals (whether it’s a book or a CD-ROM) in their catalog. Sometimes, your trusted mechanic will have all the answers and—if you’re really lucky and friendly—he might give you the info and advice for free.
Still, there are times when you just won’t be able to find free online repair manuals for your particular vehicle, or the one you find just doesn’t explain your current troubles and issues. In such cases, the best recourse is to just buy the repair or service manuals off licensed retailers or from online repair manual providers.
Subscriptions to or orders for online car repair manuals are worth the investment, though—especially if you see your vehicle as more than just a vehicle. The price you’ll pay for a book or an annual subscription to an online repair manual is definitely small compared to the hefty repair and maintenance fees you might have to pay if you don’t want to do such tasks on your own.
So, yeah, sometimes the best things in life simply aren’t free. That doesn’t mean they’re not worth spending on, however. If you’ve got enough left on your car budget and you really want to save on mechanic fees, try checking out your online repair manual options now and hopefully come to a decision on which one to subscribe to.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
FixYa: Free Online Tool for Automotive Repair
Sometimes, it can be a hassle for consumers to contact customer support, especially when it involves some sort of issue or problem involving the product. This can be especially difficult when cars are involved, because of the sheer expense one has to incur for this investment. If you’ve encountered this sort of hassle when troubleshooting problems for your car, you might want to check out FixYa.
FixYa is basically an online community that revolves around the collection of resources and data, especially those that deal with troubleshooting, product tips and technical information.
The site covers a broad range of categories, and Cars is one of them. You can find all sorts of data on a wide variety of vehicle makes and models. There are rundowns of common problems per car, along with the suggested solutions for those issues. It provides what many car owners need when faced with a problem: the information to fix whatever is wrong with their rides.
Since it’s a community, other users can also chime in and share their know-how, their experiences, their expertise and their suggestions. It functions much like a forum does, except there is a bit more organization to the information. The site really encourages individuals to repair their stuff when possible, and even manufacturers are reaping benefits because the information is handed to the customer firsthand.
Other FixYa categories include consumer electronics, computers, toys and health, among others. If you’re all out of good places to hunt for information, you should definitely take FixYa out for a spin. With over 20 million people visiting the site and with over a million items covered in the site’s database, it really is a treasure trove of customer support and technical information. Who knows, you might even get to like the community and end up staying there even after finding the solutions to your particular problem.
The site covers a broad range of categories, and Cars is one of them. You can find all sorts of data on a wide variety of vehicle makes and models. There are rundowns of common problems per car, along with the suggested solutions for those issues. It provides what many car owners need when faced with a problem: the information to fix whatever is wrong with their rides.
Since it’s a community, other users can also chime in and share their know-how, their experiences, their expertise and their suggestions. It functions much like a forum does, except there is a bit more organization to the information. The site really encourages individuals to repair their stuff when possible, and even manufacturers are reaping benefits because the information is handed to the customer firsthand.
Other FixYa categories include consumer electronics, computers, toys and health, among others. If you’re all out of good places to hunt for information, you should definitely take FixYa out for a spin. With over 20 million people visiting the site and with over a million items covered in the site’s database, it really is a treasure trove of customer support and technical information. Who knows, you might even get to like the community and end up staying there even after finding the solutions to your particular problem.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
November Post Roundup
It’s already December! It’ll be Christmas in a few weeks, and we hope you’re already starting to get accustomed to the chilly weather and that you’ve begun preparations to make the season warmer. Anyway, since it’s a new month, let’s have a roundup of our previous posts this past month, just in case you’ve missed some of our tidbits about online auto repair manuals.
Auto Repair is Made Easy Thanks to Online Auto Repair Manuals
This post basically outlines how online car repair manuals, especially those free manuals, can really help make auto repair easier for car enthusiasts and DIY beginners
Online Auto Repair Manuals Save the Day
How my friend Jerome encountered a relatively baffling issue from his Nissan Pathfinder’s AC blower—and how searching for a free online auto repair manual saved the day. There’s a lesson here somewhere about how being specific on your searches can lead to great results.
Online Repair Manuals: Google Tips
In this post, we give a few tips and tricks on how to refine your search and modify the results to suit your needs, as well as how to get better resources out of each Google search.
Online Auto Repair Manual Reviews: Haynes and Online Auto Repair Manual Reviews: Chilton
Take a look at Repair Manuals Online’s take on a couple of the more prominent online car repair manuals. We’re hoping to get more reviews done in the next month, so watch out for those as well!
We’ve got loads more waiting for you in December, so make sure to bookmark the blog and check back often. Additionally, if your partner loves cars and wants to start working on his or her ride, then you can always subscribe him or her to an online repair manual for Christmas. Now that’s a unique gift idea!
Auto Repair is Made Easy Thanks to Online Auto Repair Manuals
This post basically outlines how online car repair manuals, especially those free manuals, can really help make auto repair easier for car enthusiasts and DIY beginners
Online Auto Repair Manuals Save the Day
How my friend Jerome encountered a relatively baffling issue from his Nissan Pathfinder’s AC blower—and how searching for a free online auto repair manual saved the day. There’s a lesson here somewhere about how being specific on your searches can lead to great results.
Online Repair Manuals: Google Tips
In this post, we give a few tips and tricks on how to refine your search and modify the results to suit your needs, as well as how to get better resources out of each Google search.
Online Auto Repair Manual Reviews: Haynes and Online Auto Repair Manual Reviews: Chilton
Take a look at Repair Manuals Online’s take on a couple of the more prominent online car repair manuals. We’re hoping to get more reviews done in the next month, so watch out for those as well!
We’ve got loads more waiting for you in December, so make sure to bookmark the blog and check back often. Additionally, if your partner loves cars and wants to start working on his or her ride, then you can always subscribe him or her to an online repair manual for Christmas. Now that’s a unique gift idea!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Online Auto Repair Manuals: Empowering the DIY Beginner
Having a reliable set of online auto repair manuals to guide you is a surefire way to make DIY car repair much, much easier. If you look at the big picture, you’ll see that these online auto repair manuals, particularly the free online repair manuals, are perhaps the primary tool that empowers the novice DIYer. How so?
Looking at things closely, you’ll find that online car repair manuals are like the elementary school books for DIYers; they teach about the ABCs of automotive repair. It may seem easy to many experienced mechanics and enthusiasts, but not all people have a clear grasp of the various concepts and the technical know how you’ll need when tackling automotive repair.
There are many who struggle with anything but the most basic of maintenance or servicing tasks. That’s not to belittle or demean anyone who’s like that. That is why things like free online auto repair manuals exist—in order to give the common man the knowledge necessary to perform particular car repair, maintenance and service tasks on his or her own.
Others may argue that many, if not most, of the available online repair manuals are still too technical for many people. Well, it just depends on which repair manual service you subscribe to. There are different services one can use, and one should be aware of his or her preferences when choosing which service to patronize. There are online manuals that offer the kind of content that is easily understandable by most people. It’s all a matter of assessing the services and features as well as reading up on testimonials and reviews.
These online repair manuals, more specifically the free ones, really are great tools that give power to the DIY beginner. Everyone has to start somewhere, and if you’re just getting your feet wet in automotive repair and customization, getting a reliable car repair manual is a great place to start.
Looking at things closely, you’ll find that online car repair manuals are like the elementary school books for DIYers; they teach about the ABCs of automotive repair. It may seem easy to many experienced mechanics and enthusiasts, but not all people have a clear grasp of the various concepts and the technical know how you’ll need when tackling automotive repair.
There are many who struggle with anything but the most basic of maintenance or servicing tasks. That’s not to belittle or demean anyone who’s like that. That is why things like free online auto repair manuals exist—in order to give the common man the knowledge necessary to perform particular car repair, maintenance and service tasks on his or her own.
Others may argue that many, if not most, of the available online repair manuals are still too technical for many people. Well, it just depends on which repair manual service you subscribe to. There are different services one can use, and one should be aware of his or her preferences when choosing which service to patronize. There are online manuals that offer the kind of content that is easily understandable by most people. It’s all a matter of assessing the services and features as well as reading up on testimonials and reviews.
These online repair manuals, more specifically the free ones, really are great tools that give power to the DIY beginner. Everyone has to start somewhere, and if you’re just getting your feet wet in automotive repair and customization, getting a reliable car repair manual is a great place to start.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
When in Doubt, Consult an Online Repair Manual
Stock knowledge can be a very powerful thing. You’ll be able to remember trivia and facts in an instant, and you won’t have to constantly review stuff you’ve learned or consult sources just to verify if some piece of information is correct or accurate. Still, there are times when your vault of stock knowledge can fail, and this is disastrous for anyone working on an automobile. After all, getting the wrong specs or performing the incorrect procedure on a car can lead to disastrous and expensive results.
When you don’t really have the answer for anything related to auto repair, that’s your cue to log on to the Internet and get your trusty online auto repair manual. It’s all about getting fast and easy access to the sort of information you require to work on your ride and finish important repair or maintenance tasks.
There are also manuals that provide schedule and specification info, so if you’re not sure how much torque this bolt requires or how often you need to service that component, you can always check using the manuals you are able to get your hands on.
And remember the best thing about the World Wide Web: you can get a lot of information for free. You don’t really have to spend a cent (well, except for paying your Internet service provider) just to get reliable information and accurate online repair manuals.
So, when in doubt, don’t hesitate to consult an online car repair manual. We can’t always count on stock knowledge to carry us through the day, and sometimes it is definitely best if we have a reliable resource to confirm if our stock knowledge is accurate as well. Start finding good online repair manuals immediately and build up your collection. You’ll never know when you will need information, so you should at least have a few manuals on hand.
When you don’t really have the answer for anything related to auto repair, that’s your cue to log on to the Internet and get your trusty online auto repair manual. It’s all about getting fast and easy access to the sort of information you require to work on your ride and finish important repair or maintenance tasks.
There are also manuals that provide schedule and specification info, so if you’re not sure how much torque this bolt requires or how often you need to service that component, you can always check using the manuals you are able to get your hands on.
And remember the best thing about the World Wide Web: you can get a lot of information for free. You don’t really have to spend a cent (well, except for paying your Internet service provider) just to get reliable information and accurate online repair manuals.
So, when in doubt, don’t hesitate to consult an online car repair manual. We can’t always count on stock knowledge to carry us through the day, and sometimes it is definitely best if we have a reliable resource to confirm if our stock knowledge is accurate as well. Start finding good online repair manuals immediately and build up your collection. You’ll never know when you will need information, so you should at least have a few manuals on hand.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Online Repair Manuals: Google Tips
Use quotation marks
Enclosing your search term with quotation marks will net results that are exact matches to what you searched for. This will allow you to filter through pages that contain your keywords, except they occur separately, so it’s not really what you want.
Limit your search terms
You need to know exactly what you want to look for. If you’re looking for a generic repair manual, indicate it in your search. If you want a diagram for a particular component or system, make sure you type that in your search query. Don’t be too conservative with your search. Don’t say “Porsche Repair Manual” if you really wanted to look for a “Porsche 911 Service and Maintenance Schedule.”
Use the “Search within results” function
Once you’ve already gotten an initial page of results, you can still search through those results! Neat, huh? This is a good way to look for particular content using only the results you already have, instead of searching through the whole World Wide Web.
The * Wildcard Can be Really Helpful
Not many use the * character in their Google searches, but it can be quite useful. The * will stand for any term, so if you are unsure about what should be part of your search keywords, you can use this to help look for viable results. For example, if you don’t remember the full name of a certain part, you can let the * do the trick.
These are just a few tips when working with Google searches to look for free online repair manuals. As we’ve discussed previously, there are still many other avenues through which you can find reliable online car repair manuals, and we’ll save the tips and tricks for those for a later post.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Getting Some Free Online Auto Repair Manuals
Last time, we touched on how you can look for free downloadable online auto repair manuals. We mentioned the benefits of being able to cut down on repair expenses since you'll be doing the jobs yourself instead of paying your auto mechanic by the hour. In this post, we'll try to provide some more pointers and we'll even add a few links to get you started.
There are blogs that offer a wide array of different online repair manuals, auto repair guides, and just general information on various vehicle makes and models from all sorts of model years. You can find general specification manuals, schedules for periodic maintenance and service of various auto parts and systems, general repair manuals for particular vehicle models, installation instructions for specific vehicle components and accessories, and a load of stuff related to car repair.
Here are some good examples of sites that compile auto repair manual information, and they also have the added benefit of providing download links for a wide variety of manuals all in PDF format. The first one is http://www.freeautorepairmanualz.com, with its blog-style entries per manual. The good thing is that they are all sorted out by make in the sidebar, so you can use that to filter through their stuff. You can also use the search button above the sidebar to check if they have what you need. The other site is http://www.autozmagz.com/, which functions basically like the site discussed above. The difference is that you'll download the PDF file right away when you click the Download link.
There are many other sources for free auto repair manuals and free general car repair information. All you have to do is look for what you need specifically, including your vehicle's make and model in order to make sure that the results you get are relevant.
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