Merry Christmas from Repair Manuals Online!

We would like to greet everyone Merry Christmas!

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!

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!

Things You’ll Find in a Generic Auto Repair Manual

Previously, we’ve already started discussing online auto repair manuals that have a generic approach. They help us get a good feel about the fundamentals of car repair and car maintenance, thanks to a complete selection of information about car parts and systems along with step by step guides on performing particular repair or maintenance tasks. But what exactly will you find in such types of car repair manuals?

First off, you get a dumbed-down approach to instructing about auto repair. That’s not a bad thing, and we shouldn’t be insulted. That approach will only help us better understand the contents. This serves as the primer to bigger and better things, the easy route to bridging the gap between understanding your vehicle and actually performing repairs and service on your ride.

In many ways, these generic auto repair manuals help establish the common sense behind how seemingly-complicated components work. You’ll know what it takes to get started, what you should know before you even pick up that wrench, setting up a toolbox, quick preventive maintenance tips, and other useful material for preparation.

Some car care manuals provide a per-system overview of general car maintenance and repair, plus some tips and tricks all about troubleshooting. You’ll also get some information about popular car care myths along with the secrets of your vehicle. Others offer glossaries that will aid in the understanding of the text itself. You get all of that in one practical package.

If you think that DIY car care and auto repair is very complicated and not very fun, then these generic auto repair manuals will be able to dispel those misgivings by letting you understand the inner workings of your vehicle using a language that most people will understand. Everyone has to start somewhere, and for most of us, we start with these kinds of manuals if we want to get a foot in the world of DIY auto repair.

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.

Mitchell 1 DIY Offers Discounts for the New Year

There are always great deals in store every Christmas season, including sales and promos for gadgets, gaming consoles, computers, furniture and even clothing. New Year also brings inventory clearance sales and price drops. But did you know that you can also get premium online auto repair manuals at a cheaper price during this season? That’s just what Mitchell 1 DIY has in mind.

Here’s the official word on the Mitchell 1 DIY home page:

“Mitchell 1 DIY would like to help you keep that New Year's Resolution to repair the things on your vehicle that you have been putting off. That's why we're offering our One Week Subscription, regularly priced at $11.99 for $10.49.

Mitchell 1 DIY Online repair information features over 16,000 vehicles with more than 19,000 repair articles and thousands of technical service bulletins, including recalls, and millions of supporting graphics.”

Of course, this offer has been in place for quite some time now, and granted, it’s just $1.50 off. But hey! We’re not the kind to spurn any discount or slashed price. $1.50 off quality premium online car repair manuals is still a very good offer.

Also, if you haven’t done so already, you can check out our overview of the Mitchell 1 DIY service over at this link. And the pricing there is even updated to reflect the current discounted rate. Now is your chance to avail of detailed repair manuals online, with an extensive coverage when it comes to model years and vehicle makes.

What better way to spend some of that excess Christmas bonus money than to get a reliable online repair manual for you or your enthusiast friends? Plus, it’s discounted, too! Now that’s better value for your hard-earned moolah.

Happy Holidays!

Preventive Maintenance through Online Repair Manuals

If your vehicle has ever broken down on you while you sped through the highway, then you know how much hassle that entails. Basically, there’s only one proven way to prevent that from happening to you—the key is preventive maintenance, and you can accomplish this with any reliable online auto repair manual.

You’ll be able to find a wide selection of online car repair manuals that will give you the necessary information that you’ll need to carry out monthly inspections on your car. Spending a small amount of time under your ride’s hood each month is guaranteed to reduce the chances that your vehicle will break down on you some time or another. In fact, some repair manuals even say that as much as 70 percent of highway breakdown causes can be prevented by simply taking a mere 15 minutes to check up under the hood of your vehicle.

You have to check components that lose vital fluid, lose air, come loose or get damaged after some time in use. When the level of fluids like oil, coolant, brake fluid and others start to get dangerously low, you should refill the fluid back to their operational levels.

Make sure to inspect such components as your car’s radiator, the drive belts, the accessory belts, the air filter and even the car battery. Inspect the different hoses that you find under the hood as well. All of the electrical wiring should also be checked every month to guarantee proper function out of your ride’s various electrically-powered components. Lastly, make sure your ride’s tires are in good condition.

Once you’re done with your monthly vehicle inspection, you’ll be able to have peace of mind knowing that there is little chance your car will break down on you when you go out for a drive. You’ll also effectively prolong the service life of your vehicle’s parts and spare yourself the hassle of fixing your vehicle in the middle of the highway.

Haynes: Our Online Auto Repair Manual of the Year

Since 2010 is coming to a close, I guess it is high time to give credit where credit is due. Thus, we present our 2010 Online Auto Repair Manual of the Year award to none other than Haynes Online. Although yes, you could make the case that Haynes is more like online ordering for actual auto repair manuals, it’s still an online service and we treat it as such.


We’re really impressed with the reach and the system implemented by Haynes. The company offers not just repair manuals for cars but also techbooks, ATV and motorcycle manuals as well as manuals in Spanish. Of course, what we really like the most is the process of actually producing the manual. Haynes tears down an entire vehicle (!!!) before rebuilding it.

This system allows for a thorough understanding of every system and component in the vehicle, as well as 100-percent accuracy when it comes to diagrams, layouts, positions and other particular pieces of information relating to a certain car model. These also help give users photos and illustrations of the actual car they need to work on. Of course, the drawback is that there has to be sufficient demand in order to make the manual you need available, but the Haynes coverage is pretty extensive anyway.

Of course, there were other strong contenders in 2010, as online repair manual services shored up their catalogs and even slashed prices on subscriptions. But then, you know what they say: there can be only one. This time, it’s Haynes. Who knows, next year maybe we’ll be able to see a different online auto repair manual service wearing the crown. There’s a lot of promise coming from some services, and maybe they’ll be able to break through in 2011.

Additionally, if you want more information about Haynes, you can go visit our review article on Haynes Online by clicking on this link.