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Factory Service Manual

AstroZombie

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alldata is wher a lot of
$50K+ vehicle that costs $60 to fill the tank and many thousands in mods but $37 is a cost too high. Funny.
LOL he said $60 to fill.
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ShadowsPapa

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I found a complete downloadable manual for $100 on Factory-Manuals.com. It's about 650MB but is seems very complete. I wouldn't want a printer version, too big and one would never use most of it.
What year? What revision?
Yes, it matters due to mid-model year changes, including to where things are, specs including torque specs, and corrections to prior mistakes.

I'm wary of such things - I've seen cases of someone following the manual they had, finding out it was incorrect because a few months later corrections were made, including to wiring diagrams, placement of certain functions (one Jeep example is the mid-year TPMS situation - a 2020 version of things will have the owner of a later 2021 scratching their head)

Maybe for some basic things, or generic things unlikely to change for any reason, but I find that unless you know the exact date of release and have a model covered by that version, and not a later model, you may be in for some wondering what the heck is up.

I also come from things with a different point of view at times, to, though - finding that some manuals assume you are a tech and you know how to properly remove part ABC and don't need to be told step-by-step. I laugh when someone on FB says "I found the TSM for my car but i still don't understand how to remove/replace/install this part.
Or they think they'll know all they need to know about something because the book will explain it in detail - and all it says is "remove the retainer and pull the pack out". You are supposed to know how to do that already.

Half the torque specs being circulated on the web for jeeps are way wrong - even our friend Lunentucker who has put up all of the torque specs are are most likely to ever need has gone in with some modifications and notes now and then to update it.

My thing isn't the money - I have many hundreds of dollars invested in TSMs, Mitchell subscription manuals for the 80s and 90s, and other books and tech documents, my thing is - how long and for what will it be accurate.

I took a car in for an alignment when i was busy doing other things. Got it back and noticed their printout had different specs than I had. Their computer used the specs initially released for that vehicle - mid-year they changed it because of some issues. The computers pull from Chilton, Motor and others who never update anything if a supplement comes out.
I had the latest specs, they had the incorrect original specs but refused to even talk about it "our computer says this, so it's right". If they had just looked at the specs for the subsequent model year they'd have seen very different numbers!
 

AstroZombie

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But it's necessary. Things change constantly, methods change, even specs change constantly. A book format would be out of date after a month for some things. And people going by "it's in the book" may be doing it wrong next month because as Jeep learns, they change specs and methods.
It was bad decades ago - alignment specs changed, for example, but no one kept up and even Mitchell and others were giving the WRONG alignment specs for 40 years because they went by the first book - no supplements.
A USB copy would be out of date.
This makes total sense - from the point of view of something like me who wants current info, not old stuff that may be incorrect.
You'd expect what you have to be correct for months or years to come - but it won't be.
Digital, online, is the best way.
Completely agree here. Things change so rapidly, most information these days is out of date the second you receive it. Lets not forget that everything is controlled by an electronic widget or doodad, fixes that a paper manual will not be able to fix. Vehicles are more than wrench turners now. Shit, a short in my brother in laws sensor that tells the outside temp caused a complete electric short. AC wouldn't work, and vehicle would go into limp mode randomly. Windows would roll down. It was a nightmare all because a rat ate the wires and shorted it out. The car literally went AWOL and go completely undriviable, then just decide it would be ok, then decide HVAC would not work. A simple butt splice fixed it that i did for less than $5 and the dealer wanted over $450 to repair. They even sold us the wires and crimp ends to fix it ( that i didnt even use.)
 

salvino

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What year? What revision?
Yes, it matters due to mid-model year changes, including to where things are, specs including torque specs, and corrections to prior mistakes.

I'm wary of such things - I've seen cases of someone following the manual they had, finding out it was incorrect because a few months later corrections were made, including to wiring diagrams, placement of certain functions (one Jeep example is the mid-year TPMS situation - a 2020 version of things will have the owner of a later 2021 scratching their head)

Maybe for some basic things, or generic things unlikely to change for any reason, but I find that unless you know the exact date of release and have a model covered by that version, and not a later model, you may be in for some wondering what the heck is up.

I also come from things with a different point of view at times, to, though - finding that some manuals assume you are a tech and you know how to properly remove part ABC and don't need to be told step-by-step. I laugh when someone on FB says "I found the TSM for my car but i still don't understand how to remove/replace/install this part.
Or they think they'll know all they need to know about something because the book will explain it in detail - and all it says is "remove the retainer and pull the pack out". You are supposed to know how to do that already.

Half the torque specs being circulated on the web for jeeps are way wrong - even our friend Lunentucker who has put up all of the torque specs are are most likely to ever need has gone in with some modifications and notes now and then to update it.

My thing isn't the money - I have many hundreds of dollars invested in TSMs, Mitchell subscription manuals for the 80s and 90s, and other books and tech documents, my thing is - how long and for what will it be accurate.

I took a car in for an alignment when i was busy doing other things. Got it back and noticed their printout had different specs than I had. Their computer used the specs initially released for that vehicle - mid-year they changed it because of some issues. The computers pull from Chilton, Motor and others who never update anything if a supplement comes out.
I had the latest specs, they had the incorrect original specs but refused to even talk about it "our computer says this, so it's right". If they had just looked at the specs for the subsequent model year they'd have seen very different numbers!
Believe me, I know there is much conflicting information out there regarding which year, which model, etc.. I have been finding variable numbers for torque specs for some time now. That’s what got me looking for a manual in the first place.

They wanted the VIN before they would send anything. And it took the almost two days before they sent the download link. I would have been nervous if they had it at their fingertips.

The manual I got seems to be specific to my VIN for a 2020 Launch Edition. There are probably some changes since it is over four years old now. But its the best I’ve found so far.
 

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ShadowsPapa

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Believe me, I know there is much conflicting information out there regarding which year, which model, etc.. I have been finding variable numbers for torque specs for some time now. That’s what got me looking for a manual in the first place.

They wanted the VIN before they would send anything. And it took the almost two days before they sent the download link. I would have been nervous if they had it at their fingertips.

The manual I got seems to be specific to my VIN for a 2020 Launch Edition. There are probably some changes since it is over four years old now. But its the best I’ve found so far.
Almost sounds like they get the manual for each customer as requested, perhaps they have a way to get it for a fee, then add a bit to cover their efforts and pass it along. A convenience fee.
Sounds like you got a decent deal. That's only twice the price of a TSM for say, 1970 AMC, or perhaps the 68 with supplement which would be closer to 60 to 70.
That makes 100 a bargain, IMO.
 
 







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