Just curious for the more experienced repair personnel out there ...
I am about to start on some more complicated repairs on my 95, and I would appreciate any pros or cons of which repair manual to buy. I have heard Chilton's and Haynes' are both good, but would like a little more feedback than just "good". Thanks for your time to anybody who is willing to respond.

I have the Haynes for these cars, and I'd say that, compared to other Haynes manuals I have had, it is indeed "good". That is, it provides enough info for most basic repairs, and is more detailed that the one I have for my Toyota truck. However, I don't havet he Chilton's so I can't compare to that one.
Honestly, if you want real in-depth info, by the factory service manual, something akin to this
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7973202497&category=6759
It'll cost alot more, but the info is garanteed to be correct and specific enough for oyur car.

I prefer http://www.alldatadiy.com
You have to pay for it each year, but you get all of the TSBs and recalls.

well, as to cheaper manuals I prefer the haynes to the chilton, in my personal experience, chilton sucks, but if you really want to spend the money, the dealership service manuals is the way to go, as stated. you cant get any better. and if you can find your car on ebay get that, buy you can go to helms.com I believe and they sell the factory manuals but for like $135 or around there.

Just curious for the more experienced repair personnel out there ...
I am about to start on some more complicated repairs on my 95, and I would appreciate any pros or cons of which repair manual to buy. I have heard Chilton's and Haynes' are both good, but would like a little more feedback than just "good". Thanks for your time to anybody who is willing to respond.

i havent really done a page by page comparison, and im no old pro, but i have the haynes, chilton, and FSM for my 93 escort. i like the chilton's better than the haynes, but its really splitting hairs. the FSM is great, if the price is right. i found that a 93 escort manual would pop up on ebay consistently every few days when i was looking for one, so you might have the same luck. also, i think that the FSM does not make the chiltons/haynes redundant. its nice to have a slightly quicker, smaller, better photographed manual which doesnt assume you have factory tools. that said, the haynes/chilton guides both consistently leave important things out, dont mention vital or useful information, and dont cover everything. no doubt theyre worth 14 bucks, though.

to the poster who mentioned the alldata website:
does alldata have all the information of a dealer manual? or just technical information relevant to the specific fixes mentioned?

anthony

Just curious for the more experienced repair personnel out there ...
I am about to start on some more complicated repairs on my 95, and I would appreciate any pros or cons of which repair manual to buy. I have heard Chilton's and Haynes' are both good, but would like a little more feedback than just "good". Thanks for your time to anybody who is willing to respond.

If you go to ebay and search "Repair manual Ford Escort" you can get a factory workshop manual for $6.99. It's the manual the techs at Ford use. It is several hundred pages and covers just about everything. Give it a try.

I have both the Haynes and the Chilton manual for my 95 and 92 Wagons. I like using both manuals. the front of the chilton is a bit better for troubleshooting. I believe the Haynes is a bit more in depth. but I like to read both books before doing anything. good luck. you could try half.com if you are not in a hurry.