which repair manual is better?

[96wWindstar180K]

Well I feel stupid. I just saw it on the first page and replied never checked the date.

[Hudson]

Originally Posted by phil-l

I haven't really used Chilton or Haynes for my Windstar - but I've used them in the past for other cars. The Ford CD is not without fault. It can be hard to navigate until you get the hang of it. It isn't easy to print out all of the items you might need for a particular job, since they might be scattered in different sections on the CD.

That said, it's hard to beat the CD for completeness.

As someone who WROTE repair manuals for a living, I can tell you that (for legal reasons) you won't find anything more in a Haynes or Chilton manual than you will in the Ford manual. If you have the ability to do substantial work on the car, use the Ford manual. If you're just a weekend warrior and you want to do the basics, get the less expensive Haynes or Chilton books.

[lapin_windstar]

Originally Posted by Hudson

If you're just a weekend warrior and you want to do the basics, get the less expensive Haynes or Chilton books.

I have the same impression - the Haynes is not very detailed in some places but that might be a good thing for me - if it's not even in the Haynes, it's probably waaaaaaaaay beyond my technical ability and I shouldn't even be thinking about it!

[rrclyoung]

I perfer the Ford factory paper manual (helminc.com), it is pricier but well worth the money if you plan on doing most all repairs yourself. I wouldn't give a nickel for either the chiltons or the haynes, I have found more times than not they lead you down the wrong path.

[pktaske]

Originally Posted by Ed_Strong

Being that this thread is just a few weeks short of it's one year aniversary, I want to thank all of you that contributed for your suggestions and opinions... LOL!



Better late than never...!

the link is dea for the free downloads...are they still available? tHanks...

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by Ed_Strong

Being that this thread is just a few weeks short of it's one year aniversary, I want to thank all of you that contributed for your suggestions and opinions... LOL!
Better late than never...!

And it hasn't seen a reply in a 10 month span makes it a candidate for closure. Polls are effective when limited to a certain timeframe such as 30 , 60, or 90 (max) days. Keeping an open ended poll only leads to occasional resurrecting and cluttering up of the message board.