Repair Manuals

[nutmeg_runner]

I am looking for opinions on manuals for 96 Caravan. Is there an OEM shop manual? Is it better than Chilton's (which I have perused in the library)?

[Deniz]

I found a haynes Manual for my 95 dodge in a used books store.

I find Haynes manuals to be very helpful.

[proticus]

haynes are helpful, yes. but if you have more than minor problems, then the chilton is always the way to go. if you are really looking for the oem shop manual, then i always go with books4cars.com. what you are looking for is the third book on this list.
http://www.books4cars.com/result3.asp?finddesc=caravan

[proticus]

sorry, link didn't turn out the way i wanted. on this list, it's the 20th. unfortunately it's 100 bucks. but that is a complete chop service manual.

[nutmeg_runner]

Thank you!
I especially appreciate the link to a site selling the shop manual! Although $100 is kind of steep, I have heard that it is well written. Have you seen it?

[proticus]

indeed, $100 isn't exactly chump change. you might try looking around the internet more for a used copy perhaps. books4cars sells new books, so they tend to be expensive manuals. i have used them before, and been very satisfied. i have not seen the shop manual for the caravan before but i have flipped through one for one of my other vehicles, and i would bet there wasn't a single screw off that car that wasn't listed in that book. it was insanely jam packed with instructions, information, and specifications. but like i said before, see if you can find yourself a used copy somewhere first. or if you see yourself needing to do serious repairs in the future, i think buying a new copy would be well worth it. good luck.

[larryhe]

I do not know how far you will go in repairing your car or how long you plan on keeping it but I do all my own repairs. You get what you pay for. Chiltons and Haynes give you maybe 1/4 the info that a OEM manual will.
I buy OEM manuals on all my cars. The wiring and electrical schematics in them has made it more than worth it not counting the rest of the info.

[yale329]

Chilton is the best,but a scanner for about the same price will really help. especially if you make a list of all readings when your vehicle is running great. Then you can compare your last readings with what ever probblem you have. It's a great learning tool. Put your emergency brake on.