Haynes (auto) Repair Manuals - any experience out there?

[MissMillie]

My guy needs to change the oil pan on his truck. (The estimates from local mechanics run around $1200!!!). We've looked for videos online and haven't had any luck.

I did a search on repair manuals and found the information for one from Haynes. I thought maybe our local library could help us locate a copy.

Just wondering if anyone out there ever used one of these manuals and if they found them to be helpful....

Thanks in advance!

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Do a You Tube.

Just type in the Truck make and Oil Pan replacement.

[MissMillie]

4. Did that

no luck

[Wellstone ruled]

7. Try Scotties

Garage. Or,just plain Engine Oil Pan repair. Sorry,watched a couple of these Tubes a couple years back in order to help my Bro fix his .

[Wellstone ruled]

8. The Guy's at the Auto Parts Store

will pretty much walk you though the repair.

[calguy]

2. If you have average mechanical skills they are big help

Oil pan doesn't seem too hard of a job not knowing what the truck is. You probably checked the youtube videos. That's where I've always found decent videos for anything I wanted to do repair wise. Definitely get the book and read through the procedure to see if it's something you want to tackle. Generally speaking a good repair manual will pay for itself with just one job. Haynes is a pretty good brand from my experience.
God Luck

[MissMillie]

5. 2003 Toyota Tacoma

The engine needs to be lifted a bit, I guess. We do have the capability to do that here at home.

[Wellstone ruled]

13. Hit the Parts Store.

[Ohiogal]

3. My husband and sons use Haynes manuals all the time

for repairs on their vehicles and yes they are helpful. But if you got an estimate for $1200 that sounds like it might be very labor intensive. Is your guy good with repairs?

The post above is good advice, my guys also find repair guidance videos on You Tube.

[MissMillie]

6. He's very good w/ repairs

There's something about the 2003 Tacoma (some sort of a first-generation for how the engine sits in the frame of the truck) that does indeed make it labor intensive.

We didn't find anything on YouTube.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

12. If it's a 4x4

The labor intensive part is the front differential has to come out so the pan can be removed. A friend had a 02 that he went offroad with and cracked the pan. Took an entire day to drop the diff and everything else out of the way to get enough room for the pan to come out.

[marble falls]

9. Sounds like the engine almost needs pulling to get to the pan ...

my neighbor's Volvo actually cost more than that.

My mid '70's Dodge van had a notched pan to fit over the axle a friend of mine figured out that we had to take the engine off the mounts jack it up on a board between two floor jacks and turn the engine about 15degrees, but we got it done.

[MissMillie]

11. That sounds about right to me

according to how my guy talks about it.

I think he wants to be sure he's disconnecting what needs to, and leaving what needs to be left alone.

[marble falls]

14. Then that price he quoted you is about right.

[CMYK]

10. I've made many repairs using Haynes manuals

They are a solid source for auto repairs.
Just take your time, read, look and understand each step.

[Thomas Hurt]

15. I used Chilton's manuals back in the day, but that was before all the electronics....

filling the engine bay to the 1/4 inch. Chilton's has online manuals. Might look into that.

Shouldn't be a major issue unless you have to remove supports or parts of the suspension to get to it.

[bluedigger]

16. They're pretty good for common repairs.

They may not have every procedure - I'm not sure how common an oil pan replacement is. As with most things under an engine bay, getting to the part often involves removing several others for access, which is time consuming, hence the $1200 estimate. Even if this is more than your guy wants to attempt, I'd pick up the manual anyways for do it yourself maintenance and repairs - it's a 16 year old truck. Pretty much the first thing I do when I buy a used vehicle.

[LastDemocratInSC]

17. I like the Haynes manuals a lot but there is one caveat:

It's possible to end up with a giant hole in your hood. Here's an example from the cover on the manual for my Honda:

https://haynes.com/en-us/honda/accord/2013-2017

[Adsos Letter]

18. I HATE it when that happens.