Ford service manual

[Deezelcaddy]

I see a lot of you guys refer to the ford service manual. I did a Google search and there seems to be many options. I'm assuming you guys are using a ford factory manual? I also saw a supplement for factory turbos. What manual do I get and where do you get them? Thanx in advance for your help.

 

[PwrSmoke]

The factory manuals are the best option IMO. They aren't edited or abridged in any way and it's right from the source and right from the era. Can't buy them new any more, but when a guy "borrowed" mine (bought new with the truck) some years back, I easily found a set on eBay. For my '86 era, it's a 3 manual set for the truck and it covers it from bumper to bumper. They aren't particularly cheap (they weren't when new either) but if you shop, you can find a decent deal. At anything below the "bend-em-over-and-drive-'em-to-Newark" price, you will NOT regret having them.

 

[ironworker40]

I bought a cd with the manuals on them. Its a lot cheaper but I would not do it again. I like having the book in front of me. But factory manuals are king.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Try Helms manuals. There not cheap, ebay has some from time to time. What year are you looking for?

 

[jaluhn83]

The Haynes manual is decent and probably the cheapest/quickest way to go IMHO. The 80-97 truck manual covers the chassis, and the diesel engine manual covers the motor. The diesel engine manual is basically a reprint of the Ford manual, though missing a few things IIRC.

Chilton manual is junk.

Factory manual is the best, but it may cost more. You will want the 'A' manual (chassis) and 'B' manual (engines), and the specification book is good to have as well.

There's also an IH manual for the engine that's pretty much the same info as the Ford IDI manual. Might be able to find one on ebay.

I have a spare 84 Ford engine manual if you're interested. Should work for all the 6.9s and much is the same for the 7.3.

Manual on a cd is a good way to get lots of info for a decent price, but it's not near as useful as paper. If you have a decent printer it's worthwhile though as you can just print what you need. Actually a bit more convenient that way as you don't have to worry about getting the book dirty/damaged when you need to look something up in the middle of a repair. Worth noting too though that they're likely illegal copies.

 

[madpogue]

Haynes are a little better than Chilton, but still waaay to generic. Factory manual set consists of several books, typically:
* Body/Chassis
* Powertrain/Drivetrain
* EVTM - Electrical/Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual (no Haynes/Chilton/Clymer can touch this)
* PC/ED - Powertrain Control / Electrical Diagnosis manual (ditto)
* Diesel supplement
Sometimes you find them for your year of truck all in one set, sometimes you have to find them piecemeal.

 

[jaluhn83]

My $0.02....

1) Unless you have an E4OD or plan to do a trans rebuild I submit that the Haynes manual is sufficient. The engine info is directly from the Ford book and sufficient for an engine rebuild. Most of the other mechanical stuff is pretty generic. Really don't need too specific of info to change an alternator...... The OEM set does have some nice top have info, and would be important for electronics stuff (though the Haynes wiring diagrams are much easier to use than the OEM ones I have) and some of the body stuff. I would say it's a nice to have, not a must have. The point is that the Haynes is a good start/cheap and easy reference for someone that doesn't have the money or time/luck to find a factory set.

2) The list of manuals is likely somewhat year dependent. For the mid 80s (84&85 that I specifically have books for) there's the following in the complete set:
'A' E/F 150-350 Body/Chassis/Electrical
'B' E/F 150-350 Engine
'C' All truck Pre Delivery
'D' F,B & C 600-8000 Body/Chassis/Electrical
'E' F,B & C 600-8000 Engine
'F' Ranger/Bronco II Body/Chassis/Electrical/Engine/Pre Delivery
'HT' All car/truck Engine Emissions/Diagnosis

There is also a separate specification book, wiring diagrams and the EVTM book, although I've only ever seen it for E-series for some reason.

With the books I have, the 'A' & 'B' books are the most useful. EVTM is nice as is the spec book. The 'HT' book is pretty much useless for the diesel. Would be good for a gasser though.