legacycentral bbs

OK, so I got the FSM's for Christmas and they finally arrived albeit two volumes short. Apparently Subaru is going to reprint the volumes that I'm missing. I was just wondering what is covered in the missing volumes. The missing volumes are 2 and 3. Anyone?

-Brian

2 & 3 are the engine & transmission volumes.

1 is intro
4 is susp & brakes
5 is body & chassis stuff (I think)
6 is electrical

They're probably reprinting due to the massive amounts of errors and in-consistancies in them. What year manuals did you pick up?

I ordered the '93s but it looks like they're just the '92s. I'm not sure there were specific 1993 FSM's.

-Brian

The complete set of '93 manuals consists of the complete set of '92 manuals plus a 1993 supplement that documents any differences.

I just got the Haynes manual. 15 bucks at autozone. It suits me just fine. you mihgt want to pick one up to supplement the "big" manual. That way you can get the more general instructions, and when you need mroe detail just go to the "big" manual.

Also, you can bring the Haynes manual into the trenches when you're working on your car. that way it'll get all the rust/oil/water/beer/blood on it, and your more expensive shop manuals can stay clean since you'd only use them for when the cheap manual falls short.

These manuals are SOOO much better than that Haynes crap. I'm really excited about having these at my disposal. Since I plan on having this car forever, it just made sense to get the FSM's.

-Brian

Yeah, it's good to have the factory manuals.

I chose to buy the FSMs and also both the Chiltons and Haynes manuals. The Chiltons and Haynes manuals have two advantages over the factory ones: they are smaller and more concise, and they are written with the home mechanic in mind. The factory manuals are written for professionals.

Of course the third party manuals have their limitations... I love the part of the Chiltons manual's glossary that defines an analog computer as "any computer that uses similar (analogous) values in its computation."

Is the Chiltons that much different than the Haynes manual? I've got the Haynes manual and I find that it is somewhat lacking.

-Brian

The problem with Haynes manuals is that they cover too broad a range of cars. It covers 90-98 and there's too much difference between them to do something specific. It's good for simple replacement kinda stuff, and for CEL codes. But that's about it.

The Chilton's manual is even more lacking than the Haynes manual. It tries to cover every Subaru model for a whole decade, not just Legacies, which means they don't get into enough detail on anything. Also, lots of info is just plain wrong and most diagrams won't match what you have on your car. Plus, the directions are uselessly vague. I wish they included info you NEED like: "This step will make a huge mess of brake fluid everywhere on your garage floor. Move a bucket in place and have a stopper on hand to close up your brake line"

Instead it basically says "remove the old component. Replace with new component" Geee thanks!

Regardless, I'm really glad to have them. They're already giving me tons more hope that I can tackle more problems than before.

-Brian

Yeah, I like being able to consult more than one manual for second and third opinions.

The Chilton's manual actually covers, like, all Subarus made in the late 80s/early-to-mid-90s, so it's usually vaguer than the Haynes one. But, it does, for example, describe much more about the engine diagnostics than the Haynes. It seems to have more complete wiring and vacuum diagrams (although you do always have to take them with a grain of salt).

The FSM's are definitely a great source of information. However there are some things it lacks on. Not to mention a glossary, or coherant index.

Plus like I said.....don't take all the info in there for gospil. I've found so much stuff that was incorrect....it's actually quite frightening.......hopefully when you get volumes 2 & 3 they will have fixed some of the obvious blatent errors.

When you do get them, shoot me a PM or email. I wanna check some info about the brakes.

I've got the Haynes & Chiltons as well.......had them first.....they are decent.....not the end all....but for some things, I would sooner have them then the FSM's.

I've actually got the Haynes manual, Chiltons, 1990 FSM's, 1992 FSM w/ 1993 supplement.......and some pre-delivery tech booklets for the 1990 model.

I don't think they're updating the volumes that I don't yet have. I think they just don't have any more in print right now and they're having to have them reprinted. It sure would be nice to have some updated info, but I'm not counting on it.

-Brian