So I'm planning to buy a conversion van (Dodge) and I need to know,,in your experience, which repair manual is better, Chilton, Haynes or Alldatadiy online? Thanks

 

None of the above. Back when I had my first few cars I used these Haynes manuals but they simply lack the detail and illustrations of the factory service manual. The order of disassembly/reassembly is often wrong and in my experience those aftermarket manuals will insist you must remove major parts unnecessarily. I've used Alldata and others online but found them lacking critical details.

You can find the set of good condition used Dodge factory service manuals on Ebay. Expect to pay for about $80 for the full set of 5. You will rarely use the extra 3 manuals (body, chassis, CNG) but the main manual and the powertrain manual are a *lot* more useful than any other resource available today.

 

Good to know, thanks, I'll look into that.

 

FSM's all the way!!

 

Yes, FSM.

I have both of the following....

The Chilton is really lame. Basically useless.

The Hayes is good, but lacks pixs. The Hayes does show a good detail of specifications on how to tighten the bands in the tranny and how to back off properly. It's very detailed on how to dig deep to remove items off to replace the water pump. (this can be hours to replace the pump, more without the manual at least.)