wow you pinned the tail on the donkey, Rouge.

exactly what i was looking for when i asked the question.

 

If I were you, and I was going to keep my truck for any period of time, and I was going to work on it and fix it myself, I would get a REAL Ford shop manual from Service Manuals, Owner Manuals, Wiring Diagrams, Service Bulletins - Helm Incorporated
It could/would be the best investment that you could make.

 

It's not just this one thread, Paul.

You're right, his question about the slave cylinder is entirely appropriate for this forum, and is the kind of thing that I wouldn't expect many aftermarket manuals to be entirely helpful with ("Remove retaining clip" or some such).

Even the Ford shop manuals may be that way, I really haven't checked but have seen some cases where even they aren't too much help.

The frustration comes over time... Fordboy300 is clearly doing a lot of work to his truck and has been asking questions for over a year. People have been supportive & helpful to the extent they can, that's a good thing.

All we are encouraging him to do is show an effort in helping himself by reading & learning some on his own.

Books can explain a whole lot more detail than many people are willing to type at a computer. And, they'll usually be more complete & thorough & correct & proper.

An example of why some of us are pushing for reading books is...

There's a 17 yo kid in 73-79 who toasted his 400 engine by rebuilding it self-admittedly by using mainly instructions he's gotten from FTE.

To add to that, the engine in my truck was "rebuilt" by somebody who clearly didn't know what he was doing... ring gaps lined up, RTV on head gaskets, etc. etc. etc.

Coming to FTE for help is never discouraged, but it shouldn't be an all-out substitute for the printed documentation.

Fordboy300 - Thank you for understanding, and please accept my apologies for my apparent tone when I first told you to buy a book (when you asked how to install a clutch). I'm human, too, and am subject to the same feelings & frustrations as anybody....

 

No problem Buddy i accept the apology.

Thank you guys for being so helpful with everything ive asked!

 

Cool.

BTW I totally agree with Grubbworm above... if you're serious about this stuff, the Ford OEM Factory Shop Manuals cannot be beat and absolutely kick ***. (and is the originating source of Alldata stuff).

But, there are several....

Body/Chassis/Electrical (the primary one)
Engine
Electrical & Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual (many people like this one)
Electrical Wiring Diagrams
Emissions Diagnosis
There might be others, too....

THIS is where I've bought some and am happy with their service. In fact, I got a shrink-wrapped set of two (Body/Chassis/Electrical & Engine) for around $20 from them on eBay).

There are other places that sell used ones, too, search Google & eBay for Ford Factory Shop Manual and keep an eye on eBay.

Helm, Inc. is the original publisher and sometimes has new ones for sale, too.

The Haynes/Chiltons are good for quickly finding some common things and they do OK with many major assemblies & tasks (but don't at all believe them for electrical), but the detail explained in the factory manuals just rocks....

 

Thanks Chris, that was going to be the question I was going to as, what manuals should I get.

I have always made a habit of picking up a Haynes or similar manual on every vehicle I buy, even have an old Motors manual sitting in the shop. But would like to have more in depth manuals on my truck, because I plan on keeping it.

 

Today I went to the auto parts store and I was looking at the autoparts store and after I read this I was wondering if the Haynes manual would have the info I would be looking for?

 

Ever since I bought my first factory shop manual, I have found that the Haynes and Chilton's manuals have just enough information in them to get you in trouble. I bought my first set right after the warranty ran out on my truck and I needed to do some repair. Since then, I have bought a complete set for every vehicle that I have owned. They prove to be invaluable and well worth the investment. Obviously they won't have everything you are looking for in them, but that is where this forum comes into play. There are some very knowledgeable people on here that are very willing to help people out.

 

The Haynes & Chiltons, like I said, are good for common tasks as well as a few not-so-common tasks.

Neither have anywhere near the detail of the factory OEM manuals but are often sufficient. They will tell you, for example, how to remove the engine, or change the clutch, or replace the brakes or timing chain.

But I don't think they'll give you, for example, the cylinder bore out-of-round specifications & tolerances of the engine block (like the factory manual will).

Fordboy300 is doing some fairly advanced, non-common things that the Ford books would be more appropriate for but he has Alldata for some of that (which comes from the Ford factory manuals).

Nevertheless, many of the questions he asks are covered in the $20 manuals (something that led to some frustration of people on the forums, as was played out last night and this morning).

 

Ctubtis thanks for reminding me about alldata I gotta print out some procedures on that slave cylinder

 

I will also add that not all Factory manuals are the best, either. Yes, they will have a torque specs, measurments, what special tools to use (and sometimes a picture of them), but sometimes they don't spell out how to perform common tasks as these are expected to be known by a factory trained technician. Harley-Davison Factory manuals are notorious for this and I'm sure other OEM manuals are to some extent too. Because of this, I would recommend a couple sources of manuals because some will have that extra step, that extra photo, or that "hey, pay attention to this" that another manual might not have.

The forums at FTE are some of the best I have seen and the knowledge on here is amazing. As many have already stated, it is not a replacement for professionally written materials, no matter what the source. With that said, however, FTE is THE most excellent resource for those "extra steps, photos, and pay attention to this" items that manuals simply do not contain.

 

You are absolutely correct with everything that you said Yaga.

 

One of the biggest challenges on the older trucks, older everything really, is the electrical systems. Seems that half the threads on here are trying to troubleshoot something that ties into the electrical system (unless of course you're trying to figure out how the slave cylinder comes off )

Now that I have a couple of them....the EVTM manuals are absolutely priceless. Got both of mine on eBay for under $15. Combine that with the full set of electrical schematics and you will know that truck inside and out.

Don't cover all the mechanical stuff (drivetrain, suspension, steering, etc...) but it covers most of the stuff that kicks us in the tail on a daily basis. I went round and round with my windshield wipers not parking (replaced swith and motor) until Chris hooked me up with a picture of the troubleshooting section for the wipers out of the EVTM....had it fixed in 5 minutes and cost $0 !!! I bought my own that day!!! And now I have one for the 86's just so I can help out on here more often

 

Are you saying you need instruction on using the Rotunda® Model EN000394-1/0017BN Bearing Installer and Potato Peeler™?

 

Ha...I saw that thing today in the manual. I think we were looking for information on the same thread. The fella with the leaking hub on his 250?