Free Downloads How To Repair Your Car (Motorbooks Workshop)
From Motorbooks, the leader in automotive publishing for over 4 decades, comes the most practical car care guide ever produced to help the average car owner maintain and repair his or her vehicle - How to Repair Your Car. In this easy-to-follow guide, author Paul Brand, a nationally known automotive expert, takes you through the steps of auto maintenance and repair—simple steps that could add years to a car’s life and save a driver thousands of dollars in repairs. This is also the only car maintenance and repair guide on the market to contain 50 do-it-yourself projects in full-color, step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow and understand. Focusing on post-1985 cars (with occasional explanations about earlier models), Brand introduces readers to the rudiments of automotive systems—from electrical, fuel, and cooling to drivetrain, suspension, tires, brakes, and exhaust—and discusses problems that arise in each system. The book includes practical advice for readers with only a passing knowledge of cars, as well as the basics of caring for a car’s exterior and interior.How to Repair Your Car is a must-have for any car owner who wants to extend the life of his or her car, learn how to perform car maintenance or repair instead of paying a mechanic, diagnose simple noises and knocks, as well as learn tips for knowing exactly what they're paying for when their car goes to the shop.
Series: Motorbooks Workshop
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Motorbooks; 1st edition (October 15, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0760322732
ISBN-13: 978-0760322734
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 0.6 x 11.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #64,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #16 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Automotive > Customize #52 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Automotive > Repair & Maintenance #347 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Transportation
I think this book is pretty good for the 'mechanic wannabe' who's just getting started (like me). All the 50 projects are illustrated with photos which is pretty neat. At the end of each chapter, there is a troubleshooting chart listing common problems associated with the specific components that are discussed in the chapter.Now, after reading this book, I think some projects could have been a little more detailed, and some other a little less: The project on 'how to fill coolant' takes two pages front and back, but the one on 'how to change thermostat' only takes one...Also, some projects explain how to replace such and such part, but it doesn't explain why you would want to replace these parts if your car breaks down:* "how to replace distributor cap and rotor"; sounds great, but how do I know that these are the parts I need to replace if my car breaks down? It doesn't say anything about that in the electrical troubleshooting chart in this chapter.* "How to replace the starter"; sounds great too, but where do I find it? there's no diagram in this book that shows you where to look under the hood, beside a picture of a car, at the beginning of the chapter, with a front mounted engine (my car, like most front wheel drive nowdays, has an engine mounted sideway); and the car used as an example in this project is different than mine.Anyway, the point is, a little more details would have been nice.However, it is a decent book and it gave me a better comprehension of how things work under the hood. It also gave me more confidence to work on my car.My advice is: buy this book to familiarize yourself with cars, and learn very basic car maintenance stuff such as changing your oil, checking your fluids, tires etc.For bigger projects like 'how to replace a water pump' (project 29), this is probably not the book you need.
If you're a gearhead or have been knuckle-bustin' since you were in diapers... this book ain't for you. For the rest of us who built their tool collection one Craftsman sale at time and abhors paying (roughly) $88/hr in car labor charges, this book will put your mind and wallet at ease. The book is laid out in chapters representing the functional sub-areas (e.g. drive-train, suspension, engine, cooling). Within each chapter their are brand-agnostic diagrams showing you how your car "should" work, along with projects throughout.The hidden jewel I found in the book was the troubleshooting matrix. For guys and gals who've been inhaling fumes since they were little, this may not be of much help. For the rest of us... when your car starts smoking, the troubleshooting guide can help narrow down what's busted (White smoke? coolant being burned perhaps due to blown head gasket... Black smoke? Probably burning oil...). That spreadsheet of simple symptoms saved me hours when troubleshooting suspension, drivetrain and engine problems and made the low cost of the book worth it.One star knockdown was due to the project images showing many variety of cars/trucks. Variety is always good, but some of the car layouts were confusing, especially when you look under your hood and wonder "where the heck is that thingy in the picture?" Having another model specific manual for your car is helpful here.Bottom line: worth the cost for a novice, or someone trying to learn and save some money. Experts, avoid this and get a service manual.
Good book for basic car repair knowledge but it definitely a little dated. For example, the section on replacing an air filter shows the circular compartment and filter although they do mention the "newer" air filters that are now very common. My favorite is the page on how to wash your hands.
We have an old 1985 motorhome diesel motor but most of the vehicle gear is standard diy stuff so this book is good for the understanding of diy servicing and standard repairs. Our 1996 top of the range 3.5ltr V6 Honda is abit more modern and not all things are covered in the book but still does a good job.
A good introduction to car repair for newbies like myself. It explains a lot of how the car works and problems that might arise with those systems. It was definitely a good visual guide for some of the universal repairs (oil changes, brake rotors, etc.) but for anything heaver than routine maintenance, I would turn to a comprehensive repair manual. Regardless, it's a solid introduction to working on a car and maybe saving a few bucks in your pocket every few months!
I am very happy with my purchase. I moved to California from NYC last year and know absolutely nothing about cars. Just the first chapter alone has given me much needed knowledge...when to change oil get tune -ups renting vs owning depreciation etc. The step by step "projects" are useful but I wouldn't feel comfortable messing around with my car too much. You need someone to show you how to do these things in person IMO. Maybe read the segment then look for a youtube video would be beneficial ? Photos don't do it for me. Book is for no nothings like me !
Paul Brand's How to Repair your Car book is a great introduction for those with extremely limited mechanical experience. It is easily laid out with step by step projects, and lastly, beyond repair steps, Paul Brand includes very basic summaries on how the different components of the automobile work.It is an introduction repair guide, so do not expect extremely specific or complicated auto-info.
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