> I don't think your average owner, with the
> average home shop, is going to rebuild a trans.
> For more complex jobs, the factory or the
> Bentley manual are required. I've even loaned
> my Bentley to the local transmission guy
> who needed the specs to fix my trans.
Ken-
I consider myself the "average owner" :) I do everything required except
that which requires a line boring machine, or heavy machine work(levelling
heads, reboring). I have most of the required tools, and those I don't have,
and of course that means the wacky specials, I get creative and build. The
last time I lent a mechanic my book, it came back horribly water damaged-
He'd left it lying on a table, under a leaky roof during a storm. I had just
bought that one. :( Luckily, that was three cars and 15 years ago. Now, I
just do it all myself. I am a better mechanic than most of the wrench
jockeys I know (there are a few exceptions, and they are the only ones I
trust when I don't feel like working on the car myself) and am very
comfortable flipping through my book when working. Trick is to have a good
clean rag around to wipe the grease on before flipping the pages. That, and
clean your hands often.(There's also the "fingertip and blow" method- catch
the page with your nail, and blow between it and the next, and catch the
side with your elbow, to continue turning it. But this only works for 1 page
at a time. I have also been known, when a manual binding has expired, to put
all the pages into protective sleeves. Makes for a thick but useful,
protected, manual)
I guess the manual issue comes down to personal preference. I'd rather have
all the facts and clear detailed pics, than be spoon fed what some third
party thinks I should know. I've worked on antique cars since I was 16,
starting out with a WWII Willys Jeep, that I learned nut by nut- inside and
out. Know how to hand lap valves in, ream a cylinder ridge, mic out a crank.
Ain't being broke a lot of the time a great way to learn by having to do it
yourself? (One of these day's I've got to get a good job..lol)
Anyway, Good luck to whoever with whatever book you get.
Scott
64 Herald 1200 Convertible.
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