i brag to other folk about this forum cuzz u can ask any question and be assured someone has done it b4... now i look at my shop manual and aim often but alot of times to read how someone else did it and they may have a tip that might make it easier for me...

 

And stray on over to OT and I've learned how to fix my telephone line, do plumbing, fix my garage door opener, learned the best place to buy more memory for my PC and how to fix my PC, laptop and wireless network.
Who said this was a Vette forum.

 

Yeah, I see the original posts point BUT sometimes there are better/quicker ways to do things than the manual shows eg. if you're crazy enough to be using just the Haynes manual (which, IMHO, is crap for C3's) it'll have you take an entire assembly apart & off the car when somebody has done exactly what you want to do in 10 mins by dismantling a very small part of it on the car, then using a home-made tool to jiggle something.......
Or, in the case of a newbie who's just bought the car & is itching to drive it, then waiting for a manual to arrive in the post seems like an eternity. Posting a couple of simple (dumb to us) questions will get the answers that'll let them drive the thing safe in the knowledge that the fluid levels are correct & that the steering isn't falling apart, it's meant to feel a bit vague, etc.

 

There is more than one way to skin a cat. More often than not I will see a post and it will often have 4-5 variations on how to approach the issue. Over the last 20 years and a nearly complete frame off, I still may ask a question or two, just because I understand that someone else may have a different approach that may work better for me. Do I think owners should buy and use manuals, absolutely. I know myself when I bought my car as an 18 year old high school senior I didn’t know much about working on it but I knew for sure I couldn’t afford to have someone else work on it. And jumped in head first.

Another thing is, every once in a while I will browse the net in search for other vette forums and most receive very few post a week. the last thing I want is for this forum to become a ghost town because people are scared to ask a question. Just my .02

 

If ignorant people bother you ...
then an internet forum is not the place to hang out ...
'specially in the "gen" section.
Perhaps this thread was aimed more toward the tech section.

 

My '72 manual dosen't cover how to install a LS1/tremec 6 speed, wire up your C5 seats, mold on fender flares, put a '78-'82 dash in, whether to go with Accel Calmap or stock computer when installing a supercharger, or where to put the bung for the 02 sensor on Hooker sidepipes. I know, I've looked.

 

I couldn't agree more. I had a great debate in the spring about new BBQ's. Partially on a member recomendation, I bought one that I've been thrilled with.

The shop manual, assembly manual and repair manuals are invaluable but a quick note from someone that has just done the same job is worth even more. Also, diagnostic opinions will often save you a great deal of time getting to the right place.

 

I have thought about this before chiming in. I absolutely agree with the original poster Techno.

I fought very hard to get the tech section. I find myself spending more time in General because Tech is so damn boring with all the basic how do i fix this and that questions. The same basic repair over and over and over and over. Its apparent that there are a lot of newbies around that barely know which end of a screwdriver is up.

I don't know that there's anything we can do about it. But this is the reality of it.

Maybe its that i just don't fit in to any sections here. I like the road course stuff, but there's only a hand full of guys that want to discuss anything other than drag racing. The autocross/road course section is nothing but C5 guys that know absolutely nothing about our cars.

I'm just a misfit.

 

Well it ain't my abilty to communicate but some peoples ability to read.

I said manual and I get examples of BBQs and fender flares.
I'm an ignorant person, thats why I have reference material. If I need to know something I can look it up. Apparently this concept is so foreign to some that its not worth the trouble of explaining it.

So to anyone who was contemplating buying a manual forget it. You can ask your questions here -have them translated into what the people think you wanted to know and have a multitude of answers in a few hours.

 

yeah yeah manuals and the like are good, but ive never seen or or or in a manual. If everybody used there manual like a bible we wouldnt get together and meet heaps of great people
just my 2 cents worth

 

Techno,
Don't know what got you all stirred up, but I pretty much know every part of my 68 because I have had it for 33 years and have damn near every book or manual BUT we were all newbies (spelling?) once. Be tolerant of guys who would like to learn so someday they can be as knowledgable about Corvettes as you are. I thought that was one of the reasons for any forum's existance: to learn from others who have been there and done that. Share the knowledge.

 

ok,

the oil filter unscrews counter clockwise. Glad i could help.

 

Sorry, guess my sarcasm wasn't apparent. I agree with you and maybe you should suggest to everyone that pops up with such a question to get a shop manual. I think I have just about every C3 book and manual and book known to man.

I really don't see those questions very often or maybe I just skim over them. Most of the quesitons I see are, "my car is doing this so what is wrong" type questions. Manuals only goes so far in diagnosing problems. I think I see many more, "what's the best suspension/engine/whatever setup for my car" performance related questions.

 

Well said An example is that I hope I've recently helped somebody out with the TCC lockup on an '81. There's nothing about it in the Haynes manual, or the generic 68-82 manuual (with the white cover). There's not a whole lot about it in the GM shop manual, so when mine was FUBAR I spent a lot of time going right the way through the manual & wiring diagrams & worked out what was supposed to be happening. IF somebody was able to give the same information to my posts on the forum when I was chasing the problem then it would have saved me a whole lot of time, several wasted journeys to where I keep the Vette, several very late nights & many miles of driving around with various wires coming from the engine bay into the cabin (not to mention the two trans fluid changes that it didn't need!). While the information was in the manual, it wasn't in a simple form that said "The computer enables lockup by grounding the black/tan wire from the EGR/TCC relay (which is on the firewall). The relay then switches power from a separate circuit, assuming that the brake pedal isn't depressed, through the trans. If the internal trans fluid pressure is high enough, ie it's running in top gear, then the internal pressure switch will be closed & the TCC solenoid will then have current flowing through it to lockup the torque converter. The black/tan wire has a diagnostic connector built into it which is located somewhere below the ashtray, & looks like a small, hard, black plastic block. A close inspection will reveal an exposed male Lucar terminal tucked away on one side of it". Grab an '81 shop manual & have a look. The info is all there, but if you know sweet FA about lockup TCC's and computer control of them then it can take a while to work it all out.
One of the positive points of this forum is that somebody can ask a really dumb question & still get sensible answers (I know, I've tried ). I've recently been looking at a forum based over here that has a lot of arrogant, pompous & snobbish dick-heads on it who seem to get a kick out of putting other people down for not knowing something, or in taking an alternative view/approach. I guess that's what they like to think of as a "serious" forum. It would be a great shame if this forum headed in the same direction as there's a lot of cool people here.