proracr

I recently purchased a factory service manual (FSM). Darn it! I continue to run across procedures in the 94 FSM that says "Refer to section xxx in the 1993 Factory Service Manual". It appears that I will have to buy a 1993 FSM to get the full story.

toptechx6

Interesting, I have a 93 manual and have never seen such a reference. Does the set you purchased have a white cover or red? The one with a white cover is a preliminary edition sent to dealers prior to release of the actual manual.

proracr

It is the preliminary edition with the white cover. That's probably why it refers to the 1993 manual on some items.

Goldcylon

I was just going to ask. Yep only buy the red cover editions to avoid this.

toptechx6

Bingo! If you decide to replace it, keep in mind there are two books in the set, book 1 covers mechanical, book 2 covers driveablity and electrical.

proracr

Thanks for the confirmation of my problem guys! Guess I will have to shop around for a set of 93 red manuals to complete the "set" for my 94!

toptechx6

I would strongly advise against that approach, lots of differences between 93 and 94.
93's are speed density, 94's are Mass Air Flow fuel injection, 94 was the first year to use R134A refrigerant in the A/C, 94 is the first year for the electronically controlled automatic 4L60E, those are just a few that come to mind. Buy the correct manual or a less expensive option rarely mentioned here is a subscription to Alldata.
A single car subscription is less than $27 and allows online access to all factory service manual information, plus TSB's, labor times and other nice features.
I still prefer a paper manual because some jobs require flipping between sections, for me that is easier with a book, but I'm an old goat, you may feel differently.

proracr

Thanks toptechx6! I can relate the the "I still prefer a paper manual because some jobs require flipping between sections, for me that is easier with a book, but I'm an old goat, you may feel differently." statement. I am 64 and prefer to flip the pages also. When I was troubleshooting a problem with the Bose on my '94, I was flipping between wiring diagrams constantly. The Alldata service sounds very interesting, specially since it includes TSB's and other nice features. I have a wireless network in my home so I could take my laptop out to the garage to access the Alldata info.

toptechx6

Jesus 64, that's old! I won't be that old until next month.

proracr

toptechx6

Yeah crap, I just realized "next month" is tomorrow, must be senility setting in already.

Chuck Tribolet

You will probably end up paying as much for an
red-cover '94 FSM as for any '93 FSM. So just get the
red-cover and only have to worry about one set of
manuals.

That said, I have a white-cover FSM for my '87, and
it's just fine. And I've never seen "refer to the '86
FSM".

The FSM for my '01 Nissan Pathfinder is a CD full of
PDFs. I have the Adobe Acrobat product (the one you
pay for) and had it build an index across all the files.
That has been VERY handy a few times because a few
things are in very obscure corners of the FSM.

78pacer

The computer in the garage sounds cool.....until you get crap all over the keyboard and such. I'll take a paper edition any day.
Mike

trying2seek

Here's one on E-bay that's where I found mine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1994-...#ht_500wt_1101

Chuck Tribolet

I leave the computer in the house, and go back and
forth.

You wouldn't want the '01 Pathfinder manual on paper.
It's 4000+ pages.

RetiredSFC 97

Happy Birthday

RLG

Happy Birth Day toptech !!

I am creeping up on the Big 60 in Sept.

proracr

Good point Chuck! I will get a set of red '94 manuals as soon as the budget allows.

Shark Racer

Or you could pick up a pack of cheap-oh USB keyboards for $5 a pop and replace them when they get unusable. ($8 for a keyboard and mouse from my local store)