JBPC4

Please take this as light hearted and well meaning! But I can’t help but wonder where the obsession with the FSM and the C4 community came from? I’ve owned 30+ cars and been a member of many different forums over the years, and this is the only place I’ve ever encountered such a hard stance on thinking nothing can be done without a FSM. Whenever anyone asks a question you can practically place bets on how many replies it will take before someone tells them to get the FSM set. It’s amusing. Somehow, I manage to keep my C4 running just fine without it....

PatternDayTrader

You might change your mind if you ever have a complex electrical problem.

383vett

Sure you can solve some problems without the FSM but you can also build a whole car with the thing. Try diagnosing why your electric seats aren't tilting with a Chilton manual.

billschroeder5842

Funny, I never thought of NOT having a FSM? For every "older" car I have ever owned I got a FSM as one of my early purchases. I find that the FSM, CF and YouTube are super helpful.

ChumpVette

It has all the answers in the world that you need. I guess some people like spending money needlessly trying to troubleshoot a problem. Why would you not have it?

JBPC4

I’m sure they’re great, I’ve just never ran into a problem yet ( on the C4 or otherwise), that I haven’t been able to figure out pretty easily without one.

Nowhere Man

just wait until you have a problem child car. I only needed mine a few times and it was very helpful

65Z01

I've purchased the FSM for my '88 IROC-Z, '88 Vette and more recently the '89 Vette...to each his own.

bac22

I can diagnose pretty much the majority of problems without a FSM...but found out after getting a FSM I could diagnose pretty much any problem a lot quicker! Seeing the 1 or 2 steps you might have missed without the FSM is worth it!

aklim

Maybe others don't enjoy reinventing the wheel as much as you do in the name of saving a few bucks? I mean, if the data is there, why bother to try reverse engineer it? For example, I could track where the wires coming form the distributor are going and coming from and figure out their function but why bother when the wiring diagram is there?

rocco16

Having the FSM make taking things apart SO much easier/faster.

1993C4LT1

Yeah, it really comes into use for the stuff you wouldn't expect. With that said, I need to buy some.

Hot Rod Roy

I'd say you've been very lucky! Have you ever taken your car to a dealer for service? I agree that the FSM is a big time saver.

The only problem I see is that, if every Corvette came with an FSM, and people could read, we wouldn't need a Corvette Forum! And that would take the fun out of life! Lots of great people here!!

JBPC4

No the only time my cars see a dealer is for warranty work. Other than that I do all my own work. I really don’t like other people touching my cars, I’m sure many here can sympathize with that! Perhaps I’ll have to invest in a FSM set sometime to see what I’ve been missing.

PatternDayTrader

I could agree with your general concept, but the truth is, you cant resolve electrical problems without the wiring schematics and component locator. You cant even commit to just replacing parts until its fixed, because if the wiring is the problem then you can replace all the parts and it wont be fixed.

hcbph

I've bought the FSM on almost every vehicle I've owned back to 1967. A couple I couldn't find or afford but for the most part they've paid for themselves over the long haul. Admittedly now you have places like YouTube that can fill in some of the holes you'd otherwise run into but that hasn't always been available nor is it always accurate.

Paul Workman

Why an FSM? Well, I guess the best way to answer your question is to suggest that without it, "you don't know what you don't know!"
These cars ain't no 1950s Farmal tractors or Briggs & Straton lawn mowers. And, w/o the FSM, I might have to hand my ZR-1 over to some dealer mechanic to "learn on at my expense", and THAT just ain't gonna happen!!

novaks47

FSM has saved me from having to ask loads of questions on here. Even if there's no problems, I like to see how things go together and work, simply out of curiosity. This is the first car I've bothered to get a FSM, and I've had quite a few cars before this one(C4 makes number 9, not including the motorcycles). For some reason, I keep running into issues that I don't see discussions on, or they simply lack the details I'm after, so I just got a cheap FSM off of ebay. If I ever sell this car, the FSM will stay with it, to spare the future owner some pain, lol.

TorchTarga94

When I changed the clutch on my 94' it was invaluable. Sometimes it tries to make you do extra steps you really don't need to, but that is what CF is for. I think the FSM and the C4 gurus here on the forum compliment each other pretty well.

That said, I hardly use it unless I REALLY need it. Mainly for torque specs, etc...A lot of the time it puts you on a wild goose chase (refer to chapter 3, you go to 3, then it refers you to 8 lol). That kind of thing.

pacoW

That's because it's easier to say "get the factory service manual" than it is to help guide someone on how to fix a problem. My C4 and C3 run just fine without the FSM, how could that be? I guess I'm just lucky.