New Haynes Manual

[MatthewC]

There is a new Haynes Manual just published, called the "Period Property Manual - Care and Repair of Old Houses" covering "all popular house types from the 1300s to the early 1900s" (see this link http://www.haynes.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=54753&langId=-1). This is written by Ian Rock who wrote the earlier "Victorian House Manual" and "1930s House Manual", and it looks just as comprehensive and well-written.

I've not read it yet as I have only just received my copy; this cost me nothing as it contains photos of my limecrete floor...

 

[AMc]

Is the whole book still "based on a complete strip down and rebuild"?

"Refitting is the reverse of removal" many the unhappy Sunday even spent labouring back through all n steps of a seemingly simple job to resurrect my tatty old Metro.

 

[Feltwell]

"Refitting is the reverse of removal" many the unhappy Sunday even spent labouring back through all n steps of a seemingly simple job to resurrect my tatty old Metro.

That was the Haynes way of trying to get you to get a better car than a Metro :wink: They were awful cars - no wonder Rover is no longer with us!

I've spent many an hour over the years fixing various cars and motorbikes with the aid of a trusty Haynes manual, as I'm sure many of you have as well. Now that cars have become so complicated that servicing them at home is not so much of an option, Haynes have branched out to other things.

Their "Haynes Baby Manual" is really very very good - I heartily recommend it for any expectant / new fathers you know. How to deal with babies, but written for blokes! :lol:

 

[madworthy]

Being a Haynes manual, is it still printed on paper that feels like 20 year old recycled newspaper ?

Mind I did pick up from the charity shop, today, a Haynes lawnmower maintenance manual from 1984 covering the old Briggs and Stratton engined machines, and that is on proper paper.

 

[Keith Bowman]

I believe the Haynes Spitfire manual became a best seller a couple of years ago!

 

[Schoolmarm]

Great link, both books are cheaper on amazon though.

 

[AMc]

That was the Haynes way of trying to get you to get a better car than a Metro :wink: They were awful cars - no wonder Rover is no longer with us!

ROVER? You think I could afford a new one, with a K series engine? No, mine was an Austin Metro 1.3L with about 10 years and 60K on the clock and a few careless owners.

It taught me a lot about car buying, motor maintenance and improvisational problem solving. I discovered - after I'd bought it with the help from a friend of a friend who "knew about cars" - that cars shouldn't smoke more than you do, the best test for this is to drive it in daylight. If a wheel arch is dented, perhaps after a serious accident, it's not OK to simply weld a new one in underneath :shock: so don't buy a car from someone who thinks it is. Don't buy a car with a broken temperature gauge it suggests it has overheated repeatedly in the past. Don't be reassured that the water pump bearings are good by giving it a wiggle and therefore the pump "must be OK" it's quite probable that the impeller has rusted to a star shaped disc and is simply whisking the coolant. That will save you from replacing the head gasket more than once. That knocking noise when turning sharp corners is the CV joints, and when they fail every part of the front drive and brake system will be so firmly encrusted with rust you won't be able to take them apart.

Still I fitted a stupidly loud stereo and that covered most of the noises it made and stopped looking in the rear view mirror when engine breaking. Sadly a couple of days after I finally discovered and replaced the waterpump it was going so well I broke a CV joint going over a humpback, I was due to start my first real job the following week 200miles away so I was forced to take it to the auctions - I got £140 IIRC

I got the Haynes for my 10 year old Merc A class. It's better than nothing but there is so much that says this job requires specialist tools, refer to an authorised Merc garage .

 

[Penners]

Their "Haynes Baby Manual" is really very very good - I heartily recommend it for any expectant / new fathers you know.

Just warn them to be sure that, if they have to dismantle anything, they know exactly how to put it back together.

 

[agbagb]

Round here we call them "the haynes book of lies" There always seems to something that just isn't right. Having said that, they make a good starting point and lead to a well scratched head.

Translation - Specialist tool = bigger hammer.

 

[Penners]

Specialist tool = bigger hammer.

Ah yes - I call it "impact maintenance". :wink:

 

[Feltwell]

I got the Haynes for my 10 year old Merc A class. It's better than nothing but there is so much that says this job requires specialist tools, refer to an authorised Merc garage .

Find a decent independent if you can. My old Audi was serviced by an independent VW-Audi specialist, the BMW I've got now is serviced by an independent BMW specialist. Both are about half the price of main dealers, have all the specialist kit for that make of car and frankly give much better service - even if you don't get a posh cup of coffee from an overly-manicured receptionist whilst you wait.

I just wish there was such a thing as a good independent Ford specialist in this area. My Ford goes to the VW-Audi place for general servicing, but anything that needs diagnostics means it's off to the Ford dealer

 

[AMc]

My Merc has been cared for by the excellent independent Autotechnic in Chedgrave (http://www.autotechnicmercedes.co.uk) don't let the web site fool you - they are a group of Mercedes trained mechanics who love their cars working out of an industrial unit. As you say they're much cheaper than a main dealer and they have all the tools (you should see what a Merc dealer can charge).
My old banger is probably the cheapest car they fix but not the oldest by a very long way. I've seen some beauties and some very modern, very expensive Mercs in their car park.

When it comes to simple stuff like the rear washer leaking or the wiper mechanism squeaking I'd prefer to spend my own time fixing the problem which is when a good guide is helpful. There are so many weedy plastic clips and fasteners, if you know the right order to remove them then they can be reused but break one and you've got a 20mile round trip to buy a 20p part.

I never bought the Merc with the intention of keeping it into its dotage or fixing it myself but a lot has changed since I picked it up with 3 years on it!

 

[Penners]

I got the Haynes for my 10 year old Merc A class. It's better than nothing but there is so much that says this job requires specialist tools, refer to an authorised Merc garage .

Find a decent independent if you can.

I second that. Honest John, the Daily Telegraph's motoring expert (for whom I have a great deal of respect), always says that it's best to use an independent expert. He explains that mechanics go to work for car dealerships, where they get trained up in that particular brand. Once they've become really good at their jobs, many of them will go off and start their own independent repair shops. So that's where you tend to find the best in their field.

 

[Flyfisher]

I just put my cars into the village garage. :lol:

11 year old Merc E-class coming up to 150k miles and a 14 year old Saab 95 just turned 100k miles. Another 5 years in both of them yet, I reckon.

 

[MatthewC]

Great link, both books are cheaper on amazon though.

Only because of the stupid deal the publishers agreed with Amazon, whose aim is to eradicate the high street book shop. Avoid, I say, avoid.

 

[Flyfisher]

Hmm. Is it really their aim to eradicate the high street shop or just to offer an online shopping service and pass on the savings from not having to maintain expensive high street shops? Surely it's the consumer's choice that contributes to the eradication of the high street shop?

And in that respect I must admit my guilt. We're miles from the nearest bookshop anyway plus I get seriously annoyed at the car-unfriendly attitude of many town centres. I'm afraid to say I use Amazon quite a bit.

 

[MatthewC]

Hmm. Is it really their aim to eradicate the high street shop or just to offer an online shopping service and pass on the savings from not having to maintain expensive high street shops? Surely it's the consumer's choice that contributes to the eradication of the high street shop?

I am quoting Tim Waterstone (who obviously has an interest!) - see http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/06/amazon-destroy-britain-book-industry.

Amazon's clear aim is to make as much money as possible (and pay as little tax as possible) and never mind the consequences - ruthless, contemptuous, arrogant and subversive are just some of the adjectives. I don't see anything altruistic about passing on savings. When they have eradicated enough high street bookshops so that publishers depend totally on Amazon, they will turn the screw even further and not allow publishers to supply the remaining bookshops, and then put their prices up. Simples!

 

[Flyfisher]

Well, if they were really able to create and maintain a monopoly then perhaps, but is that really likely to happen? More likely, I'd say, is that another company would enter the fray and undercut Amazon. Isn't that the way free markets work? Much better, surely, than the previous net book agreement cartel arrangement.

 

[Schoolmarm]

Ooops I buy lots from Amazon.

 

[Penners]

Amazon's clear aim is to make as much money as possible (and pay as little tax as possible) and never mind the consequences - ruthless, contemptuous, arrogant and subversive are just some of the adjectives.

That's some outburst, Matthew! What evidence do you have for your choice of pejorative adjectives?

I carry no brief whatsoever for Amazon, and I can only report my own experience with them. I have bought a very wide range of goods from them and in general I find their prices highly competitive, their service excellent and (on the rare occasions that I have had to use it) their after-sale response immediate and fair.

Isn't that a target every retailer should aim at? Just because Amazon have grown big by hitting the bullseye, that doesn't automatically make them the Devil incarnate. As for making as much money and paying as little tax as possible, how many of us don't pursue those aims?

As FF says, there is no prospect whatsoever of Amazon becoming a monopoly supplier. Other companies, existing or new, will always be striving to be better and more successful than them.