April 2, 2013 - Repair manuals like Chilton, Haynes, and Clymer have been around for over 50 years and have eased the pain of auto repairs on many a man and woman both old and young. The Haynes, in particular, holds a special place in my memory regarding an adventure with a Hyundai Excel. Yes, you can tell by the model this has been a day or two ago.
The car wasn’t that old, but it began making one of those tell-tale cricks, rattles, and grinds upon turning corners. It wasn’t too bad at first, but then it just kept getting worse and worse, until it ground with pretty much any movement of the vehicle. Have you diagnosed the problem yet?
Yep, you got it. CV joint gone bad.
Back in those days money wasn’t so plentiful so we couldn’t afford to have someone repair the car. One place told us it would cost like $500. No way, no how.
Anyway, off to the auto parts store to purchase a Haynes manual. Along with the combined tools of a best friend and myself and our trusty Haynes manual, the automobile repair education began. We beat the projected time of the mechanic shop by 1 ½ hours and did the job for a little over $100 bucks. Yes, the repair was successful and the car worked without issues, grinds, rattles, and creaks for years to come.
Moral to the story: You can repair more stuff than you think. There is a lot of help out there from which you can learn how to execute auto repairs. Just be careful that you don’t try to do something that could risk your safety.
