Factory Service Manuals

If you plan to do much of your own work on your Jeep, you should really consider getting a factory service manual. These things are a million times better than a Haynes or Chiltons manual, since they're designed to be used by factory service centers.

I ordered mine for a current-year Jeep (1995 at the time) directly from Chrysler for US$59 + tax, $68.74 total. Call their publications center at 800-890-4038 (in 2003, I found that the price varies by vehicle year, and could be as high as $90). It arrived in 7-10 days. The older your Jeep, the less likely they are to still have your manual in stock. The inside cover of my '95 manual says you can call 216-572-7240 or fax 216-572-0815 to get a free catalog of manuals or to place an order.

There are several sources for older service manuals. The following list contains sources that Jeep list members have either used or called for info on older manuals:

Name	Phone	Internet	JeepTech source
DaimlerChrysler Tech Authority	800-890-4038	http://www.techauthority.com	Dave on ZJ-List
	Owner, service, and diagnostic manuals for all 1996-present DC vehicles
Detroit Iron from Eastwood		http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1249&itemType=CONTENT	Obi-Wan
	Scans of original, older service manuals for many manufacturers on CD. Jeep available only 1969-81.
Z&M Full Size Jeeps		http://www.zmjeeps.com	Zack Heisey
	(1970-80's Jeep manuals not listed yet on new web site, but they DO sell them)
Border Parts	800-533-0171 or 619-461-0075		Jeff Layton
Brian's 4WD Parts and Lit		willysgp@aol.com	JJ
Diamond Distribution	800-890-4038		Patrick Clow
eBay		http://www.ebay.com/	Marty Martin
	This is an auction thing and is infrequent; watch for posts from Marty
Irv Fishco	800-544-3312		Patrick Clow
Helm Incorporated	800-782-4356	http://www.helminc.com/	Chris Waterman
Leon Rosser	800-633-4724	http://www.thinkjeep.com/	Patrick Clow
Novak	562-921-3202	http://www.whittierca.com/novak.htm	Danny Peterson
	They don't appear to have anything beyond 1971 but they are all $35 as of 10 Feb 98
Saxon	800-458-2734		Patrick Clow
Surplus City Jeep Parts	800-353-3772 or 530-533-2500	http://www.surplusjeep.com/MANUALS.htm
	$29.95 for early models as of 10 Feb 98
Turner 4WD	770-992-1181	http://thejeep.com/manual.html	Obi-Wan
	$28.95 + $5.00 for shipping for pre-71 manuals as of 10 Feb 98. Also some later model manuals available in the $85+ range.
Voss Motors	248-357-4750	http://members.aol.com/vossmotors/jo.html	Obi-Wan
TheJeep.Net	800-THE-JEEP	http://www.thejeep.net/catalog/default.php?cPath=39	Brandon/2nd Day
Great lakes XJ		http://www.greatlakesxj.com/tech.html	Obi-Wan

Near as I can figure if you are paying more than $70-$75, you are paying too much for your manual (later model manuals, post-1971, are sometimes higher while pre-71 are usually under $40). If you have a rare beast and all the sources turn up only one manual and they want $200 for it -- get it! $70-$75 is just a good starting point.

While not a complete manual, the wiring diagrams for a 1995 YJ are available online at Scribd.com.

Thanks to Patrick Clow for compiling and posting most of this list to the JeepTech mailing list.

And because I have no better place to put it, here's a list of sources I found for factory service manuals for my 2001 Chevy Tahoe. Most of them also stock manuals for many other brands of vehicles. Thanks to the folks on the ChevyTalk forum for most of these tips.

Name	Web Site
Helm, Inc.	http://www.helminc.com
Books 4 Cars	http://www.books4cars.com
Best Brands Repair Manuals	http://www.autorepairmanuals.biz
Faxon Auto Literature	http://www.faxonautoliterature.com
eBay	http://www.ebay.com

The links in the advertisements surrounding this page are also likely to be good sources for service manuals. Please explore their offerings.

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last updated 18 Apr 2011

Obi-Wan (obiwan@jedi.com)