[AT] 98 Dodge 3500

[Steve W.]

Stephen Offiler wrote:
> I have been meaning to make this suggestion and John Hall's note has
> reminded me again.  Really, to work seriously on any vehicle whether
> an old tractor or a new(er) truck requires information.  We routinely
> get the I&T or reprint factory shop manuals when we pick up an old
> tractor, right?
> 
> One suggestion I have is AllDataDIY.  Most probably don't know AllData
> but this is an online service that provides factory service
> information on nearly everything on the road for professionals, at a
> very large annual subscription fee ($x,000).  They have a
> do-it-yourselfer version as well.  Here instead of getting ALL the
> info, you sign up for one specific vehicle only.  I think it cost
> around $30 for the first vehicle for the first year.  You can add
> additional vehicles for less, like $17 or so, and after the first
> year, re-subscription is around the same.  They also occasionally have
> sales, providing multi-year discounts, like $30 for five years.  I
> usually grab these when I can so right now I am at $6 per year for my
> subscription.
> 
> My point:  you need information just to locate where all those ground
> points are.  Happily there probably aren't nearly as many as 50.  A
> dozen is a better estimate.  Once you know exactly where they are,
> checking/cleaning them is a walk in the park.  But trying to find them
> all without information pretty much guarantees you will miss some, and
> of course Murphy's Law guarantees you will miss the one you really
> need.
> 
> Perhaps Chilton has a manual covering  this model as well, but I have
> tried to use a Chilton's on my '97 F250 and found it severely lacking,
> mostly because it covers too many models and years and provides sparse
> detail or none at all when you try to get right down to it.
> AllDataDIY does get you right down to the last little detail.  It
> requires a combination of mechanical knowledge and computer skill to
> use AllDataDIY but I think every single one of us on the ATIS list
> already meets that. It does take more than a bit of effort and
> understanding to use AllDataDIY effectively.  For example, navigating
> the electrical diagrams requires that you first understand their
> symbols and conventions, then it takes some patience bouncing around
> between  many pages of  diagrams, but there is a page explaining how
> all that works too.
> 
> Another benefit of AllDataDIY is that you get full access to the text
> of Technical Service Bulletins, which are issued by the factory when
> known problems surface that might affect a lot of vehicles.  You can
> get just the titles of the TSB's from many sites, but you get the
> actual content with your AllDataDIY.  They can provide those "magic
> silver bullet" solutions to weird problems sometimes.
> 
> I am not affiliated in any way with AllDataDIY, just a happy
> subscriber.  Kevin, rest assured you cannot/will not be able to fix
> this problem yourself without INFORMATION of some sort.
> 
> Steve O.
> 
> 

Back in the past Chiltons, Motors and Haynes actually had good manuals.
When they tried to keep up with auto makers changing the vehicles by
placing them all in one book they screwed up. The phrase in those books
that I LOATH the most is "other models similar"

AlldataDIY works well.

My personal favorite DIY help site is Mitchell Online. They are VERY
model specific and use actual data for the vehicle.

For free use visit your local library. They will have an EBSCO database
which gets you some of the information. You can get TSBs and most of the
DIY level stuff on there. They don't get into the complex stuff like
trans repair or electronic module repair, BUT it's free.

They also have Small Engine repair information.
The user-name and password for many of them are the name of the library
and public

http://snipurl.com/iohai is to the Marshall Library log in.
marshall  public

http://snipurl.com/iohg4 MAY take you to the main database site.

-- 
Steve