Customer Reviews

Nissan: 240SX / Altima 1993-98 (Chilton's Total Car Care Repair Manual)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I find the manual does not have enough detail about key user components. The only thing I wanted to find was how the heater control valve was actuated. The valve was shown and the a\c control panel was shown but the actual linking from the valve to the panel was omitted. The author needs to do more research on user controls such as this. After all this is supposed to be a "TOTAL" repair manual.

All I wanted was a book that had the codes for the electronic control unit (ECU). This book lists some of the codes but wouldn't you know my ECU is flashing 3 different codes and none of them are listed. A total waste of money.

For general information on the repair and maintanence of the 240SX, this book is well worth the money. It has plenty of diagrams and words to help the beginner/novice mechanic.

One could tackle just about any job with this in hand. Where it lacks is in being able to provide technical data and diagnostics of the integrated systems of the car.

If you're looking for diagnostics of the engine management system (ie. the ECU), a Factory Service Manual will be best. This book doesn't really handle that well.

This book saved me a lot of money. It has enough details on how to do simple repairs and do them right the first time. A must have book if you drive older altima.

i am a beginning diyer. simply put, what i already know is in the book, what i don't is missing. it's ok to have it as a reference, but dont expect too much.

ps. if you are looking for the 240sx, chances are that you can download a "factory service manual" somewhere on the web, maybe free. that's much better than this one.

Not real clear on some things , and the pics could me better , and have more of them , leading to less guess work .

I agree with the above review that this book needs more in the way of detail. It really is written with the mechanic in mind, and not written for the everyday Joe who may not have a lot of mechanical knowledge but wants to work on his or her own car.

Instead of giving specific, detailed instructions, many times the wording is very general and assumes you already know what you're doing. If you are trying to remove a part, for example, the instruction might be a very simple "remove that part"; whereas I would like to see a book that says "this is what the part looks like, this is exactly where it is in relation to other parts, these are the bolts used to hold it on, and by the way you'll need an 11mm wrench to take four of the bolts off and then a screwdriver to disconnect the wire". So more detail and more exploded diagrams showing each individual part would be helpful.

Unfortunately there isn't much else out there in the way of detailed repair manuals (and certainly there isn't much for an obscure car like the 240sx), I've also used the Haynes manuals and found them equally unhelpful. However both are better than nothing at all, meaning that if you can get through them they will help you complete your project.

I had a Honda Civic years ago and had a great repair manual for it that was called "How to keep your Honda Alive for the Compleat(!) Idiot" or something like that. That was a terrific book, very detailed, and even went so far as to give you instructions on how to cook chicken on your exhaust manifold. I haven't seen any of those books since.

I got my brakes inspected at [local auto repair shop]. They said that my rear pads needed to be changed. They then said it would be $140 plus the parts. I went to [another local auto repair shop] and bought the pads for $35 and went home. I had a Toyota Celica and had changed my pads before on it, so I thought I could on my 240 as well. Nope. I would never have guessed that you had to turn the piston clockwise to get it to go in. I used a c-clamp and actually bent it trying to push the piston in. One look in the manual told me to turn the piston, not push it, which you do on the front. I only paid [price] instead of $140!!!