Shop Manual vs. Repair Manual vs. Part List

[dwest999]

Forum Friends,

 

Sometimes I am hesitate to ask a question on the forum b/c it might have been asked before.  That said, I have been trying to figure out what manuals I need.  I've got a '54 Dodge and purchased a Shop Manual immediately.  The manual has proved helpful; however, I often times read references to a "repair manual" and "parts list".  I want to make sure I have all of the literature needed to work on my car.  So here are my questions:

 

1) What is the difference between the shop manual and repair manual?  From what I can tell they are the same thing.
 

2) What is covered in the part manual or parts list?  I ask this b/c often I see great visuals and illustrations of parts that are not found in my shop manual.  Do I need both?
 

Again, I am sure that the questions above may have been already asked, but have some time searching I couldn't find a solid answer.  Please enlighten me.

 

Thank you.

 

Dave  

[greg g]

I always thought of repair manuals as things like the old motors manuals.  Ok for major stuff and regular maintenance over a wide span of years.  The shop manuals brand and model specific for your year more detailed and specific to the job with later editions having tech tips and updates from field experience.  The parts books are best for their exploded illustrations of assemblies illustrating how components relate to each other.  I have the service manual for 46 to 50 Plymouth and they parts book.  Both of which I frequently refer too even if I have done the job before.

[keithb7]

I have been growing my collection of manuals to support my 2 cars. What have I learned? A ton of info is shared across a wide range of years. These old Mopars are sorta like decades of in-bred relatives. All very closely related. 

 

Initially I bought the original shop manual for my cars. Good stuff. Then I bought a Motors Manual each of my cars. More great info! Extra stuff that may have been overlooked in the original shop manual. The original shop manual, I believe was written for dealer mechanics. They assume you should have a good grasp of mechanical work. The Motors Manual seems is a little more stripped down for home grease monkey type folks?

 

A friend found a 1949 original DPCD manual. He gave it to me. I figured I would have no need for it as I have no 1949 cars. I was surprised to see lots of good info I totally could use! Different and in some ways better illustrations from other my other manuals. The 1949 turned out to be a great resource that I often reference.

 

I also located a 1953 and 1938 original parts manuals for my cars. Good for finding NOS parts on E-Bay. The illustrations are handy too. When I decided to replace the Synchro in my 1938 tranny, I looked up the original 1938 part number. Then searched it on E-bay. $80 shipped! Brand new. That one purchase made that parts manual well worth the price. The synchro was not listed by what cars it fit. Just the old original part number. Without it I would have never found it. A perfect OEM brand new part from my 1938!

 

So, shop manual, or service manual, or parts manual?...The answer is yes. All provide info you can and will use if you want to take care of your car yourself.

 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by keithb7

[keithb7]

To see an example of a parts book click here: http://www.1948plymouth.info/1948p15/DocumentWeb/default.php

 

Enter "password" to get access. Cruise around, see what you get from a decent parts book.

 

 

[Go Fleiter]

1.) mine is called  "service manual"

You find the above mentioned procedures, values, hints, how-to-do s

2.) My "Parts List" is a list, so find very helpful exploded views with part numbers.

The part numbers are merged in lists shoving a column each for Ply, Dodge, DeS, Chry , Flat6s and V8s

and for some parts more lines each for production years.

So You have a different order number for the part relative to Your car.

3.) Ther is "Hollander Interchange"

there You find if a starter Motor is the same on Your Dodge or a specific Hudson or Studebaker.

This helps if Your chosen part is not available  at our known MOPAR dealers.

Greetings from Düsseldorf!

 

Exampels: "Parts List" expl. view , "Service Manual", "Parts List" list,  "Hollander Interchange"

 

If You need some specific pages urgently, I can try to send You scans via e-mail.

Compatibility of my and some US e-mails is not 100%, however, some failed.

Greetings from Düsseldorf!

Go

 

!! I have no Copyrights on these-

they are only for private use and help in this private forum !!

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by Go Fleiter

[dwest999]

greg g, keithb7, and Go Fleiter,

 

Thank you all for the very helpful information.  I just purchased a Motors Manual for 1954 off ebay for $18 (not bad).  I have the service manual already and will look into locating a part list.  Like Keith mentions, at times the service manual / shop manual assumes you are a dealer with dealer tools and it doesn't cover everything.  More content and more pictures (l like pictures) will be helpful.

 

Last point, I also, I think this post will be helpful to other newbies like me.  

 

Dave

[keithb7]

I own the exact Blue Motors manual. Its a good reference for studying and comparing various models and years of Mopars too. 

[kencombs]

I have a factory truck service manual for my 56, a Motors that covers 50-60 approximately and a Hollander that covers late 40s to about 60.  The Hollander was mentioned by another poster and is a great source of info.  They list interchanges, even if not identical parts, along with the mods that may be needed to make it fit.  Things like moving the location of the heat sensor in the head or a change in combustion chamber size  would result in a different PN in a factory book.  The Hollander will list the interchange.