Hey all I am a new Subaru owner. I bought a garage kept 99 Outback Legacy that is outstanding shape. My question is what is the best shop manual to buy and where is the best place to get one. Thanks

The best way to go is always the factory service manuals. They are not cheap. But I beleive Subaru has a web site setup where you can pay a fee to get online access to the FSM's.

 

I'm not sure if you can order paper copies for a '99. Check with your dealer. I think some of the newer stuff they no longer print but '99 is old enough that they may have produced them. If so you should be able to order a '99 FSM set from your dealer. There is probably 5 or 6 volumes to the set.

 

A Haynes or Chiltons manual is like $20 and that's about what they are worth too. . I wouldn't rely on what they say farther than I could throw one.

 

GD

 

A Haynes or Chiltons manual is like $20 and that's about what they are worth too. . I wouldn't rely on what they say farther than I could throw one.

 

GD

 

Wow, really? They've always been great for me for my various Chrysler cars. Are they really that bad for Subarus?

Haynes is good to have around, quite helpful really. Obviously not as good as an FSM but better than Chilton in my estimation.

ive used a haynes manual since i bought my 98 legacy and it served me well.. except for when i was trying to find the band adjustment on my auto tranny

Thanks guys, I'll try to find a haynes manual for my Legacy.

Wow, really? They've always been great for me for my various Chrysler cars. Are they really that bad for Subarus?

 

Don't get me wrong - they are better than nothing. But *most* of the time I find that the questions I need answered are not part of the "normal" repair procedure. What they lack is accuracy in their wiring diagrams, wire colors, etc. And then the "hard" stuff they cop-out and tell you to take it to a shop. LAME .

 

Without fail I have accomplished all of the tasks they claim I can't accomplish. WITHOUT FAIL. Granted I will not accept defeat and if it means I have to buy a new tool then so be it..... I have been to the dealer for a repair only twice - both times for warantee replacements of "lifetime" seat belts that were freyed . I'm not forking out the $300+ for the parts and I'm sure as heck not doing the labor when SOA is picking up the tab.

 

GD

Might also try alldatadiy.com. You can get a service manual to view on-line for about $16.95 a year. Great thing about them is you can print out drawings for whatever repair job you're doing. They also offer a five year subscription for a little more. It's a great thing to use if you are a multiple car family. Additional subscriptions are discounted. Worth a look. A lot of independent service shops use the professional version to access any brand and model of automobile.

Edited August 20, 201015 yr by oldgray1
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Yes alldatadiy is what I've been using. I find it very convenient as you can search and print what you need. Then you can through out the greasy printouts when you're done. I also bought the hard copy paper genuine manuals off eBay but I hardly ever use them because it takes longer to find things and I feel really bad getting the pricey books all greased up.

 

You can use Haynes/Chilton etc and I have tried those for Subaru, but I find they are much too general. Also there are just downright errors in those books in some places. Sometimes they can be useful for comparison, i.e. they have a neat tip on how to do something without a fancy special tool.

I have to agree with GD. I've actually found errors with Haynes when I did repairs to one of my Jeep Cherokees.

 

I have to put Chiltons in second place after a factory shop manual. When we had Loyales, I bought a Chiltons and still have it. It was fairly accurate and helpful. None of the "aftermarket" manuals are as complete as one from the manufacturer.

Haynes is good to have around, quite helpful really. Obviously not as good as an FSM but better than Chilton in my estimation.

 

that's been my experience over the years. Haynes > Chilton

I too tend to prefer the Haynes over the Chiltons. Neither of them answer my questions 75% of the time. But then I really don't need manual's for most things anymore. The internet and experience guides me pretty well.

 

GD