Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: dudester32 on 12 July 2006, 21:36:00

Title: haynes manual
Post by: dudester32 on 12 July 2006, 21:36:00
hi peeps,

just wondering how useful is the haynes omega manual ?

i am gonna need to do a couple of things to the car, but i have no idea what is what when i look under the bonnet, i will use the guides here, and some other guides i have seen (ahem)

 when reading the guides, obviously the authors are naming certain pipes,  and other stuff which is familiar to them and probably most other peeps as well, but to me the naming of certain things (pipes etc..) doesnt mean nothing, as i have no idea what im looking at, unless its a battery, dipstick etc....


thats why im asking if the haynes is any good, i just need something that can illustrate and show me exactly where said pipes or whatever is, as you can see i am a complete noob at motor's, but with the help of you guys and some determination from me, i am determined to get semi competent under the bonnet.

btw  is anybody selling said manual ? postage and a fair price for you included (ronnie possibly ?)
you never know, with the knowledge and help on here i might become the equivalent of a human omega project, rofl.

right better get back to wife, ten year married today  :o,  and she's nipping my box about me being online and not in the publine.


Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: TheBoy on 12 July 2006, 21:39:13
Haynes manual (only available for prefacelift) is useful for both prefacelifts and facelifts.  The cars are mechanically similar in most respects.

If you can pick one up from fleabay for £5 ish, it will be money well spent :)
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: RonaldMcBurger on 12 July 2006, 22:13:03
I'll second that. usefull for torque settings, some useful guides on general things too. Always have mine handy for reference - never used it yet though! ;)
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: dudester32 on 13 July 2006, 00:07:28
K thanks guys. will hunt one down tomorrow, eyes are playing tig just now rofl!
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: SMS01 on 13 July 2006, 00:12:02
Always worth having one for reference. Only thing is that they don't provide a notes section, so you can struggle for hours following their advice when there is a much simpler way of doing it - and then allowing you to make a note of it for future reference.

Only other thing to be wary of on the omega book is they frequently say 'simply remove.....'. On an omega, most of these simple things are a bit trickier than the book would have you believe.
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: markrl on 13 July 2006, 02:05:10
I lost a little bit of confidence in Haynes after reading in order replace the instrument panel light bulbs (Speedo etc) you must remove the steering wheel and airbag first, in order to get the instrument panel out. Followed by lots of terrifying warnings about the Armageddon of the airbag inadvertently firing and the importance of discharging the SRS system. As most on here know you can simply slide it out behind the steering wheel after removing the shroud and air vent. No need to go anywhere near the pyrotechnics. What were they thinking ???
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: Markjay on 13 July 2006, 09:04:42
Quote
I lost a little bit of confidence in Haynes after reading in order replace the instrument panel light bulbs (Speedo etc) you must remove the steering wheel and airbag first, in order to get the instrument panel out. Followed by lots of terrifying warnings about the Armageddon of the airbag inadvertently firing and the importance of discharging the SRS system. As most on here know you can simply slide it out behind the steering wheel after removing the shroud and air vent. No need to go anywhere near the pyrotechnics. What were they thinking ???

Yep - I postponed removing the instrument panel for the very same reason, until I got some advice here (well, there...) that it's rubbish and there is no need to remove the steering wheel etc, and it did take around 10 minutes... I was quite upset for postponing such a simple job for quite a long time because of false information!

But I still find Haynes very useful as a starting point. Also, the pictures show you what you can expect when dismantling, which I find helpful.

So I think that in spite of it's faults and bad reputation (aka 'The Haynes Book of Lies'...) it is a must for Omega owners - including the facelift and Diesel which are not specifically covered - because many areas e.g. suspension, brakes, transmission etc are still the same.


Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: Markjay on 13 July 2006, 09:07:24
Quote
...right better get back to wife, ten year married today  :o,  and she's nipping my box about me being online and not in the publine.


Reading this briefly I initially though you said:
‘...right better get back to wife, married today…' (i.e. I missed the ‘ten years’ bit)
and my first thought was wow, what dedication to the site, that must be a record!  ;D
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: nixoro on 13 July 2006, 09:39:00
Quote
hi peeps,

just wondering how useful is the haynes omega manual ?

right better get back to wife, ten year married today  :o,  and she's nipping my box about me being online and not in the publine.

I know others have already posted the haynes is an added extra to have the detail in there although not spot on is handy to refer to and the Torque setting pages are worth there wait in gold aswell.

Congrats on the 10 yr anniversary.

Roy
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: x25xe on 13 July 2006, 09:47:50
Hi

I have always found Hayens manuals to be very useful on all vehicles that I have.  They cover handy things like jacking, the car's service schedule and, if memory serves, in the version of the manual I have it even gives the correct timing belt interval - 40K / 4 years!

To sum up, along with the advice on this site, the Haynes manual is a must I reckon.

HTH
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: egcc on 13 July 2006, 12:43:27
wanting something similiar for the 2001 onwards(I can't find one all manuals seem to stop at 1999), i did buy a cd worskop on ebay/flea bay lol  -the thing didnot even work, was only £3.69 got a refund though.

how much of the haynes upto 99 will cover my car?
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: TheBoy on 13 July 2006, 12:53:51
Most of the facelift is covered by prefacelift manual. Obviously things like door cards, centre console etc are different, but mechanically the cars are similar enough. Obviously, the drive-by-wire engines wont have throttle cables, and use coil per plug, so there are differences.

If you can get one cheap, its worth getting :)
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: egcc on 13 July 2006, 12:57:30
Quote
Most of the facelift is covered by prefacelift manual. Obviously things like door cards, centre console etc are different, but mechanically the cars are similar enough. Obviously, the drive-by-wire engines wont have throttle cables, and use coil per plug, so there are differences.

If you can get one cheap, its worth getting :)

will enquire at a few car access shops - thanks.
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: TheBoy on 13 July 2006, 13:07:14
or fleabay?

Most car places want £15 - £20 for them. Too much.
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: boss on 13 July 2006, 13:25:29
Haynes is useful as a refference manual for stuff like settings, wiring diags etc, but a bag of s*it for instruction. ;D

Years ago they used to write good indeapth instructions, now its a poor format for anyone to follow :(
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: Markie on 13 July 2006, 16:22:51
always have a haynes but i always second opion anything in it i have not done or am unsure of. There not always right and sometimes, just sometimes, they can be inaccurate or overcomplicate things.

Books are dear £15 is as cheap as you will get "high street" and even on ebay second hand they can reach £10 plus £3-4 postage.

If your lucky and patient you will get one for a tenner delivered, from ebay. Like i did  :)
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: gazsomega on 02 August 2008, 22:54:14
i have the bmw diesel all i can find is petrol even on the haynes site carnt see it or am i blind if anyone is selling one ill make an offer doesnt have to be clean as it will get dirty anyway
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: albitz on 02 August 2008, 23:41:23
probably better to get the info from the forum tbh. haynes can be useful for the basics ,but there is a wealth of knowledge available here. :y
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: rickyboy on 03 August 2008, 02:35:33
All my experiences with Haynes manuals have been very good until I purchased an omega.  Still essential to have although they can tell you to take half the car apart to get at parts which are relatively easy to access.  By all means buy one but consult the forum if you are unsure of anything.  :y
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: TheBoy on 03 August 2008, 13:53:24
Quote
i have the bmw diesel all i can find is petrol even on the haynes site carnt see it or am i blind if anyone is selling one ill make an offer doesnt have to be clean as it will get dirty anyway
Get the haynes for the brakes/suspension/mechanicals.  I have a (landrover) pdf for the engine.
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: gazsomega on 04 August 2008, 00:02:25
cheers mate ill have a look for one
Title: Re: haynes manual
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 04 August 2008, 11:37:30
not bad but not very helpfull..

but when I translate into my language mechanic friends faces become like this one  '>:('

 ;D ;D