This particular truck manual is tightly controlled by the auto mfr and by the "captive publisher" (Helm). I had to open the box and take the individual volumes out one at a time 'cause I couldn't lift the box to get it in the house without straining. It's NOT AVAILABLE from anyone except the "authorized distributor."

I've probably found enough information to justify the $175 price, but even at that it's not really a "complete enough" description of all the parts to let you "blueprint" a vehicle.

There is a digital version available, but it has a couple of drawbacks:

1. It's $1800.
2. It only runs on a specific obsolete computer that you can't buy.
3. The guys at the shop who have it say that the program is so clunky it won't even boot on odd days of the week when it rains in Detroit (even if you're in Los Angeles).
4. They won't sell it to you unless you're a registered dealer.

The digital version does come with a year of updates, but none of the guys I've talked to have figured out how to make the base program read the updates, so I'd say that feature's of limited value.

The books you can download on the 'net are the ones that have the same 324 pages of "boiler plate" that hasn't changed since 1942, with two pages that give you a few vaguely model-specific bolt torque values and tell you what size oil filter your model might use. About 30% of the torques are wrong, but not to the point that they'll hurt you. Turning the bolts without knowing where the seven separate computers are and what they're connected to can kill you - now or later.

Progress is wonderful. (?)

Tell me again: "Progress is wonderful" (?)

(Nah, I'm still not quite a true believer.)

John