Service Manual PDF?

[scottfab]

Originally Posted by chriskinzel

I found mine on Ebay on a CD. I think I paid about $20 for it. It is searchable, but sometines I wish I had the book to flip pages in when out in the garage.

How does the use license read? One user?

[Hib Halverson]

GM has never produced FSMs in .pdf form.

Service data after about 1996 is available electronically, but electronic service information (aka "ESI") has to be purchased either from GM, if you are a GM dealer, or through ACDelco if you are a third party user. I have seen ESI versions as recent as 2011 on a CD which can be read with a web browser.

Occasionally, there will be out-of-date copies of ESI which have been obtained from dealers which are either discarding old copies or from liquidators who purchase a dealer's assets out of bankruptcy or, perhaps, even acquired by individuals through less-then-legal methods.

The eBay page discussed earlier is likely someone's private attempt at reproducing a service manual, page-by-page as an image file.

I'd suspect that for pre'96 factory service data there is nothing available in a format that can be searched.

[Funracer]

Found it on ebay too finally:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...at=0&_from=R40

I am buying. Will report back on quality etc.

Thanks

[WVZR-1]

Originally Posted by Funracer

Found it on ebay too finally:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...at=0&_from=R40

I am buying. Will report back on quality etc.

Thanks

I have never had a Bishko Product in hand but I've spoken to a fellow that does have it and he does well with it. I've always considered buying to compare the two products. I understand it's "searchable" but it depends on how familiar a person is with the format of the FSM how valuable it would be. The indexing of the FSM's has always left something to be desired. Don't consider anything other than the Bishko product.

I believe you'll NOT be disappointed!

[chriskinzel]

That looks like the one.

[scottfab]

Originally Posted by Hib Halverson

GM has never produced FSMs in .pdf form.

Service data after about 1996 is available electronically, but electronic service information (aka "ESI") has to be purchased either from GM, if you are a GM dealer, or through ACDelco if you are a third party user. I have seen ESI versions as recent as 2011 on a CD which can be read with a web browser.

Occasionally, there will be out-of-date copies of ESI which have been obtained from dealers which are either discarding old copies or from liquidators who purchase a dealer's assets out of bankruptcy or, perhaps, even acquired by individuals through less-then-legal methods.

The eBay page discussed earlier is likely someone's private attempt at reproducing a service manual, page-by-page as an image file.

I'd suspect that for pre'96 factory service data there is nothing available in a format that can be searched.

Ah but you missed one other possibility. That would be those of us who have a totally legal ESI version distributed as a beta copy in 98 I think it was. I have both the beta and first real release originally sent to me from the outfit doing the work.

[WVZR-1]

Originally Posted by scottfab

Ah but you missed one other possibility. That would be those of us who have a totally legal ESI version distributed as a beta copy in 98 I think it was. I have both the beta and first real release originally sent to me from the outfit doing the work.

And those require a "specific" reader. I don't know that it's the same as the current web-version of the SI (service information) program or not. I would doubt it. I believe that no information was distributed earlier than '98 model year vehicles maybe a select car line in Beta for '97. I've never seen a GM Service related electronic program that did '96 and earlier vehicles.

[scottfab]

Originally Posted by WVZR-1

And those require a "specific" reader.

That would be correct and a NDA.

Originally Posted by WVZR-1

I don't know that it's the same as the current web-version of the SI (service information) program or not. I would doubt it.

dunno, given 15yrs probably not

Originally Posted by WVZR-1

I believe that no information was distributed earlier than '98 model year vehicles maybe a select car line in Beta for '97. I've never seen a GM Service related electronic program that did '96 and earlier vehicles.

Well I think this one did but..... I'd have to dig it out to find out.
The good news is I know exactly where it is
UPDATE: I checked. It covers 80-99 and is a 11 CD set.

[Funracer]

Success! I ordered the Bishko CD containing the 1991 ZR1 Service Manual.
I think it was about $35. Anyway it arrived a couple of weeks ago and I
wanted to use it a bit before commenting here.



I have my original paperback 91 Service Manual for comparison. As far as I can see the info on the CD is identical in every way to the info contained
in the book. It is layed out like the paper manual and is read page by page. All the same diagrams and charts etc are there too.

But the main reason I wanted this is the thing I like most about it.
I find the paper version invaluable but cumbersome for occasional use.
If I haven't looked at it for a while I forget where everything is. Reaquanting myself is time consuming and frustrating when I just need
a bit of info to continue whatever project I am working on.

My original example above is info on the knock sensor (location and
torque value). I typed in "knock sensor" into the search box and scrolled
thru the pages until I found what I needed. I took 2 minutes.

Another example occurred a few days ago. I wanted to pull the starter (see my other thread for the reason). I scanned the manual engine index section for the word "Starter". No luck. Put the CD in and quickly found the starter removal procedure under "Cranking System".

Just another tool for the box. Two thumbs up.

[chriskinzel]

That is the service manual that I use. It has word great. I will print the pages that I need and take them to the garage with me. I like that it is searchable!