Which is the better manual: Chilton, Haynes, another type?

I am looking for a repair manual for my '08. Which type is better out of the Chilton or Haynes - or is there a better one out there? Thanks in advance!

 

Both the Chilton and Haynes are pretty generic. They're good enough to get you by and do basic work while also including torque specs. They aren't very good about being model specific and getting too deep into some systems. The schematics are so so at best.

If you need more detailed info, there are online service manuals that are much more in depth with procedure. Sometimes you can find them for free. Others you pay a fee and download what you need.

 

I've never owned anything but a Chilton for my trucks, but with my motorcycles I found that the only one worth using was the factory shop manual. It will not be cheap, but if you work on your own stuff it will be worth it.

 

Thanks! As of now, I will look at the Chilton and see what I can find of the service manuals. Thankfully, due to this site the need for that hasn't come up, but one can never be too prepared! Are the torque values correct in the Chilton and Haynes? Thanks again!

 

Factory service manuals are by far the best, but usually the info you'll find in something like Chilton or Haynes will be correct. It's just that they usually lack the detail that the FSM will have. I snagged all my FSM off ebay for good prices. But I also have a Chilton or haynes for a couple of them. When I compare, so far torque specs etc are always the same. After 30+ years of shade tree wrenching, I can say that the more info you have the better off you are. Sometimes one book will have a better angle of the area you're working in vs. One of the other books.

 

I had one of the manuals by Robert Bentley for the 80-81 Corolla years ago and it was the best one I ever saw, outside of the actual dealer service manuals. Every part breakdown and procedure was exactly corrrect.

However i don't think these are very common any more, so you may or may not find it for the Tacomas.

 

All data is about the best I know of .http://www.alldatadiy.com/?gclid=CILy98nEmL4CFYtAMgodLkMAAw


Here is a torque spec guide
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/318116-torque-spec-guide.html

And check here for recent updates http://web.archive.org/web/20110102225436/http://www.ncttora.com/FSM/

 

This is the entire service repair manual, surprised it still works!

Enjoy.

http://www.customtacos.com/tech.old/files/05FSM/repair.html