April is National Car Care Month!
O'Reilly has some higher level automotive materials ("Design and Analysis of Composite Structures for Automotive Applications" anyone?), and Hoopla has the likes of Stephen King's Christine, but what about getting down to fixing your car?
Chilton guides are available in print on our library shelves and in digital format from our eResources collection.
What is Chilton?
Chilton is an online database of manuals, OEM diagrams, and Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) for automobiles and light trucks.
Find your vehicle in Chilton by selecting the year, make and model. Different trims, engines and transmissions are reflected in the rest of the guide's materials.
Chilton also has a VIN decoder which gives some basic information about the car and also tells you about any potential recalls for the given vehicle. Be sure to follow up with the dealership or use an appropriate official recall site.
Pro Tip: cover up your laptop keyboard or device screen in some plastic wrap while you're wrenching to keep fluids away! Or, print out a given page for later use.
Chilton also has a built in text to speech reader, in case the screen text is hard to read, or if you are wrenching around under the car (properly supported with jackstands of course!). You can even download the text to speech as an MP3 so you can play back the steps of a procedure at your leisure.
But whatever job you're doing, from brakes to batteries to boosting, give Chilton a try, you might find just the info you’re looking for.
Where to Find It
To access Chilton, visit the SJPL website. Select Books & eResources in the menu bar, then eResources, A-Z. From there, scroll down to Chilton.
Get Social!
I always advise enterprising DIYers to check a few different sources before starting a job - there's a wealth of (mis)information out there on the internet, but if you see how multiple people have done a given job, you can pick out what works safely. Chilton is and should be just one piece of your automotive repair arsenal.
Don't be afraid to see what's out there on social media, or even a local car meet - I've learned plenty and made friends at my local meets.
If you add Chilton to your toolbox, tell us about it on social media! #SJPLeResources
Need Help?
Please contact library staff with additional questions about any of our eResources. You can also find more information, FAQs, and tutorials on our eResources Help page.
Add a comment to: eSpotlight: Chilton