PSA: Chilton Car Repair Manuals Are Available Online Via Public Libraries

When you work on your own car, having access to the right instructions and diagrams can be key to completing a repair. Chilton repair manuals have helped shadetree mechanics the world over, which made it even more upsetting when their print operations were shut down last year. But did you know you can access many of these resources with the help of your local public library?

Reddit user r_golan_trevize recently made use of the resources and posted about it on the r/cars board. They'd been through a common struggle, trying to hunt down wiring diagrams for their truck on old forums and dying websites. Piecing tidbits together with what was available in hardcopy repair manuals wasn't getting them far. Then, they stumbled on the online Chilton Library, stocked full of quality resources with specific information sorted by make, model, and year.

The real joy of this is that it's readily available to a broad swathe of Americans, and for free! A huge number of schools, universities, and public libraries all have subscriptions to the Chilton Library service. In most cases, all you need is your library card or ID number and you'll be able to dive into a wealth of useful information. Whether you're at Long Beach City College, or you like to read at Mineola Public Library, you're in luck.