1979 LeBaron Service Manual

[Justwondering]

I need to get a service manual for both electric and non-electric maintenance/repairs for the 1979 LeBaron I own.

I had a 'friend' give me a huge 1978 Auto Repair Manual by Chilton ... oh lord what a waste of paper.

Then I searched on ebay and there are about 5 different publishers of possible manuals.

Would someone point me to what is the better option and what to stay away from (yes, I already have the Chilton slated for the burn pile and no, I don't want to discuss just how much damage the packrat did to the engine bay, and yes I had several heavy duty glue traps there .. to no avail).

JW

 

[BudW]

Those "Chiltons" and "Haynes" can be useless.

The factory guides are always the best, most complete and don't dabble in non-relevant material.

There are two different factory books, the Electrical and everything but electrical (using my words).
Here is one example: 1979 CHRYSLER PLYMOUTH DODGE CHASSIS-BODY ELECTRICAL SERVICE MANUAL SC BOOKS | eBay
You might be able to get each manual separate (and cheaper), maybe.
There might even be a manual set on CD (or DVD), maybe.
BudW

Edit:
When I perform an eBay search, I put in "19xx Dodge service manual -Chiltons -Haynes". On newer vehicles, you might need to add "-pickup" or "-Dakota" (or whatever) to get the right one.

 

[69-]

I got this one 1979 Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge CD-ROM Repair Shop Manual.

30 bucks, on CD.

 

[Aspen500]

I have the "79 manual on CD from Detroit Iron. It's a PDF based digital copy of the actual manual.

I agree with others. Haynes, Chilton, Motor, etc manuals are fairly useless except for the basic things.

1979 Plymouth Chrysler / Dodge Factory OEM Shop Manuals on CD | Detroit Iron

Buy this 1979 Plymouth/Chrysler/Dodge licensed factory shop manual CD for a full set of PDF OEM digital service, supplements & parts books per year/make. Free Shipping.

www.detroitironis.com

 

[Mikes5thAve]

Here's the set for $22 on ebay

1979 Chrysler Plymouth Dodge Body Chassis & Electrical Service Manual Lot Of 2 | eBay

There's another for 25 that shows both books but not very clear if it actually comes with both or not.

If you have one for the 5th Avenue everything but the electrical section is almost the same and electrical should be close enough to figure a lot of stuff out but some colors might be different.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

Here's a better price but books

1979 CHRYSLER PLYMOUTH DODGE CHASSIS-BODY & ELECTRICAL DEALER SERVICE MANUALS | eBay

 

[BudW]

If you have one for the 5th Avenue everything but the electrical section is almost the same and electrical should be close enough to figure a lot of stuff out but some colors might be different.

I would agree with you, for the most part. If working with underhood wiring (sigh Justwondering, not again), I would use the correct year service manual. Especially if wiring is mangled beyond recognition (hopefully that is not the case).
BudW

 

[Mikes5thAve]

I would agree with you, for the most part. If working with underhood wiring (sigh Justwondering, not again), I would use the correct year service manual. Especially if wiring is mangled beyond recognition (hopefully that is not the case).
BudW

​

That's why I said figure a lot of stuff out but yeah a major mangle of wires would be a problem.
The underhood wiring is actually mostly the same colors throughout the years so unless you're dealing with wiring for the spark control or have to trace back a wire to a certain spot in the big body plug at the fire wall you're mostly OK.

 

[Aspen500]

Oh yeah, forgot your car is an '87 JW, and I see they don't have a CD for your car.

 

[69-]

She is looking for papers for the 79 lebaron

Just to add that Chiltons and Haines are crap. Got one as a present, no help. Have one for the camper and 88 ford Ltd CV - same...

 

[Aspen500]

Man, I really am losing my mind! See what happens when you're off work on the injured reserve list for almost 2 months does? I was thinking 5th Ave not LeBaron, even though it say that in the thread title. In that case, Detroit Iron DOES have a manual.

 

[BudW]

See what happens when you're off work on the injured reserve list for almost 2 months does?

!
I must have missed something somewhere.

 

[69-]

Same here... :-?

And -someone changed (corrected) my word play with Hiltons and Chaynes?


(I'm OK with it, no problem)

 

[Justwondering]

5 chewed wires completely off at the firewall plug.
8 inch piece of red wire laying loose.
and on the other side is a blue wire in 3 parts
two vacuum lines

I have 3 glue traps that were filled with bean pods and leaves and shredded insulation from under the hood.

packrat was nearly 10 inches long and as big as my fist.

best he was sick the next day ... i poured enough antifreeze on everything that was edible.

Once the high temp gets back up to close to 50 I'll take the air compressor down and clean the rest of the engine.

JW

 

[Justwondering]

Mike -- its ordered and on its way. thanks for the advice from everyone.
I'll definitely be ridding myself of this chilton book once the others get here.

JW

 

[Mikes5thAve]

A mouse actually ate part of the corner of my 79 service manual good luck with the wiring repairs. For one car (non M) i have the real manuals and the cd version. I got the cd first because I couldn't find good priced hard copy. For reference and quick look up I prefer having the actual book but I like being able to print out the pages from the cd and not have to worry about getting the book all messed up.

I actually don't mind the Haynes manual for these cars. At least it's mostly based on tear down of a diplomat so while it's not that good for year or model specific stuff it's a good reference for a lot of the rest. It's what I used first before the days of ebay.

 

[Justwondering]

Got my manuals yesterday (Friday).
Ever so glad there is a separate manual for electric.

Need to get my extra small, flat head screwdriver so I can get the chewed off wire out of the plug.
But, for now, I've got reading to do.

JW

 

[BudW]

Not saying this applies, but if I'm working on a major re-wire (spot fire, major wiring modification (like ignition or radio change over), or for you, rodent damage at one area), it helps me to take a blank piece of paper and make my own mini-schematic (with colors) to help me make sure I don't forget anything.

It is no fun to spend time on a project then it not work with a "hand meets forehead" moment and you have to re-do what you just spent hours working on.
Your mileage may vary.
BudW

 

[Mikes5thAve]

I like photocopying the manual pages to do what Bud said.. i guess that's a plus for pdf version being able to print it out quickly.

 

[Justwondering]

coloring ... I like coloring.
JW