Mazda Books

If you are planning to work on the rear brakes note that figure 6.12a "Note how the clip and spring are installed..." appears to show the M spring backwards. Refer to figure 6.7a for the correct orientation of the spring. Also the manual adjustment gear screw requires a 4 mm Allen key. Make sure you have one before getting started. The plastic cover on the caliper lower mounting bolt just pulls off. To remove the disc, you may have to place a block of wood against it (turn disc and repeat) and whack it gently with a hammer.

Generally good but missing some basic instructions on removing some parts before completing the desired task.

This book was purchased along with other "I just bought a used car" items (plugs, belts, you know the routine) at the parts store. Because I'd had good experience with Haynes manuals before, it seemed like a Good Idea At The Time.

If I'd known then what I know now...

If Haynes was interested in releasing repair manuals for Miatae, they would've released two for the NA (1990 - 1997) series, because the 1990-93 was a 1.6L engine and the 1994-97 was 1.8L. There are enough differences between the engines to merit two different volumes, and Haynes doesn't do a great job of pointing out the differences between the two. The illustration about spark plug firing order, to name one example, is awkward enough to make you set your tools down and ponder before proceeding. Information in a repair manual should be succinct, not confusing.

If you want good reference material for your Miata (why else would you be reading this?), use the following resources BEFORE cracking open the Haynes:
- www . miata . net - specifically, the FAQ and garage sections.
- Mazda's shop manual for your specific year, available from many online vendors. This is invaluable and will pay for itself over time.
- Rod Grainger's "Enthusiast's Manual" by for your flavor, 1.6L or 1.8L, also available from many online vendors (including Amazon.com!).
- Your local Miata club, also found at www . miata . net

I'm not affiliated with any person, company, product, or web site I've mentioned in this review. I'm just one Miata enthusiast trying to help others.

I remember the original Haynes manuals from the sixties, having used several for working on Austin-Healeys and MGs. I remember them as having a lot of character, and reading them was almost like a conversation with a crusty old mechanic. Those old books seemed to share my love for these absurdly fragile and troublesome cars. This new book for the Miata shares little beyond the "Haynes" logo with with its legacy. Sadly, this new Haynes manual has a style more along the lines of Chilton's or other "fix your jalopy" guides. That is to say, no style at all. And no love.

What is more, the book suffers from assembly-line construction, with boiler-plate sections on tires, batteries, body care, etc., that are way too generic to be of any value to a Miata owner/lover. For example, the battery section is for a lead-acid battery, never mind the Miata has a "gel-cell" type. Want to set the timing on your Miata?... you won't find sufficient information in the Haynes guide to do the job.

The advantage to the Haynes guide is, it's cheap compared to the factory service manual. But, in this writer's humble opinion, it's not worth what it cost.

I bought the book when i got a used Miata without owner's manual. I found it does not specify which fuse works what devices, and that's what I need. Oh well...

If you have a 99 Ranger 4x4 with auto hubs do not look for the information on the locking mechanism in this book, it is not included. Also, it is missing most of the build specs for the truck, in all this is a general manual that has some Ranger Mazda data. If you are looking for details you will not find them here plus there are numerous errors. I found most of the information on forums and search engines. It took time but less than it did to find out that it is not covered in this book. A good rule of thumb for this manual is to check it out from the Library and see if it has what you need, BEFORE you buy it.

I'm thinking about buying this book because I own a 2000 Ford Ranger, code-named J97, built in Thailand for sale throughout the world except North America.
Could it be that Mr Gow found the manual inaccurate because the US Ranger is a totally different vehicle from the Mazda-based Ranger that the rest of us use?

The first need I had for information from my Haynes Ford Ranger manual was to locate a fuse in my 1999 Ranger XLT. The fuse diagram is wrong. No corrections are available at the Haynes website.

The first need I had for information from my Haynes Ford Ranger manual was to locate a fuse in my 1999 Ranger XLT. The fuse diagram is wrong. No corrections are available at the Haynes website.

Like most car repair manuals this one is not very helpful. This manual is for two very different cars that have the same engine....Talk about cheap. The steps are not always well documented and the few pictures are never of the part you need to see to finish the job and most of the pictures are not even for my car. I hope that someone will make an online or CD-rom version of car repairs that is actual usefully.

This manual suffers the same problems most consumer car repair manuals suffer from.

It is not well illustrated: the illustrations are scanty, and sometimes confusing. For example: trying to locate the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve and related solenoids was an exercise in frustration. The illustration shows the EGR valve for a 4-cylinder car, but not one for the V-6 (which I have), except for a view from the bottom of the car. So locating it involved getting under the car, and looking with a light for about 15 minutes -- peering through the gaps in the exhaust system, frame braces, etc. Then, after I identified it, I had to somehow find it again from the top, because it can't be reached from the bottom except by dismantling a frame brace and assorted other stuff. I was finally able to locate it by touch.

Locating and identifying the little solenoid that sends vacuum to the EGR valve proved almost as frustrating. The manual doesn't show where it is located, or what it looks like. There is an illustration purporting to show it, but it doesn't match. I could go on.

To make this book really useful for the user, it should have well-drawn line drawings supplemented with numerous CLEAR photos showing the part in question in its many versions and forms, from different angles, etc. I'm sure this would make a larger, more expensive book, but it would also make it worth the money.

The second problem is the lack of sufficient instructions on how to get to or remove parts. The manual will say something like "remove the whatchamacallit cover." It doesn't tell you that to do it you have to remove 7 bolts, three of which are hidden, so that after removing the 4 visible ones you have to grunt and swear and curse until you finally figure out that there are more bolts to take off, AND that you have to slide the cover a certain way to make it come off. It also doesn't say that the whole job would be a lot easier if you take off something else first. I still haven't figured out how to take off the EGR valve without first removing the frame brace, air cleaner, throttle body, and perhaps even the entire intake manifold first -- about NONE of which the manual offers any hint.

The third problem is that some of the information is just wrong, at least for my car. The manual shows an electrical connector on the EGR valve lift sensor that has 6 terminals. It gives very precise instructions on how to test the sensor by checking resistance between terminals. The only problem is that the sensor on my car has only three terminals. How do I check the resistance on the sensor? I have no clue.

The previous reviewer's complaints about switching back and forth between different sections to get a job finished are on the mark also.

All in all, this is a frustrating book to depend on for information on repairs and trouble shooting. However, it is pretty much all that is out there, and it is useful for help in a number of small procedures, most of them not having to do with the engine. You can use it to troubleshoot engine problems, but it takes a lot of patience and a willingness to figure a lot of stuff out on your own, with only broad hints and inadequate illustrations for help.

It's not too terribly hard to use, but it's only a step above your owner's manual.

This "manual" is cheaply printed on poor quality paper, hard to read, and a general waste of money. The "pictures" are low quality newsprint style photos that lack contrast, have poor detail, and are poorly framed (see page 3-41 Fig.153 as an example).

But the pictures are much better than the text and the organization; the manual claims to cover six vehicle models over five model years and fails miserably. The diagrams and text are so poorly organized and labeled that you are never sure which model or year is being talked about or shown. This book reminds me of the Monty Python skit about the foreign phrase books that have really bad translations - both can get you into much more trouble than you should have to put up with!

I purchased this book because I needed to figure out a problem with the heater on my 96 Ranger. This book proved to be of very little help.

There was only one diagram of the heater system with virtually no detail (page 3-9 diagram 3.11). The problem is with the heater vacuum system. This area is not even mentioned in this book.

So for me, this book was of virtually no value. Hopefully, I can come back in the future and say that I was able to use this book to fix a problem. However, I will probably have traded in my truck first.

I am an owner of a 93 mazda mx-6. I found the information provided to be scetchy at best. I purchased this book because I was interested in the wiring diagrams which were "now included". They were included for all makes, save the mx-6.

This book is hardly useful for any REAL repair work. Putting information on several different cars that are hardly alike all together in one book simply does not work. i.e. Engine repair shows specific examples for a mx-3 or whatever, but not for others. The Electrical diagams are incomplete making them totally confusing. Most importantly. THe sole reason why I bought this book is for Vacuum diagrams, which is indicated on the cover of the book. There is not one vacuum diagram for any car in the entire book.

As the others have said, this book is not very good. I found one by Haynes which is much better; for example, I used it for a 626, a very popular model. The Chilton's was dead wrong in some areas and very poor in most others. The Haynes was dead ON in all areas I needed. That seems to be true for the whole book; forget the chilton's (which has been an excellent source in the past for these kinds of manuals), and, in this case at least, buy the Haynes, which is also cheaper, by the way!

I'd have to agree with the last reviewer's 2 star rating, and that's being generous. Usually Chilton does a good job, but trying to cram all these different models in one book is not the way to go. I own a 626, and just about every time I tried to follow a procedure, the text would refer to something that was only pictured for the other models (usualy the Miata or 323), and of course when I eventually figured it out on my own the item mentioned was in a totally different place, looked different, etc. Unfortunately this was the only book I have found for a 1993 626.

As the others have said, this book is not very good. I found one by Haynes which is much better; for example, I used it for a 626, a very popular model. The Chilton's was dead wrong in some areas and very poor in most others. The Haynes was dead ON in all areas I needed. That seems to be true for the whole book; forget the chilton's (which has been an excellent source in the past for these kinds of manuals), and, in this case at least, buy the Haynes, which is also cheaper, by the way!

i is a mcanic is not good at ficsin stuf. Waste of Money!!! This book is useless at best, Try using the schematics in the back. My 1990 626 must be an orphan, or a pontiac in drag. If they didn't shrink wrap it i would have taken it back. Too basic for a mechanic & too inaccurate for a novice.

I own a '91 Mazda MX-6 and bought this book to help with the minor repairs it needed, the electrical diagrams in this book are not even compairable to the wiring in the vehicle as well as the fact that the rest of the data is incorrect, I wish I'd bought a better looking paper weight.

I own a Mazda. I bought the book to do a head gasket job. The tear down instructions are not reliable. For example, there should be some instructions on removing the fuel injector before you remove the intake manifold. You have to remove the injector before you can remove the intake manifold. It also says to remove the carboretor. My 626 is a 90. There is no carberetor. I think the people should lift up a hood occasionally to get the imformation right. I have the right book, based on the title (83-91). I'm out 14.00 and no help.

I previously owned a 1987 626 GT, which was meticulously maintained and am currently driving a relatively pristine specimen of a 1989 MX-6 GT. Based upon my experience with and knowledge of each of these vehicles, this publication can help no one who owns a post-1988 626/MX-6. In 1989 the 626 coupe was completely redesigned into the 1st generation MX-6 with minimal parts interchange... A fact that appears to have completely escaped the author(s). If you like reading about the inner workings of a vehicle you don't own, then buy this book. The 1983 thru 1988 info. may be accurate. However, 1989 should have been left out because the information provided is completely unapplicable to the car. I wasted money and hours of frustration. I refuse to consider the purchase of another these publication.

I bought this book right after I bought my '91 626. The book was great until I needed to do some troubleshooting with it. The time I wasted trying to follow this book full of incomplete, misleading information wasn't worth spending. I should have taken it to a mechanic who had the real information. Nowhere in the book is there any mention of a throttle position sensor. DON'T BUY IT.

Extremely generic information, and the detail on repair is almost non-existant. For example: To replace the rear fuel pump of a 94 SVX. -> Remove top cover. I stared at the illustration of a fuel tank with an arrow pointing at it. OK..Must be a "top cover" on the fuel tank. Where do I go to access it? The illustration just showed some fuel tank. Do I take the whole tank off? After buying a manual elsewhere, my fuel tank turned out looking completely different with details on where to go and access this "top cover". To Alldata's credit, there was a "top cover". Bravo on their intense accuracy on my having a "top cover". A call to their support was a lesson in "patience on hold", with no results. Considering the detail given in their instructions, long waits for support is an obvious result. Everyone would have to take their greasy hands to phone support.

The CD liner congratulates you on purchasing the most comprehensive collection of automotive repair informationavailable today. If you consider a total of 20 lines of information on how to remove a V8 engine comprehensive then you won't be dissapointed. If however you were looking for the one source describing all manner of repair information then you are better spending your money elswhere.

The TSB are usefull even if they are very short and poorly scanned (The pictures look like an old photocopy)

The help desk cuts you off numerous times and if they decide you have been on hold too long they even say goodbye before cutting you off.

My advice is to spend the money on a Chilton or Haynes manual (or any other of your choice). In the past I have complained about Haynes. Never again.

Simply put, Alldata sucks. I'm an ASE Master Technician. Alldata has given me fits in the past. I won't use it. If you want the best and don't like wasting time, in my experience (10 + yrs.), get Mitchell repair manuals. I just clicked on this site to see why an employer would buy it as mine did...you get what you pay for.