Repairing your Trooper yourself can be fun. It can also be a challenge if you don't have the necessary repair information.
To obtain this information, you have a number of sources from which to choose. You can borrow a repair manual from your local library. You can purchase a manual from an auto parts store, or a physical or online bookstore. You can join an online repair service. You can purchase DVDs or videos that walk you through repairs and maintenance.
There are upsides and downsides to each of these choices. Although the manual you borrow from the library is free, it may not be the latest version. Sometimes libraries don't lend out the latest versions but instead they are for reference only. And any printed manual may not contain the latest information available, including those you purchase from the auto parts stores, because updated information periodically appears from the manufacturer. This includes safety recall data and procedures. If you purchase a manual, you only pay for it once. This is opposed to joining a repair service online where you pay yearly but can extend your initial payment if you purchase a new or additional vehicle. Online repair services probably have the most current information because they receive TSBs (technical service bulletins) from the manufacturer and make them available to you. These are normally only made available to authorized repair facilities and new car dealerships. Videos and DVDs also may not contain the most current information, but like purchasing a manual, you only pay once.
Frankly, chances are good that most repairs, procedures and maintenance tasks that you can read about in manuals or look at on DVDs or videos have not changed much. But to be 100% sure about what is current and what it not, your best bet is an online repair service. And another advantage to this type of service is that you can print out pictures, diagrams, and photos right off of your personal computer and take them with you into the repair area. Of course, the same is true of manuals: you have the graphics plus the description there with you while you are working.
If you are going to do the repair yourself, and after you have gathered all of the information you need, whether it is from online repair service, a DVD, a video, DVD, or a printed manual, you will need to have the tools necessary to do the job. Our parts and accessory dealer network stocks a large variety of tools and accessories, including lifts, hoists, and jacks, socket sets, wrenches, test lights work lights, diagnostic equipment and specialty tools to make your job easier. And you can also order all of the parts you need, whether they be brake parts, body parts, electronic parts, or engine parts.
Remember that an extra pair of hands is always welcome in the shop, as well as an extra brain, especially from someone who has worked on vehicles before and who knows his or her way around a repair facility.
Have fun repairing and maintaining your Trooper but always remember safety first.
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