Haynes Manual

haynes1Anyone who has owned an old car has more than likely heard about Haynes Manual’s. Anyone who does or has owned a Land Rover will (should) have purchased one before purchasing their car. Haynes Manual 5571 is the number of the combined manual for the original and face-lifted Freelander 1. If its broke, then fix it – and to fix it you need this. I have may of these manuals (my first ever Mini back in the 80’s, the Range Rover, Ford Fiesta and a couple of others) and all of them are interesting in their own right. I have found that with this manual, I have had to use it in earnest rather than just on the odd occasion. I also have a CD called ‘Rave’ which has the actual Land Rover Service Engineer’s documentation for fixing Freelander’s, but this book is totally invaluable.

Just owning this does not automatically mean you can fix everything – a decent toolkit and some knowledge/skill is also required. I find having a good read of these at least gives me a fighting chance when things go wrong.

To find one for your vehicle, check out their web site at www.haynes.com. There is also a manual available for the original Freelander, before the facelift (1997 to 2003) although this is a little harder to find, and is available as an electronic download from the Haynes site. These manuals vary in price with between £15 and £20 seemingly being the norm at time of writing (2019).

The other ones I have discovered for Land Rovers are as follows:

  • 314: Series II, IIa & III Petrol Only 1958 to 1985
  • 3017: 90, 110 & Defender Diesel 1983 to 2007
  • 6398: Defender Diesel 2007 to 2016
  • 3929: Freelander 1997 to 2003
  • 4623: Freelander 2003 to 2006
  • 5636: Freelander 2006 to 2014
  • 3016: Discovery Petrol & Diesel 1989 to 1998
  • 4606: Discovery Diesel 1998 to 2004
  • 5562: Discovery Diesel 2004 to 2009
  • 606: Range Rover 1970 to 1992

Update: I have discovered that as from December 2020, no new Haynes manuals will be published in print form. Going forward it will all be electronic downloads. This follows the death of founder John Haynes (who founded the company over 50 years ago), and the subsequent sale of the company to a French firm in 2020. All existing titles will still be printed. Time will tell how good an idea this is. If I was them I would develop a sturdy, washable, e-Reader, as I am not sure I fancy my iPad covered in oil and grease! I will keep an eye on this and update as more information becomes available.

Posted 21st April 2017