gtstcactus

Watched one of Scotty Kilmers youtube videos a couple of days ago he mentioned that as a mechanic he uses alldata.com when he needs information about a vehicle he's working on...
It costs something like $2k/year for mechanics...

He also mentioned alldatadiy.com for individuals who like to DIY work on their own car, it's about $20 for a years sub which lets you access the data for a single vehicle (you can add more vehices for extra $$)

I was wondering if anyone here has a subscription and could tell me if the site provides more info than I can find in the factory service manual, factory wiring diagram, technical training manual....

Is it better at providing specific information such as locations of specific parts and what not???

Is it worth the $20 if you have the factory manuals? I can see by looking at the 2 "demo" cars a late model Nissan, and a slightly older Ford that they certainly provide lots of info for some vehicles, but I'm wondering if the information is as comprehensive for a 92-93 ES300...............

I believe there are other similar websites.... I think there is one called mitchell or something like that, not sure of others off the top of my head but I'm sure google would round them up quickly...

PuReChaos

Will it provide information about locations, yes. Will it be better than other subscription sites, no.

If your are going to spend money on a subscription, spend it on TIS (Toyota Information System). I have access to Alldata, Mitchell1, and TIS. Alldata and Mitchell1 are very general. The benefit of the two is that they are cheaper than TIS. TIS however is unbeatable when your looking for service campaigns, technical service bulletins, repair manual, electrical wiring diagrams, new car features, accessory documentation, etc. when it comes to working on Toyota, Lexus, or Scion. If your speaking purely about your Windom, then i'd get the cheapest (and shortest) subscription that TIS offers and just spend a day downloading everything regarding your car. It will be much more valuable than alldata or mitchell1 which are not really any better than chilton or haynes manuals IMO.

The only benefit of Alldata or Mitchell1 are when it comes to newer cars as you constantly get updated data as time passes and common problems arise. You're talking about a 10+ year old car. It will not have ANY updated data as everything that has gone wrong with the car has already happened and repair procedures have been added to the database.

gtstcactus

Ok if I already have the 1993 ES300 factory service manual, & wiring diagrams (I don't think there is anything in English that is Windom specific) am I likely to get any benefit from such services in regards to my car?

Is the "repair manual" they mention on TIS different from the FSM?

PuReChaos

Well honestly, I have never looked at a factory service manual in hard copy or maybe you've got a pdf of it. But I will say that when I looked up a 92 ES300, more than 500 documents were found under the repair manual section (does not include EWD, TSB or anything else). I would imagine the diagnostic information is better on TIS than a FSM.

gtstcactus

yeah I've got a few pdf files....

The FSM I've got is a few thousand pages all up but I think TIS sounds like it might just be a little more complete...

PuReChaos

If you have the FSM, what are you looking to gain from one of these subscriptions? Because I bet the diagnostic information is probably the only difference between the two as TIS is what the dealership technicians use.

gtstcactus

I was really just wanting to know if say TIS would make it easier when it comes to repairing stuff...

Like at the moment I think I need to replace the resistor for the A/C as I can only use the high setting... I don't really know what I'm looking for, I don't really know where it is (I think it might be somewhere on the drivers side... perhaps behind the peddles??)

No doubt other things will come up over the time I have the car... I plan to keep it as long as it's running good and it's legal... I'll fix anything I can myself... If / when something I can't do myself comes up it could very well be the death of the car, so I want to give myself every possible chance...

PuReChaos

Yes, but I assume the factory service manual would be able to suffice you as well. Honestly your problem with A/C just takes time to look at, specifically the EWD. Also on TIS you'll be able to look up component locations which is helpful, however, I dont know if when you register for TIS in NZ whether you'll be looking at a different set of information because the cars there are a bit different, specifically I have never seen a RHD car on TIS.

Hopefully this helps you somewhat, but my recommendation to you is to stick with the factory service manual if it is indeed specifically for the 1992 es300 or windom, if you one day do run into a problem where your manual can't help you I assume you'll post here and theres more than enough people here who are capable of helping you. The manuals found on TIS aren't so user friendly, they were written with the intention that mechanics would be looking at them and if you aren't familiar with that, your almost better off just asking around the forums.