Auto Parts: diagram of parts for toyota rav4, toyota rav4, factory manuals


Question
where can I find diagrams for parts  for my Rav4 like the dealers use when they look up parts and numbers?

Answer
    Well, I poked around online looking for a source.  It turns out that the dealers who sell parts online are using the same software that Ford dealers use.  It looks up parts and has a section permitting purchase of the parts, but it does not show the diagrams or exploded-view drawings that the dealer has access to.  Honda is much better at this, with their entire illustrated catalog online.  You could buy a repair manual from Chiltons or Haynes, they frequently have good illustrations.  Haynes tends to depend mostly on photographs that they take themselves, so Chilton, who use a lot of the drawings from the factory manuals, might be a better choice.  You won't have the part numbers, but you'll know what is going on.  Another source, which I first used a while ago, is Google's excellent image search.  I needed an exploded view of a Ford caliper with parking brake, and I found it after a very small amount of poking about amongst the images.  You may have to be creative about the name of the image you are searching for, as the image posters frequently caption them with unusual phrases or descriptions.  Still, it's not a bad source.  But, it looks like the only place you will be able to find diagrams with part numbers attached is the dealer.  Depending on the dealer, that doesn't mean you have to go down there.  My local Ford dealer was always more than happy to fax me pages out of the catalog when my description of what I needed didn't jive with his nomenclature.  Dealer parts people tend not to have worked as mechanics or in parts stores; they only know the names in their catalogs.  And manufacturers are great at making up different names for the same parts.