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Kent Bergsma also has some videos on youtube that are helpful. He won't take you through an entire repair but getting a good visual introduction to a problem is a nice way to approach whatever issue might be having with the car.
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Agreed...
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use all resources available :)
Well, as far as I can see, a Startek subscription in the US costs 2,850 USD per year and 3,600 Canadian up here through MB Canada. I tried to access the content without a user ID and certainly the 107 and 126 manual sets under workshop resources came up with no content :(
I use this site extensively, plus Dieselgiant and Kent B's site for some resources. All have their strengths and weaknesses. I also have the CD versions of the offical MB FSMs from eBay on CD and they are useful, but require a fair degree of knowledge to be useful. If you don't know the difference between a pitman arm and a coil spring to start with, you quickly get lost in the FSM. Specifically, I have found Kent B's manuals to be of varying quality. Some are good, some are at a very high level and of poor print quality - rather like the useless diagrams in the Haynes manual. |
I bought one of his manuals years ago when I first got my 240D and didn't know about this site. It was useful and well written but not something I would need now.
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There is a guy or use to be a guy on E-Bay that sold CD videos of the various parts of the 123/126 cars.
I bought the one on the vacuum system, he starts from the vac pump, to the vac reservor and explains how the door locks function and what each colored vac line goes to. It was so simple after that. I had been taking the 85 to this indy shop for what seemed to be the same reocuring problems. eng won`t shut off, door locks won`t work, trans shift hard etc... it was getting kind of expensive. then with my mity vac and new found knowledge, found the R/R door actiator was leaking, fixed it and has been good for years. the guy used the name Symbolguy, or something like that. think I bought about 10 of his videos. Later on I bought the complete set of w123 fsm, the manuel on the 617.95 eng, heat/ac climate control for the type I, II & III systems, and a couple others. read through them real good. and also had the Haynes manual which is the first one i bought. It is a guide, but lacking in some areas. I do have one of Kents manuals, but got it from someone on e-bay that was passing it on. then discovered the Forum, wish I had found it a long time ago. I agree that an understanding of how the various systems in a car work together is a big help in understanding the manuals. there is a ton of knowledge in this forum, from real time help to hold someone`s hand through 5 pages trying to get something through a new owners head of how one of these diesels work. getting the personal help from some very knowledgeable highly qualified people. then the resources Tab up at the top of the page of DIY link and the DIY pictorials. just have to dig in and do some reading and searching. Charlie |
Links for your enjoyment:
Mercedes Factory Service Manuals (FSM), online, free: W123 FSM: There are Haynes manuals for most Mercedes chassis including the W124, W123, W201 and others... however you may need to order them online as some are designed for the UK market, not USA; and they may not cover all models (i.e., the Haynes W124 manual does not cover the M119 V8 engines). Haynes W124 manual: Mercedes Factory Electronic Parts Catalog (EPC) This is the same software program the dealership uses to look up part numbers, and it is also available online for free... requires a subscription though, and a USA-based credit card. Worldwide data is available for $12/year and well worth the cost. Details are at this link: EPC-net Online The infamous "W124 bible" (note lower-case "b") is more of a general information book that covers some basic maintenance, but it is NOT a service manual, and NOT comprehensive. It also has a number of technical errors. There is some useful information but it's a supplement to the FSM and/or Haynes manual, not a replacement. I am not aware of an equivalent book for any other chassis: http://www.amazon.com/Mercedes-Benz--Class-Owners-Bible-1986-1995/dp/0837602300/ :zorro: |
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-J |
If you are going to get Haynes, Chilton or even a Bently Manual; ;get it used or new on eBay or Amazon for less.
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Bergsma's website is not useful unless you have the money for things that are available for free or don't have the time to learn it yourself. Any advice he gives on his forum is half-way and ends with a suggestion to buy one of his products to get the other half of the information. I thought his site was the cat's meow until I found this one.
His vacuum manual is helpful with a step by step to diagnos various problems, but, the same information is available here for free. I own about 4 of his books and never use them. |
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There is huge amount of information on this board and I would be lost without it.... A lot of people have put a huge amount of effort into it. However, a signficant amount of it is shared among people with above-average ''amateur" wrenching skills. As such, some discussions (and even some detailed how-to posts done with the best of intent) start out from level way beyond some people's ground-zero knowledge. And it can be hard for someone with decades of experience, who has got way deep into DIY, to take a deep breath and move ten steps back to remember what is was like when much or all of this stuff was new.... For example, despite the wealth of info on SLS here, I simply could not get my head around the system until I bought the MS book. And I have pages and pages of threads printed off. (I did later find a private website with an excellent writeup, but I don't think it existed when I purchased the book.) My high school had no shop class, my old man was a master of DIYWBI (do it yourself wrong - break-it), and hands-on tech stuff has always been a steep uphill grade for me (I learn from hands-on doing, so in the absence of someone to show me the first time, I need what some of you would probably see as spoon-feeding). Many people are reluctant to look stupid in asking a question. It's ok to say "no question is too stupid" and the mods to their best to encourage such an atmosphere, but the mods can't be everywhere at every moment. So while I do agree that MS has found a wonderful niche selling brass information at gold prices, and all the best to them with that, it's not a niche that's going to be taken over by this list, or any other, unless PelicanParts wants to hire a full-time tech writer/editor to consolidate the information and arrange for graphics or photo content to accompany everything. I am trying damn hard to tread lightly with these comments as some people get testy at remarks like this. |
This is the first book I read from cover-to-cover. It should help folks with interest but no experience and little confidence understand what turning a wrench is about. You don't need a VW to appreciate the book -
http://i44.servimg.com/u/f44/11/94/84/86/img20123.jpg Sixto 87 300D |
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Huh? I wonder why they included GMC minivans in the book with the VW's???:D |
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That man was a genius when it came to relating technical concepts in plain language, and the illustrations were amazing. Added: The Squareback, Fastback and Wagonback: where did they all go? |
looks like a cool book to be sure, does the back cover say back? or rear?
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This gets OT but there's some great art in the book -
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5057/5...777e7438_z.jpg http://www.peteraschwanden.com/images/F3ExplodedVW.gif http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SFdcPmRDOL...22892_f520.jpg http://www.cartoonthunder.net/wp-con...gine_big_o.jpg The nice thing about a rear mounted longitudinal engine is that the right side of the engine is on the right side of the car :) The not so nice thing is that the front of the engine is at the back of the car :P Sixto 87 300D |
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