Thanks All. I can recall having a complete "set" of manuals for my 1974 240D when I owned that back in the 70s. There was a seperate manual for the body, engine, transmission, electrical system...as I recall, there were 4-5 books which made up the complete set and they covered just about every aspect of the vehicle.

I just figured I was missing something as this manual seems to be less complete than that set was...oh well, I appreciate this forum and if I get into trouble on any of my projects I know where to shout out for help! I'll watch for the engine manual on ebay too.

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

The manuals available got better with time as the number of mechanics increased dramatically. There's a small handful of books for the 50s cars based on how they just sort of appeared. The ponton car line got a total of three books, the smallest being a tiny suppliment that explained the difference between the 190SL and the other pontons.

The 1959 series cars (starting with the 111 chassis, then the 113 & 108 cars later) gave benz an opportunity to produce a single service manual for the whole product line (except the 600). The "starting '59" manual had 40 suppliments from 1959 to 1968. The earliest books started out as a single loose-leaf binder with lots and lots of empty sections. They were written as fast as people could proof-read and edit it seems. Also sections like transmission, steering or differential rebuilding written later in publication's life cycle. I presume it was because they were "close enough" to the earlier manuals and there wasn't a demand for the material. By 1963, the book expanded to two binders and suppliment 20. The third binder showed up soon after. If you're buying this manual, the loose-leaf editions are almost always out of date; ask the seller to check section 00 for updates. When in doubt, stick with the paperback. There was a special single-volume loose-leaf released at suppliment 38 for anybody buying it new. It's about 98% of what's in the paperback. A few sections were removed to make it fit in the binder.

The manual you have for the models starting in 1968 replaced that manual and consolidated the material relevant for the latest 108, 111 & 113 models and combed out the older stuff.

With the 114/115 chassis cars, also introduced in 1968, benz expected a 2 part service manual for the cars and published a single book labeled "volume 1". No, there is no volume 2, because it seems they changed their mind. They published a hybrid manual for the 108 & 114 models that contains transmission service and bodywork info and then switched tack yet again.

With the 1973 model line, they published manuals organized by topic, engine books separate from transmission, axles, steering etc. By this point their whole model line was nicely integrated into component systems so they could talk about rear axles in general and highlight the differences between the 107, 114 & 116 product lines. They could also discuss the US models separately from the other national varients where it was relevant. These loose-leaf binders show up on ebay from time to time, as do the microfiche versions. Most are redundant, not to mention out of date, compared to the paperbacks that are easy to find. There are a handful of sections that are quite different. I have yet to see the 100.985 manual that was published in this set, though I have the fiche.

The fiche format continues to this day, though the WIS online system has become the favored format for benz dealer distribution. The paperback books and CDs that we owners have access to are reformatted and edited versions of the series manuals. Finding a transmission rebuild manual for anything after 1973 is difficult, since benz decided we owners didn't need to know that. The material appears in the fiche, in those loose-leafs I've already mentioned and on the euro versions of the service CDs (apparently Americans don't need to rebuild their transmissions).

-CTH
PS. Clearly, I spend too much time playing with old service manuals.

__________________
- cth350@gmail.com
http://www.111lakeside.com/

Thanks for that "reclarification", now at least I know what I have and don't have

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz