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#16
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Stay away from Haynes
I've used these before for other vehicles and have not found them too bad but I have one for the late 70's-early 80's W123 and have found it mostly useless except for very basic jobs. Absolutely no info on rear wheel bearing replacement and rear trailing arm bushings and not very good info on sub frame mount bushings or even motor and tranny mounts.
I have been thinking about getting the W123 CD but I can only find it listed by bently for 100USD, the local dealership quoted me over 225 cdn, where are you guys finding it for 27? IF I can find it for that price I think I'll be getting it asap! |
#17
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http://www.mbusa.com/heritage/index.do click on classic center, scroll down to tech. literature.
I have the cd and a haynes, out in the garage, so i dont need to come in and greeeze up the keyboard for that torque spec.
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1984 123.193 372,xxx miles, room for Seven. 1999 Dodge Durango Cummins 4BTAA 47RE 5k lb 4x4 getting 25+mpgs, room for Seven. |
#18
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What's on the CDs....
I have both the W123 2-CD set and the W124 2-CD set, both purchased directly from Mercedes. The 124 set was $75 including tax and shipping; the 123 set was less, about half that, as I recall.
The W123 set includes the 230, 280E, and 280CE on CD#1 and the 240D and 300D family on CD#2. The manuals for the 300D family include Engine, Electrical Troubleshooting, Maintenance, Owner (actually for a 1989 560SL), Climate Control, and Chassis/Body. The W124 set includes the engine manual, climate control manual, maintenance manual, electrical system manual, chassis and body manual, and the owner's manual. They also don't tell you (and you don't find out until you open the then-non-returnable package) that the owner's manual is for a 1995 E420. Since it's very similar to the (for example) 1997 300D Turbo, it's not a big complaint, just kinda tacky, IMO, to not disclose that up front. The resolution on the files (it's all pdf -- Adobe Acrobat) is OK but more would have been better -- but I suppose the files would then have been too large. You can read the text and see the pictures OK (like reading a photocopy of a published book) but some of the electrical diagrams are a little fuzzy. (Whine, snivel, whimper. ) The W124 set allows you the option of skipping the intro "movie" while the older W123 set requires you to watch it, a waste of time after the first time (maybe even including the first time ). Since the paper manuals are out of print, they can be expensive. I have gotten some of mine at low prices, by getting lucky at used book stores, but they can be very expensive -- the Books4cars web site typically asks $85 for a used original of the engine manual, for example. The manuals are also heavy and bulky. I would take the CDs and a laptop with me on a trip but I probably wouldn't take the books. Jeremy
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"Buster" in the '95 Our all-Diesel family 1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car 2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022) Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762 "Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz." -- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970 |
#19
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Thanks Jeremy.
I bought the 3 Chassis and Body and Electrical books around '94 when my 4matic went out of warranty, they still look new, now I know that they're still worth $$ and will take good care of them. Since I have to buy the CDs anyway to have the 603 engine manual, I guess they'll stand in the bookcase for a while longer. $75 isn't too bad for the CD, all considered, but I do prefer working from a book.
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Gone to the dark side - Jeff |
#20
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The Haynes manuals are questionably adequate. The CDs are good, but they have been scanned in and some of the figures are not really readable. If you are interested in printed manuals, I have a set for sale on the parts forum.
Kendogg, if you are a MB mechanic, you would get much better use from the printed set. I found that the CDs were a pain because I would need to clean up and go call up the proper page on my computer. Then I had to print it out so I could take it out to the shop. (Yeah, I should have bought a cheap computer for the shop, but I didn't.) If you tend to keep notes on things you encounter, as I do, the printed manuals are worth their weight in gold. On the other hand, if the reader is a college student trying to make his MB last for just 3 more semesters, forget all the manuals and just keep patching the poor thing together until you graduate and can afford the car of your choice. Short answer: If you're in it for the long run, buy the manuals. If you're in it short term, don't buy anything and muddle through best as you can. In between, buy the manuals or the CDs or the Haynes manual (but stay close to this forum in case you need help). Cheers, Wes |
#21
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The only service manual for a 123 that I've ever owned is a Haynes. If I take time to add it up, I have maintained something near 1 million miles of 123driving with no tech information except Mercedesshop.com and the Haynes manual and until seven years ago, all I had was the Haynes manual.
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#22
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Larry, I think you are one of the exceptions. You probably have more intuitive skills and background knowledge than most anyone else on the forum. You could probably get by without any manuals whatsoever. I, on the other hand, have needed technical manuals since about the time I sold my '35 Ford coupe.
Cheers, Wes |
#23
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Wes,
Hopefully you didn't give away the technical manual for your '35 Ford. They had the wiring diagrams in them. I say this, but I don't know for sure, but I suspect this to be true because I still have the owners manual for the '40 Ford Coupe I had and it had a complete wiring diagram. I also had an owners manual for my '37 Ford Sedan Delivery and it had a wiring diagram as well. The wiring diagrams in those manuals were arranged as if electricity ran downhill to make it easier for everyone to understand. I have found the Haynes manual on the 123 cars to be quite complete. Not all Haynes manuals are so good, but that one is excellent. Have a great day, |
#24
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Quote:
Thanks, Rino
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1979 240D, W123, 105K miles, stick, white w/ tan interior. |
#25
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I think it's worth $20.
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"Buster" in the '95 Our all-Diesel family 1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car 2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022) Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762 "Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz." -- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970 |
#26
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There used to be a website, mbbraingear, something sounds like that, but is no longer active, I wonder what the deal is?
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'85 300D Turbo - CA Version |
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