My ability doesn't include an engine overhaul or other such jobs but I do make minor repairs on our 3 MB's. I would like some comments on the available tech manuals or CD's. One job coming up is to replace the two tailgate struts on our '93 300TE 4Matic. I have read the "thread" on this site but would like more information. Thanks for any help on the manuals. Roy

Now that I have seen that appraisal of the CD's I don't feel quite so bad about what I get from alldata. I still suspect that Haynes will be about as good (Iif the book ever shows up...). Only problem with Haynes is that some of their manuals are "top secret" and they deny they even exist until you give them the ISBN # and then they say "well, um, yes we have that one in England" Don't all Haynes manuals come from England? Anyway, does anyone know what Mitchell has to offer?

Thanks,

Mike

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

Are these original MB dvd's or copies?

Speaking of manuals how is alldata?
mpolli you had mentioned it in this thread

I have been disappointed with alldata, as I have mentioned. But it is my first subscription so I cannot make a broad statement about them. Hopefully someone else has also subscribed and has another opinion, good or bad. Also, I have no other repair documents on my car (my Haynes still has not arrived from England) and I don't have the CD. But I do have experience with many different sources of tech docs and my complaint with alldata is that they advertise:

"ALLDATA DIY is your online source of individual car care information which includes Technical Service Bulletins, Maintenance schedules, Component locations and Illustrated diagnosis and repair procedures."

However I have found these problems (so far):

No information on changing the trans fluid or filter. Other than part number and capacity.

No information on changing the plugs or wires other than part numbers and torque value.

No information in fixing the electric headrest. (There was initially some incorrect info, then they removed that and left nothing)

Often the photos are of other chassis than what I have, a la Chilton.

Often, procedures are very vague. For example, the procedure to remove the wiper mechanism starts off "remove air inlets". This is actually a somewhat complicated multi-step procedure.

The procedure to remove the steering wheel starts off "remove air bag" It would have been nice to tell me that the screws recessed in the back of the steering wheel are T30. I couldn't even see in there with a mirror and flashlight.

They claim this info is for "do it yourselfers" and I consider myself an advance do it yourselfer, having been working on cars for 25 years, but I find the info at about a Chilton level, which is to say, not very good. IMHO.

Mike

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

I'm surprised to read negative comments about the CD manual. It's as good as any factory manual. I'm an accomplished DIYer and not a big fan of Chilton. The CD manual has all the detail and specs one needs to get the job done correctly and accurately. Best bang for the buck.

__________________
95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

[QUOTE=inetd]There's a guy selling a 6 year old copy of Mitchell on Ebay for $9.00. I just threw it in the trash when I found out what it was.

QUOTE]

I got this too - and it is almost worthless - except for one thing - it has some service bulletins on it. I fixed two very annoying things after reading these bulletins.