Braingears manuals

[sbourg]

For years now I have resisted buying the service CD for our 190E because of reports of lousy photo image quality reported on this forum. I recently downloaded parts from Braingears, and those images were indeed so lousy as to be unusable. Those photo images are in some instances critical to guide the uninitiated thru some procedures, when not accompanied by drawings. Experimentally, I also downloaded some files from the 124 manual on related items. The pictures were just fine, and very helpful.

So, here's my question. Is the quality of the files available thru Braingears for the W201/M102 representative of the factory CD or inferior? If not the same, is the quality to be expected to be similar to what I found for the W124?

Bottom line, if the factory (or other brand) CD is comparable to what I saw for the W124, I will go ahead and buy it. If comparable to the one I saw for the W201, it is worthless, and probably should come off the market.

Steve

[A264172]

I think from what I have seen of braingears: http://mb.braingears.com/
It is the factory manual with some parts missing.

[fastpakr]

What's missing? Everything for the 124's seems to be there.

[Duke2.6]

I believe the W201 and M103 data are scanned/converted to PDF files images of the paper manuals, while the 124 and other CDs are original material built from digital files.

That is probably what accounts for the difference in photo quality.

I don't see a big downside to the photo quality as most of the procedures are accompanyed by line drawings.

Given the cost, I have no gripes.

Duke

[Duke2.6]

Originally Posted by fastpakr

What's missing? Everything for the 124's seems to be there.

Not sure about the other models, but I don't think there is anything in the 201 data on transmissions - no overhaul data and not even R&I procedures.

Duke

[sbourg]

Originally Posted by Duke2.6

I don't see a big downside to the photo quality as most of the procedures are accompanyed by line drawings.Duke

An example is the sunroof disassembly/alignment procedure. Pic after pic from the 201 manual is wasted - just dark blotches scanned at low resolution. In the W124 manual the pics are clear and easy to follow. Unfortunately, there are differences between the assemblies, but since this is my frustrating task of the moment, I'll try to meld both.

Steve

[Mike Murrell]

I reviewed bits and pieces of the 126 manual for my model. It's identical to the MB-provided CD that I have.

In some cases the photos are OK; in others they are lacking in detail.

Honda and Toyota manuals are FAR superior to MB manuals.

[Duke2.6]

Originally Posted by sbourg

An example is the sunroof disassembly/alignment procedure. Pic after pic from the 201 manual is wasted - just dark blotches scanned at low resolution. In the W124 manual the pics are clear and easy to follow. Unfortunately, there are differences between the assemblies, but since this is my frustrating task of the moment, I'll try to meld both.

Steve

The 201 and 103 "manuals" both have deficiencies. I haven't had to do anything to my sunroof. My particular interest was the KE fuel system and I found additional diagnostics/procedures in the 124 and/or 126 information that I downloaded and added to my shop manual folder.

I also recall that the 201 manual has nothing on ride height or suspension alignment, but it's in the 124 data.

Anyone who has a 201/103 should peruse the 124 and 126 data for additional useful information. I'm trying to get everything I think I might need someday on my disk now (and I'll also burn a CD) because I have no idea how long this information will be available. I suspect there may be some legal issues involved, and it's possible the site could get shutdown at some point.

Duke

[gidpor]

To further this conversation - I see all these "Manuals"(126) on ebay - Does anyone know about the content and quality difference among all these producers? I own the official 126 CD which as posted above has for the most part, very poor photos. Like everyone here I'm always looking to get better info, but am not sure what the fuss is all about...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34227&item=7984089463&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34227&item=7984256228&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7983958352&category=34227