A good book - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Cwharrison · #1 03-23-2006, 11:27 AM

My family and I are moving to a very remote area of upstate NY where a good shop is few and far between. We have a '74 VW bus that just about anyone in the family can take apart and put back together in the dark, but the our '85 and 82' 300TD have always been taken to the shop.

Any suggestions for a good book that covers repairs and trouble shooting?

Biodiesel300TD · #2 03-23-2006, 11:44 AM

The Hanyes Manuals are pretty good, and pretty basic. The MB shop manuals are good for lots of detail, but assume you know your way around your car a lot more than a Hanyes Manual. You can get the shop manuals in paper copies, but be prepared to shell over atleast $100. You can get a CD version MUCH MUCH cheaper.
There are also online versions of the shop manuals.
mb.braingears.com
Skinnerbox

MercedesRover · #3 03-23-2006, 11:57 AM

Where in NY are you moving too?

Dale240D · #4 03-23-2006, 12:58 PM

I find the Haynes manual for my 240D to be nearly worthless. The index is atrocious. I bought a supposed cd manual off of ebay and it was some type of computer service station that wanted to take over your computer and took 15 minutes to install. the user interface was atrocious. no way to browse to find the info you need. I have looked for hours on the net to find a good old fashioned factory service manual like every other automobile under the sun has and have not been able to find one. were they EVER printed? I tell you if it wasn't for this forum and the generous sharing of info here, i'd be out of luck with this car i have. I consider myself handy and have rebuilt old ford pickup trucks, but the lack of accesible documentation on my 240 is really frustrating.
Anyone have a source for a manual? I'd gladly pay 150 dollars for one!!

Dale

Biodiesel300TD · #5 03-23-2006, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale240D

I find the Haynes manual for my 240D to be nearly worthless. The index is atrocious. I bought a supposed cd manual off of ebay and it was some type of computer service station that wanted to take over your computer and took 15 minutes to install. the user interface was atrocious. no way to browse to find the info you need. I have looked for hours on the net to find a good old fashioned factory service manual like every other automobile under the sun has and have not been able to find one. were they EVER printed? I tell you if it wasn't for this forum and the generous sharing of info here, i'd be out of luck with this car i have. I consider myself handy and have rebuilt old ford pickup trucks, but the lack of accesible documentation on my 240 is really frustrating.
Anyone have a source for a manual? I'd gladly pay 150 dollars for one!!

Dale

Here are a couple of MB shop manuals on Ebay. They show up pretty often, but they are spendy.

Ebay Shop Manuals

Volume 2 Shop Manual on Ebay

dannym · #6 03-23-2006, 01:30 PM

The Hayne's manual is perfect for minor repairs and general information. It's well worth the $15 or that it costs.

The on-line manuals are adequate but keep in mind there are more than one manual. You have seperate ones for AC, Transmission, etc...

From A post by Beagle:

Quote:

Factory Service Manuals and all that….
It should be remembered when using these manuals that they were compiled and translated into many languages over 30 years ago before these cars even hit the road and they have never been updated. Misprints, misinterpretations, contradictions and ambiguities abound in the translations and they should never override informed common sense and sound engineering workshop practices. Countless TSB’s were issued over the years addressing problems and mods as they arose but the SM’s still provide a useful reference for a DIYer.

The important thing to remember is COME HERE FIRST before starting ANY project!
Don't come here after you attempt to set your injection pump timing and ask why your car won't start!

Danny

bgkast · #7 03-23-2006, 01:30 PM

For your VW buy the book "How to keep your Volkswagen Alive", AKA the Idiot manual. I believe it is by John Muir.

Dale240D · #8 03-23-2006, 01:33 PM

I've been trying to use the braingears online manual and everytime i get to a specific entry it says url not found. has it been yanked off line? i get through the first few pages that ask me the year and make of my car, then it has all the chapter headings and i get all excited, then when i click an entry--nothing. skinnerbox seems to work though.

Dale
'83 240D

Biodiesel300TD · #9 03-23-2006, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale240D

I've been trying to use the braingears online manual and everytime i get to a specific entry it says url not found. has it been yanked off line? i get through the first few pages that ask me the year and make of my car, then it has all the chapter headings and i get all excited, then when i click an entry--nothing. skinnerbox seems to work though.

Dale
'83 240D

Braingears seems to work sometimes and not others, while skinnerbox seems to work all the time.

Lew · #10 03-23-2006, 02:59 PM

I've tried both braingears and skinnerbox and can't get either one to work on either my mac with IE and Safari or my windows machine with Firefox. I'll try at home in case some wierd firewall thing is holding it back. I get the same "not on this server" message mentioned earlier.

And, yes, Miur's VW book is awesome! It's a fun read just for entertainment!

Diesel Giant · #11 03-23-2006, 03:22 PM

The online manuals are fine, but the best source for your repairs is this forum!

I think for lots of items others that have been down the same road is the best info source. I think the Haynes and other general manuals are good only for basics, which you probably already know.

dannym · #12 03-23-2006, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lew

I've tried both braingears and skinnerbox and can't get either one to work on either my mac with IE and Safari or my windows machine with Firefox. I'll try at home in case some wierd firewall thing is holding it back. I get the same "not on this server" message mentioned earlier.

And, yes, Miur's VW book is awesome! It's a fun read just for entertainment!

There is an easy solution around this.
First go here:
http://www.download.com/3000-2377-10039773.html

Then download the latest version of HTTrack.

The next time Skinnerbox comes back on line download it to your PC.

Danny

whunter · #13 03-23-2006, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cwharrison

My family and I are moving to a very remote area of upstate NY where a good shop is few and far between. We have a '74 VW bus that just about anyone in the family can take apart and put back together in the dark, but the our '85 and 82' 300TD have always been taken to the shop.

Any suggestions for a good book that covers repairs and trouble shooting?

MB Tech Manuals from MBUSA cost $19.99 plus S&H
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=142445

Service manual online:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=142388

Have a great day.

Brian Carlton · #14 03-23-2006, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannym

The important thing to remember is COME HERE FIRST before starting ANY project!
Don't come here after you attempt to set your injection pump timing and ask why your car won't start!

Danny

Exactly!...........

Brian Carlton · #15 03-23-2006, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lew

I've tried both braingears and skinnerbox and can't get either one to work on either my mac with IE and Safari or my windows machine with Firefox. I'll try at home in case some wierd firewall thing is holding it back. I get the same "not on this server" message mentioned earlier.

And, yes, Miur's VW book is awesome! It's a fun read just for entertainment!

I also can't get Braingears to work most of the time on Firefox. The site comes up but the detail on the individual models is not available.

I open them up with IE without any problems.

The machine uses Windows XP.