Get a Bentley!

[r-mm]

I just got a Bentley manual for my Carrera c/o a great board member and feel like I just got out of an abusive relationship with lousy service manuals. This thing is even better than some of the factory literature I've seen. Granted I've only paged thru it but I can already tell it is a world of difference from "remove engine by disconnecting things that are connected to it. Installation is reverse of removal. See daguerreotype for clarification"

Also love that it covers steps often not documented such as exposing hidden fasteners, complete with good photos and diagrams. Worth the price!

[ClickClickBoom]

Congrats!
Welcome to the world of mechanicing via information instead of guessing. As a ex aircraft mechanic we are trained to never touch a plane without the proper manual reference, this training has been invaluable in the Pcar world as well. I have a shelf full of factory manual as well as a couple of other types of manuals as well, a little research goes along way.
The Porsche Factory Manuals are based on a premise similar to the worlds various militarys. The US as well as other militarys use the manuals to provide specific information for a MX operation coupled with formal training courses. Actually the Porsche way of doing the MX thing is eerily similar to the airplane world way of doing things, and is comfortable for me. So if you couple the factory manuals with the Bentley and any other manuals and throw Waynes 101 projects book, toss in a little bit of mechanical skill and you can be relatively certain of success.

[r-mm]

The factory manuals are something of a serious investment. Can you give some examples of information or procedures they have that would be missing from the Bentley / 101 projects etc?

Originally Posted by ClickClickBoom

Congrats!
Welcome to the world of mechanicing via information instead of guessing. As a ex aircraft mechanic we are trained to never touch a plane without the proper manual reference, this training has been invaluable in the Pcar world as well. I have a shelf full of factory manual as well as a couple of other types of manuals as well, a little research goes along way.
The Porsche Factory Manuals are based on a premise similar to the worlds various militarys. The US as well as other militarys use the manuals to provide specific information for a MX operation coupled with formal training courses. Actually the Porsche way of doing the MX thing is eerily similar to the airplane world way of doing things, and is comfortable for me. So if you couple the factory manuals with the Bentley and any other manuals and throw Waynes 101 projects book, toss in a little bit of mechanical skill and you can be relatively certain of success.

[ClickClickBoom]

Indeed,
The factory manuals are expensive. The Bentley, Clymer, Haynes ect are created from the factory manuals, and as such are subject to misinterpretation/errors. Porsche created the factory manuals for their mechanics to use in the factory authorized repair shops, and as such I find them to be the most suitable. Most of the errors in other manuals come in the form of torque specs. I find my self studying all my manuals before tackling a project, and even then it is not as clear until I actually dive into the actual task. I have the Factory Manuals in paper form and also have the Carrera manuals on the iPad in PDF form. Information is power, and I have never taken any of my cars to a shop. So while manuals may be expensive, shops are more so.

[McLovin]

Yeah, Bentley is a must for anyone who wrenches on their 911.

[SiberianDVM]

Funny, though....the Bentley manual for the BMW 3 Series (92-98) isn't near as good as the one Porsche one.

[latroz]

True.

[McLovin]

Yes, if you have a 911, be sure to get the Bentley for the 911.

The one for the BMW 3 series won't be nearly as useful for you.

[Joe Bob]

It has problems.....the publisher won't acknowledge them. The SC manual has the dizzy rotation bassackwards.....some of the pics are from different models and torque vlaues are off.....otherwise better than the other dreck out there.

[kidrock]

The factory manuals are to Bentley, as Bentley is to Clymer or Haynes. Just a better and more detailed product.

[MBAtarga]

Go to the Bentley Publishers site and make sure you print a copy of the errata. There are some obvious and other not so obvious errors in the SC and Carrera versions of the manual.

[Unobtanium-inc]

I don't think you can compare the Bentley to the Hay-nes or the Clymer books, it is beyond superior to those. As far as the factory manuals go, I have all of them and I'd agree that they are more detailed even than the Bentley, BUT there are lots of things in the factory manuals that are what I would call "assumed knowledge." The books assume you know how to get to a certain step because you are already a professional German car wrench. The Bentley doesn't make these assumptions and is often more helpful in getting you through a repair or diagnosis from start to finish.

Enjoy your Bentley, Rus!

[irobertson]

My only issue with the Bentley is that although it is supposed to cover all the way to 1989, there is absolutely no G50 related information.