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Do you all have an opinion on which of these are best? Is the Bentley significanlty better than Haynes?
Thanks,
Steve
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I have the Bentley, the Haynes, and the Chilton manuals. All three have their own sets of issues. The Chilton manual is the most difficult to use, since it hops around from one series to another, with no break in the text.
The Bentley leaves out several significant sections, or merely breezes over the items (automatic transmission being one, and the mounting positions of the various engine accessories for another). The Bentley wiring diagrams, while complete, are difficult to use.
The Haynes manual has the better wiring diagrams, but again as with the Bentley manual, leaves several things to your imagination.
I'd advise you to get the Bentley, the Haynes, and the specific Volvo Green books for the items that are not covered by the Bentley and Haynes manuals. Experience becomes the best manual of all.
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The trouble with the Haynes manuals is the "Britishisms" like "release the intake hose with a spanner & Illuminate the inside of the Petrol tank with a torch after removing the tank from under the boot".Not too safe for those who may take it literally !
I still like my dog-eared,greased up Clymer manual bestof all that I got in '91 when I bought my Volvo ( '82 244DL 184K+ miles).
I also have the Bentley & Chiltons.Sometimes I consult all 4 as some times they complement one another.Can't beat the "Greenies" for those Kick-@$$ wiring diagrams though !I do have one for my wiring from Volvo & its great !
All the other manuals have terrible wiring diagrams-only good for eye-torture !
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I have several Bentley manuals for the Volkswagens I have owned, so it was a no brainer to get one for the Volvo. I don't have the Haynes for the Volvo, but do for other cars I have owned. I think it really depends on what type of work you plan on doing to your car and how much you want to spend on a manual. As others have posted, I think the order of preference is Green Books, Bentley, Haynes, and Chiltons. My personal choice is to get the Bentley's and to buy the Electrical Wiring Green Book for your specific year model.
Charles
Houston, TX
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green books are beyond biblelike-i have one for my 71 1800e and it is pure funtional art, nothing,and i mean NOTHING is left out. bentley is the bible,haynes are good, and lastly there is a reason the chiltons are printed on toilet paper!
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I personally have the Volvo green manuals, Haynes and Chilton. I don't have the Bentley. I haven't felt the need to get it because I have the Green books.
The Chilton is useless 99% of the time. Although I do like the light blue 242 turbo on the cover. Coffee table book?
The Haynes is my good all around light duty manual to thumb through while working on the car. Mine is VERY greasy. time to replace again.
The Green books are the best for a couple of reasons:
1.The wiring diagrams are the best and all other manuals use condensed versions of the factory diagrams.
2.Volvo shows the actual individual parts per step and electrical flow diagrams
for the individual circuits of their respective systems.
I always preview the working I'll be doing with the green books before hand or come take a break inside when at an impass, wash my hands and then touch the manuals. Print out what I need and then take the info with me to the car.
Synopsis: Haynes with you while working on the car. Volvo for complicated stuff and the specific year wiring diagrams are a must.
Most of the Green books can be found for free online and printed out or bought from online dealers such as on fleabay.
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personally I have the haynes manual,I've had haynes repair manuals for all of the cars that I've owned through the years.Would you happen to know the websites that the green manuals can be found? can't beat free,the price it right ;-) Do you think having the haynes manual,the green manuals and getting the bentley manual would be redundant?
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Most of the 240 manuals can be found at k-jet.org and the other manuals can be found mostly on eastern european websites. You just have to search. Check the prev. posts on Brickboard for links.
I have contacted k-jet and offered to upload my manuals but I didn't realize how long it takes to scan and upload. It's gonna be a long tedious process.
If you need anything specific for the 200-700 series let me know and I'll see what I can do for you.
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Thank you I appreciate that.
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Bentley is better but sometimes there is a critical omission.If you can piece together a series of the Volvo green books that would be better. I am currently replacing a kickdown cable on my car using the bentley book.They left out a critical step and now I'm stuck.When I checked the green books I saw where I went wrong.Just be careful.
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I sort of like having Both.
Have had a Haynes for years, and finally got a Bentley the year before last after reading “Well if you had a Bentley” in many of my posts during suspension work on Inga.
The Bentley is superior when it comes to the nuts and bolts of a 240. Note that there is a very well done list of corrections by our own Presidential Nominee Art and a few of his friends (lets call them the Bentley Czars), it is well worth the time to print out if you own a Bentley. When it comes to brakes, suspension, and major drive train components the Bentley is the best choice.
Have to admit that based on the many posts touting the superiority of the Bentley that it was sort of a minor let down. Excellent resource,(tuck the flame throwers back in the holster and turn the valve off Bentley fans). My expectations were higher than they should have been after reading all the Bentley posts.
The one area that at (least for my 86) that the Haynes kicks the Bentleys buttocks is in the Electrical Diagrams. If I have an issue with the ignition, alternator, instrument cluster, and most other electrical wiring I leave the Bentley under the rear hatch and reach in and grab the Duck Taped, yellowed, greasy pages of my old Haynes. Absolutely no contest between the two manuals on that one. You can actually see and make sense of the diagrams in the Hayes. Even if for some reason the diagrams for the 86 are in the back part of the manal. You need a large magnifying glass and a bright light to read any of the wiring diagrams in the Bentley.
Now if you need emergency spare toilet paper for the privy, a good doorstop, or maybe long unrelated descriptions of how things work on a 740, get the Chilton.
Regards,
Paul
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By all means, Bentley is the ticket.
But (with all due credit to lucid) see also http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/volvo/1330795/220/240/260/280/bentley_errata_update.html and redline the mistakes.
My old beat up copy of Haynes is sometimes helpful but it is so poorly organized and edited it can be frustrating.
About the only thing I like in my ancient Chilton's (covers all Volvo models from like '68 to '83 in a twentieth of the pages that Bentley devotes to the 240) are some of the charts and exploded diagrams.
--
'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon
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It is my opinion that the Bentley should be the first on your shopping list, then get a Haynes, and finally a Chilton manual. I like having all three available because sometimes information is presented more clearly for me, or covered in more detail, than in the other manual(s).
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Bentley is referred to as the "Bentley Bible". :-)
Haynes doesn't hold a candle.
-Ryanm
--
Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 314k, Dog-mobile
1990 245 DL 134k M47, E-codes, GT Sway Bars, GT Braces, Draco Wheels
1991 745 GL 300k, Regina, 23/21mm Turbo Sway Bars
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MY '83 245 CAME WITH A CHILTONS.........I REALIZED RIGHT AWAY, IT WAS A JOKE....
NEEDED TO DIAGNOSE SOME FUEL PUMP ISSUES AND BOUGHT A BENTLEY.....THOUGHT IT WAS GREAT........
GOT A HAYNES, JUST BECAUSE, AND FOUND THAT IN SOME ASPECTS, IT WAS BETTER THAN THE BENTLEY, IN SOME VERY FEW AREAS.......
SO, FOR A 200 SERIES, I'D SAY BUY A BENTLEY FIRST, GET THE HAYNES AS SOON AS YOU CAN, AND LIKE SOMEONE SUGGESTED, IF YOU STUMBLE ACROSS A CHILTONS, KEEP IT IN THE BACK/TRUNK, IN CASE YOU NEED EMERGENCY T-P........
--CARLOS
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A Haynes came in the trunk of our '87 240. That's the book that gets all kinds of greezy.
-Ryan
--
Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 314k, Dog-mobile
1990 245 DL 134k M47, E-codes, GT Sway Bars, GT Braces, Draco Wheels
1991 745 GL 300k, Regina, 23/21mm Turbo Sway Bars
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It sounds like we are pretty much agreement here. By the way, using all caps in a response is known as YELLING, and typically frowned upon. Take it for what it is worth.
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all i have is a bentley and it has guided me through the blower motor replacement without a hitch. I imagine it's the only one you'll need.
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