By Cotton
The Porsche 911 Carrera Service Manual by Bentley Publishing is a MUST HAVE book for your automotive library. I purchased my initial Porsche a year ago, a rather worn ’85 Cabriolet. One of the original “repair” purchases I made was $800+ worth of official Porsche fix manuals (the 11-volume set that Porsche provides it is mechanics). I now wish that I had waited. Even after only two days of owning the Bentley Manual, I may already tell it will be the most dog-eared and grease-smeared of the lot!
It has 10 main sections, the introductory one being an overview: General Data & Maintenance; Engine; Engine Management, Exhaust, & Engine Electrical; Transmission; Suspension, Brakes, & Steering; Body – Assembly; Body – Components & Accessories; Body – Trim, Seats; Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning; and Electrical System. Each section has various subsections, and in typical German style they are all number coded. Each subsection starts with a usual description of what it covers and includes a simple picture guide for any particular tools that may be necessitated in that category (extremely helpful to me as a novice). For example, Section 201 Fuel Supply recommends three particular tools: 1) a fuel hose pinch clamp; 2) a fuel pressure gauge; and 3) an automotive digital mulitmeter. The subsections also have straightforward, no-nonsense written steps, which are complemented by in a literal sense dozens of pictures. The pictures are plainly amazing: very clear, and where needed, highlighted with arrows or alphanumeric characters. (Even Mr. Magoo could find his way through this!) Plus, there is a great deal of room for you to add your own notes in the margin, if you so desire.
The book is not perfect, though. I am in need of info on carpet/floorboard repair and dashboard gauge repair (odometer, speedometer, etc.), and neither is in this book. In the grand system of things, however, these are small.
One final note… while this appears to be written for those who already own a 911, it may be evenly helpful to anybody who is in the market to buy one. Most savvy Porsche buyers will demand a pre-purchase inspection anyway, so the potential buyer may just want to consider this as part of that expense. Yet, this book is not an expense, but rather an investment that will proceed to provide dividends for a long time to come.
14 of 14 humans found the following review helpful.
Good but could be better
By Ken Rinehart
I’ve been waiting for this manual for a long time. Bentley’s magnificent VW manuals have been very high on the quality list for rather a heap of time so I was excessively affected emotionally to get this manual. Overall it is a great and is a will have to for the DIY mechanic who needs to recognise more with regards to their car and can’t afford the factory workshop manuals and I think that for the majority of people who won’t be dropping engines and trannies this will sufice. My gripes are small. No detail on a lot of misc body stuff. The transmission section mentions both the 915 and later G50 transmissions but only shows how to dismantle and fix the 915. Heater and ventilation selective information is sparse (as always) at best.
I was amazed at how they did keep up with much of the Porsche tech bulletins that have come out for the duration of these model years as well as just the overall presentation. Very nice.
Ken
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Not sufficient detail
By Steve L Ingram
This sure beats the orange covered “other” service manual and the $900 factory service manual in price. There are a lot of missing details like where to charge the A/C, rebuilding your Targa top (intricate locking mechanism details missing). Yes it shows breakdown of constituents diagrams but some diagrams lack supporting text. This book is BIG and it is well worth the…you spend. A nice thing I read in the beginning was a disclaimer stating that it may have errors or lack of selective information but the publisher is more than open to receive any ammendments from it’s readers and that they were meticulous when it comes to supplying the MOST ACCURATE info they could find. This is why you SHOULD HAVE this book because WE the people may make it better! It IS a “must-have” book if you are severe in regards to sustaining your own 84-89 911 Carrera.
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Bentley does a “Cadillac job” on Porsche!