how old does a car have to be before Haynes produce a manual?

[elliswick]

It's realy frustrating that Haynes haven't producted a manual for my w203 270 estate. Generally when do they publish a manual?

 

[Dieselman]

When there is enough demand. They are still considering one for the W210, so the W203 doesn't look likely.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

The last Mercedes one they made was for the W202!

 

[Will]

I reckon Haynes has almost had it's day for a lot of DIY-car ownership stuff these days.

Sensotronic brakes, all of the STAR type stuff, several specialist tools etc - not quite the same as fitting points and adjusting the timing on your '60/'70s Triumph etc

WIS I found quite useful but it's a bit of taboo subject for the DIY'er...

Will

 

[SilverSaloon]

i'd agree with that. Some of the stuff is a bit controversial apparently in haynes manuals anyway, although i find it a good reference.

 

[Adam230K]

I've found the Haynes manual to be extremely useful in regards to my 202, although i haven't done anything major, just a diff transplant and some typical servicing items (air filter fuel filter gearbox oil etc etc)

 

[Mudster]

The last time I used one of these was for an old Range Rover I had, we used to refer to it as the "Haynes book of lies".

Example....

"Ease the ball joint apart carefully "

Real world translation

"Hit it like hell with a club hammer and joint separator, skin at least 3 knuckles, damage some bodywork and snag in electrical cables to pull apart"

 

[gaz_l]

The last time I used one of these was for an old Range Rover I had, we used to refer to it as the "Haynes book of lies".

Example....

"Ease the ball joint apart carefully "

Real world translation

"Hit it like hell with a club hammer and joint separator, skin at least 3 knuckles, damage some bodywork and snag in electrical cables to pull apart"

HAYNES GUIDE TO TOOLS OF THE TRADE
HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer is nowadays used as a kind of divining rod to locate expensive parts not far from the object we are trying to hit.
MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on boxes containing seats and motorcycle jackets.
ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning steel Pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age, but it also works great for drilling mounting holes just above the brake line that goes to the rear wheel.
PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads.
HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.
MOLE-GRIPS/ADJUSTABLE WRENCH: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.
OXYACETELENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your garage on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside a brake-drum you're trying to get the bearing race out of.
WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 13 or 17mm socket you've been searching for for the last 15 minutes.
DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, splattering it against that freshly painted part you were drying.
WIRE WHEEL: Cleans rust off old bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls and hard-earned guitar callouses in about the time it takes you to say, "F...."
HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering car to the ground after you have installed your new front disk brake setup, trapping the jack handle firmly under the front wing.
EIGHT-FOOT LONG DOUGLAS FIR 2X4: Used for levering a car upward off a hydraulic jack.
TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters.
PHONE: Tool for calling your neighbour to see if he has another hydraulic floor jack.
SNAP-ON GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as a sandwich tool for spreading mayonnaise; used mainly for getting dog poo off the sole of your boot.
BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool that snaps off in bolt holes and is ten times harder than any known drill bit.
TIMING LIGHT: A stroboscopic instrument for illuminating grease buildup.
TWO-TON HYDRAULIC ENGINE HOIST: A handy tool for testing the tensile strength of any ground straps and brake lines you may have forgotten to disconnect.
CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large motor mount prying tool that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end without the handle.
BATTERY ELECTROLYTE TESTER: A handy tool for transferring sulphuric acid from a car battery to the inside of your toolbox after determining that your battery is dead as a doornail, just as you thought.
AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw.
INSPECTION LIGHT: The mechanic's own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under cars at night. Health benefits aside, its main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate as 105-mm howitzer shells during the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading.
PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the lids of old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splash oil on your shirt; can also be used, as the name implies, to round off Phillips screw heads.
AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a fossil-fuel burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty bolts last tightened 30 years ago by someone in Dagenham, and rounds them off.
PRY (CROW) BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 pence part.
HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to cut hoses 1/2 inch too short.


Cheers,


Gaz

 

[stevesey]

INSPECTION LIGHT: The mechanic's own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under cars at night. Health benefits aside, its main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate as 105-mm howitzer shells during the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading.

Actually, being serious, one of the best uses for energy saving blubs - my inspection lamp has had the same bulb for a couple of years now.

Some more Haynes translations:

Haynes: This is a snug fit.
Translation: You will skin your knuckles!

Haynes: Rotate anticlockwise.
Translation: Clamp with vice grips then beat repeatedly with hammer, anticlockwise

Haynes: This is a tight fit.
Translation: Not a hope in hell matey!

Haynes: As described in Chapter 7...
Translation: That'll teach you not to read through before you start, now you are looking at scary photos of the inside of a gearbox.

Haynes: Pry...
Translation: Hammer a screwdriver into...

Haynes: Undo...
Translation: Go buy a tin of WD40 (catering size).

Haynes: Retain tiny spring...
Translation: "Jeez what was that, it nearly had my eye out"!

Haynes: Press and rotate to remove bulb...
Translation: OK - that's the glass bit off, now fetch some good pliers to
dig out the bayonet part.

Haynes: Lightly...
Translation: Start off lightly and build up till the veins on your forehead are throbbing them re-check the manual because this can not be 'lightly' what you are doing now.

Haynes: Weekly checks...
Translation: If it isn't broken don't fix it!

Haynes: Routine maintenance...
Translation: If it isn't broken... it's about to be!

Haynes: One spanner rating.
Translation: Your Mum could do this... so how did you manage to botch it up?

Haynes: Two spanner rating.
Translation: Now you may think that you can do this because two is a low, tiny, 'ikkle number... but you also thought the wiring diagram was a map of the Tokyo underground (in fact that would have been more use to you).

Haynes: Three spanner rating.
Translation: But Nova's are easy to maintain right... right? So you think three Nova spanners has got to be like a 'regular car' two spanner job.

Haynes: Four spanner rating.
Translation: You are seriously considering this aren't you, you plebe!

Haynes: Five spanner rating.
Translation: OK - but don't expect us to ride in it afterwards!!!

Haynes: If not, you can fabricate your own special tool like this...
Translation: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Haynes: Compress...
Translation: Squeeze with all your might, jump up and down on, swear at, throw at the garage wall, then search in the dark corner of the garage for whilst muttering "bugger" repeatedly under your breath.

Haynes: Inspect...
Translation: Squint at really hard and pretend you know what you are looking at, then declare in a loud knowing voice to your wife "Yep, as I thought, it's going to need a new one"!

Haynes: Carefully...
Translation: You are about to cut yourself!

Haynes: Retaining nut...
Translation: Yes, that's it, that big spherical blob of rust.

Haynes: Get an assistant...
Translation: Prepare to humiliate yourself in front of someone you know.

Haynes: Turning the engine will be easier with the spark pugs removed.
Translation: However, starting the engine afterwards will be much harder. Once that sinking pit of your stomach feeling has subsided, you can start to feel deeply ashamed as you gingerly refit the spark plugs.

Haynes: Refitting is the reverse sequence to removal.
Translation: But you swear in different places.

Haynes: Prise away plastic locating pegs...
Translation: Snap off...

Haynes: Using a suitable drift...
Translation: The biggest nail in your tool box isn't a suitable drift!

Haynes: Everyday toolkit
Translation: Ensure you have an RAC Card & Mobile Phone

Haynes: Apply moderate heat...
Translation: Placing your mouth near it and huffing isn't moderate heat.

 

[elliswick]

Your right, they were very usefull in the 70's and 80's but even today they would give some idea of what your up against before starting. I'll have a look on ebay for a cd manual.

 

[kjay]

Posts 7, 8 and 9..

PMSL !!

 

[Dieselman]

Your right, they were very usefull in the 70's and 80's but even today they would give some idea of what your up against before starting. I'll have a look on ebay for a cd manual.

Haynes manuals caontain most of the relevant information for mechanical repairs.
Due to the complexity of modern electrical systems they don't carry all the circuit diagrams, but if you need one just phone them up as they have them on file.
I needed one for a Citroen ABS system some years ago and they posted it to me FOC.

 

[MangoMan]

to answer your oriigal question, it was "generally" 6 years after first model release. Was and generally being the operative words here.

Cheers.

 

[stevesey]

to answer your oriigal question, it was generally 6 years after first model release. Was being the operative word here.

Cheers.

Quicker for high volume models though - my Vectra manual was printed in 1999 for a car that was launched in October 95.

 

[nickcc101]

Checked with Haynes last year and was told they had no plans to produce a manual for the W203 in the forceable future.

 

[miro]

Checked with Haynes last year and was told they had no plans to produce a manual for the W203 in the forceable future.

120 pages of

"Visit workshop with ODB-II Diagnostic to determine, clear and scan for error codes. "

" Subscribe to WIS / EPC to determine parts needed and procedure. "

 

[Defiant]

It's a pity, both that cars -jeeze, especially MB- don't warrant Hayes any more. I became a lifelong fan when reading the introduction of the Datsun 510 manual and their counsel on the buying of tools, words to the effect of "Mind that when buying a large screw driver that you are sure to get one strong enough to withstand your mis-using it as a prybar."
It was as though they knew every tool in my shop was already missing its safety device.