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Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 05 Apr 2014, 15:36
by Roydini
I've had my van about 6 years now and have (obviously) had to do various bit and bobs to it in that time, nothing major, sort of 3 spanner type jobs I suppose. I've always relied on the Haynes book and this fantastic forum to get me out of trouble but I just wondered what the main differences are between that and the Bentley book as I've never actually seen one? Is it worth picking one up for someone with my level of mechanical skills or is it more suited to the expert mechanic? Is there much in it that the Haynes doesn't cover?
Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 05 Apr 2014, 16:30
by AdrianC
Bentley's MUCH more comprehensive than Haynes.
But, on the downside, it's a US publication, so there's bits it won't cover. They never had carburettors on WBXs, they never had the 1.6TD, and their 2.1WBX had different injection to ours. Some of their wiring was different, too. So you do need to think on your feet a little bit when you're working with some bits of it.
I'm sure OldieButGoodie'll be along in a minute with some information that makes having the Bentley a no-brainer...
Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 05 Apr 2014, 17:41
by itchyfeet
If you are doing your own maintenance you really want both.
a second opinion is always worth having.
Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 05 Apr 2014, 17:46
by Oldiebut goodie
Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 05 Apr 2014, 19:43
by itchyfeet
Download my be free but theres nothing like a real paper manual to flick through
not cheap at £40+ second hand but worth it i think.
its hard enough reading a manual without having to negotiate with a computer as well

Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 05 Apr 2014, 19:51
by Wychall
But it is great to be able to print the relevant pages out and take them under the 'bus with you. Doesn't matter about getting them oily.
Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 05 Apr 2014, 20:46
by itchyfeet
Wychall wrote:But it is great to be able to print the relevant pages out and take them under the 'bus with you. Doesn't matter about getting them oily.
Really
if you need to read a manual while underneath then you have memory issues
anyway you confirm that print is king, a pc is too far away
Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 05 Apr 2014, 20:58
by Wychall
Too true I have memory issues. Having the pages means I do not get on my back under the 'bus, look up, and think...... What was I supposed to be doing under here?

Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 14 May 2014, 08:22
by CovKid
Managed to put mine on my Tesco Hudl - works great. Just need the electronic version of Haynes now.
Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 14 May 2014, 08:48
by MattBW
itchyfeet wrote:Download my be free but theres nothing like a real paper manual to flick through
not cheap at £40+ second hand but worth it i think.
its hard enough reading a manual without having to negotiate with a computer as well

It's a shame they are scans of the pages and not electronic text as that makes searching so easy in a pdf. I had a nightmare recently trying to find something in the pdf, wish I had had a paper copy.

Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 14 May 2014, 09:23
by ianders
MattBW wrote:itchyfeet wrote:Download my be free but theres nothing like a real paper manual to flick through
not cheap at £40+ second hand but worth it i think.
its hard enough reading a manual without having to negotiate with a computer as well

It's a shame they are scans of the pages and not electronic text as that makes searching so easy in a pdf. I had a nightmare recently trying to find something in the pdf, wish I had had a paper copy.

I've ran the PDF through OCR and started linking the index. Happy to upload it as it is though which is searchable
262MB though

Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 14 May 2014, 10:40
by Oldiebut goodie
The pdf that I have up on rapidshare is 515Mb !!!! The I-phone one is 83Mb.
When it is done do you want to send it to me so that I can add it to Rapidshare and then I can add the links that I give people?
Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 14 May 2014, 17:18
by slowcoach
MattBW wrote:
It's a shame they are scans of the pages and not electronic text as that makes searching so easy in a pdf. I had a nightmare recently trying to find something in the pdf, wish I had had a paper copy.

Have a hard time finding things in the paper version sometimees ! ItS pretty big. A Great birthday present

Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 14 May 2014, 17:53
by Smosh
When I did my van I found the bentley easier to follow. Although sometimes the images aren't as clear, there seems to be more relevant ones. I wouldnt be without a haynes though.
however, I did get the pages i need sent to me seperately! Thanks Nevill3!

Re: Haynes vs Bentley
Posted: 14 May 2014, 17:58
by richlaz
Searchable PDF would be great
The 515Mb is basically a huge file because it's essentially approx. 1000 images, instead of 1000 pages of text (which would be a lot smaller in size)
Is the iPhone one in PDF format?