medent

I recently bought the Porsche 911 (964) Enthusiast's Companion by Adrian Streather and see there is another book that looks very similar by Adrian Streather called Porsche Carrera 911 (964) 1989-1994: Technical Data - Without Guesswork.
If I have the (larger, 636 page) book, do I need the smaller (310 page) book? Is there anything new in the smaller book or is it already contained in the larger one?
I'd appreciate help from someone that has both or has read both.
Thanks.

The Stig

Both are really useful. I have both and do refer to them for different reasons. The Tecnical Data has some very useful pics and diagrams that can be used for DIY or tracing issues.

Rocket Rob

I have both. The smaller book is a book of specs (torques, capacities, parts diagrams etc). I use it frequently in the garage when I working on the cars.

Edit: I use the large book too. It depends on what I'm doing at the time.

Goughary

I have both. And Recommend both. they have some crossover, but the specs listed in the technical data book are worth having for the times when you need them, and the enthusiats companion gives you a world of info that will point you in the right direction 9 times out of ten. (Right direction meaning what to search for on RL when you have an issue...lol...)

medent

Thanks everyone. Good advice.

Metal Guru

The "Without Guesswork" book is a product of Bentley Publishers, not A. Streather.
Both are rife with errors.
If I had to pick one book to use, I'd pick the Bentley book. For the most part, Streather's book is better suited for your coffee table rather than your garage.

pskirk

Metal Guru

What data does "Without Guesswork" contain that is not in Adrian's book and/or Autodata?

"Both are rife with errors": please expand and educate me.

Thanks

Peter

JasonAndreas

You keep on repeating this but its not even remotely the case. When problems are discovered, corrections are/were published by Bentley and at http://adrianstreather.com/. If you know of issues with the chapter on the turbo models, speak up. Otherwise it does nobody any good. And if you have a personal beef with the author, oh well...

"Without Guesswork" is a combination of all the torque specifications and exploded diagrams from the factory workshop manuals and "Service Information Technik" books put out by PAG for each model. Alldata is basically a republishing of the workshop manuals and all the factory TSBs.

pskirk

Jason,

Thanks for the info and link to pcarworkshop that's a site I didn't know about.

As I have Adrian's Enthusiast's Companion, PET, Autodata, Factory workshop manuals and now pcarworkshop too, looks like I'm fully covered.

Metal Guru: eagerly awaiting your reply.

FYI Smartgroups 964 message database https://hotfile.com/list/2020739/0b1904f
Uploaded by me, feel free to share link with other 964ers
If anyone can edit to make search work, please let me know.

Cheers

GeorgeK

I agree with metal guru, the enthusiast companion is riddled with mistakes, especially in picture captioning.

Metal Guru

Page 148, on the CIS fuel distributor diagram. Frequency valve port and cold start valve port are mis-labeled. What's labeled frequency valve port is actually the cold start valve port and vice versa. Then on page 158 the cold start valve port is actually labeled correctly in the middle photo.
Page 155, what's labeled the acceleration enrichment control unit is in fact the turbo control unit.
Page 165, what's labeled the turbo control unit is in fact the acceleration enrichment control unit.
Page 182, the flywheel in the photo that's describing the Turbo ignition timing components is not a Turbo flywheel but a flywheel for a Carrera 2.
I'm completely confident that I could find more errors but since I don't trust this book any longer I don't use it.

As for "Without Guesswork", page 42-8 states that the torque for the cv to transmission drive flange is 33 ft-lb. In fact, it should be 60 ft-lb. This is really important as you wouldn't want a halfshaft flying off at 100 mph.

pskirk

Good for spotting those errors, shows you are a competent mechanic. I encounter similar errors everyday and as I recognise them, I ignore as simple typos. It happens in many technical publications. Proof readers are not experts so don't notice.

imho they're mostly minor errors, most tech books contain similar. Overall I believe the information provided to allow us to maintain our 964s outweighs the errors.

Autodata has errors as does Haynes and Alldata. Accept it.

alexjc4

That CV joint flange torque mistake in the "Without Guesswork" is ugly.

You should let them know your findings on both books:
http://www.bentleypublishers.com/feedback.htm

alexjc4

Agree with pskirk, these things are put together by humans so will always have errors.

While we're at it though, another fairly important one is not so much an error by Bentley but a TSB that should be included in Without Guesswork 03-2 Engine case drain plug and thermostat housing plug torque should both be reduced to 50Nm (X hundredweight furlongs).

Metal Guru

I cannot accept the mis-labeling of photos and diagrams as acceptable. A. Streather makes his living as a writer. I wonder if he is proud of his effort. I wouldn't be if I were him. This shows a lack of professionalism. I paid money for that book, therefore I expect it to be accurate. IMO, the sheer number of inaccuracies call into question everything that's in the book.
Thanks to that book I had my CIS fuel head hooked up incorrectly and to me that's no trivial mater.