Customer Reviews

Volkswagen Station Wagon/Bus: Official Service Manual Type 2, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This indispensible publication is the often-referred-to text used by the factory trained techs while servicing your vehicle at the dealership. The illustrations are clear and instructive. Measurements for new and acceptable wear limits are located within each chapter along with torque values. Each chapter is keyed by the subassembly ie. brakes, engine, chassis, etc. If you own Volkswagen products, this manual should be required to ensure you understand how your vehicle should be maintained. (If you do not actually get your hands dirty, consider offering it to your mechanic as a reference!) Bentley manuals are not quite as detailed as typical factory issued motorcycle repair manuals, but run a close second.

This book has its uses. If you have a need to do moderately extensive work on your VW yourself, it's probably wise to have this book in your shop. It's inferior to John Muir's classic Idiot's Guide (ISBN 0945465122 ) in terms of providing effective ways of repairing your VW (not to mention less fun), but it works well as a supplement to the Idiot's Guide. It's a good secondary reference when using the Idiot's Guide as a primary manual for maintenance & repair. For instance, the Service Manual will often contain illustrations of tiny parts within parts that are lacking in the Idiot's Guide, which can be useful when trying to visualize how things fit together. When something goes wrong, turn to the Idiot's Guide first; when you want a little more padding to get your head around a problem, the Service Manual is often just the ticket. In short, something to keep in the garage rather than in the bus (as you should do at all times with the Idiot's Guide). Highly recommended for this purpose.

This book was very clear and concise and covered a lot of the repair issues. The pictures were good and clear. The only downside was they didn't cover enough or discuss all eventuallities. There was no discussion of modifications. This book is mostly just the basics.

This is the first thing one should buy after purchasing any type II vehicle.
It's an invaluable guide to all your mechanical woes. Most vehicles bought today are modified in one form or another. This book covers all the stock components. With this book in hand, one can conduct a thorough inspection of their vehicle and determine what modifications have been made. Restoration or repair, read this book. This manual should be in every Type II owners tool box.
Gary Ino
San Francisco

If you're brave enough to take on the care, maintenance, and/or restoration of an old VW bus, this book, along with John Muir's How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, is a must-have. While Muir provides the how-to, the Official Service Manual provides the what and where one needs to care for an old VW. I've owned a lot of them (VWs and books). Get this one up-front and save yourself a lot of grief.

it was exactly what i was expecting. no surprises and will be super helpful. great pics...thanks

This is all you need. If you can't figure out the problem with this manual, then it's off to the mechanic with you!

This manual has been indispensable in my restoration of a 1977 Type 2. In fact, this book has been so valuable, I have bought two copies (after I thought I lost the first in a move). The pictures are clearly printed and the instructions/steps are well-written and easy to follow. The manual is printed on quality paper stock and feels sturdy. My copy is rife with stains and dirt from being used 'in the field.'
Generally speaking, this manual covers it all, but there were a few occasions were I had to cross-reference to the vastly inferior Hayes manual for the same vehicle. I also cross-referenced an old Chilton manual for a better illustration of the Oil filter assembly since this book uses more 'exploded views' than cross-sections of assembled components.
If you have an old bus - you need to have this book.

Simply the best service manual there is for any air-cooled Volkswagen. The idiot's guide has fun drawings but a lot of misleading direction and just plain wrong information. Haynes manuals are better, but still have serious gaps. The Bentley covers everything. Its only weakness is that it was written for trained service techs and assumes you already know what you're doing.

This is a must have item if you are restoring or are fixing up an old bus and want to keep it alive. I just wish I had one when I was 18, maybe I could have taken better care my first vw's.