HELM 97-99 Prelude Service Manual and/or 2000 Shop Manual Supplement? - Honda Prelude Forum

fatmonkee · 04-03-2010, 09:27 AM

I'm thinking about getting the 1997-1999 Prelude Service Manual (61S3002) and/or the 2000 Prelude Shop Manual Supplement (61S3003) from HELM. My question is: does anybody think I should get one or the other or both. I have the Service Manual in PDF from Spoon. It's nice to have, but I want the entire thing at my finger tips in my garage and I'm sure it'd cost me more than 50 bucks to print out the entire thing at home or at Kinko's. I have a 2000 SH, so it makes sense that I should have the Shop Manual Supplement, right? I don't think it's scanned on the web anywhere. If it is, please let me know. Also, I'm sure this isn't the way to go, but would only the Supplement be fine to have? On a side note, I have the Chilton manual for Accords/Preludes and it isn't worth the paper it's printed on, i.e. it's ****.

All opinions are appreciated here.

Kronn 98SH · 04-03-2010, 12:40 PM

I wouldn't worry about buying the service manual since you already have the PDF. If you printed it out at home, it wouldn't cost very much. Paper is cheap and so is black ink.

As for the supplemental shop manual, I doubt it has anything major enough in it to warrant a purchase. If you've ever seen a Helms shop manual, it's got almost the same stuff as the service manual, but includes body repair.

fatmonkee · 04-04-2010, 08:53 PM

Thanks for the reply Kronn. I know it'd probably be cheaper to print it, but it wouldn't be tabbed, or just plain clean, if you know what i mean. Are you telling me that the 2000 Prelude Shop Manual Supplement is just as comprehensive, if not more, than the 1997-1999 Prelude Service Manual, but for half the price? That's almost unbelievable. If that's the truth, please let me know.

fatmonkee · 04-07-2010, 12:27 PM

Anybody? How do a Helm Service Manual and a Helm Shop Manual Supplement compare. I've never seen a Helm manual before, only the crappy (no offense to the scanner) PDF, so I can't compare. The Shop Manual Supplement is half the price of the Service Manual and if I get one and find out I need the other, then I'll have to pay the exorbitant shipping and handling costs twice. Please help me save some money. If the Supplement has anything that the Manual doesn't, I'd gladly scan it and post it. Help a dude out.

fatmonkee · 04-20-2010, 07:42 PM

Hey everybody. PO user "M635CSi" contacted me awhile ago and sold me an original (not a reprint in a binder, like what's available from HELM) 97-99 Service Manual for a real bargain. He also enlightened me on how useless the Shop Manual Supplement is and was helpful and knowledgeable regarding everything having to do with Preludes. Cheers to him and thanks to Kronn for his input.

Kronn 98SH · 04-20-2010, 08:30 PM

FYI, if you want a GOOD pdf copy, let me know.

fatmonkee · 04-20-2010, 10:13 PM

Thanks Kronn. I have two different PDF copies. The one from Spoon, which is divided poorly and is linked to from PO all the time. This one is crap, IMO. I also have one which is from manualspace.com. This one is 10 times better and is actually organized, not thrown together. I just wanted a hard copy. I hate looking at computer monitors for long periods of time.