As my name indicates...I'm prity handy...that said, no one ever mentioned taking shop class in high school & all I know under the hood is anything I've already done. If I have very good instruction the first time I'm good and can usually get it with vagueness after that.

Ok, those were the qualifying statements. My 83 240D needs a valve adjustment & I'm wondering if I should even bother trying or just take it to my local foreign car guy(who I've used & is good). B/c it's a mercedes I'm sort of protective of it. I have lots of friends that would say "I can do that for you". I had a boyfriend in high school that changed a flat tire for me b/c it was sprinkling (ah, chivalry) & put the lug nuts on backwards and caused all kinds of family problems for me(my dad was mad). So, as you can see, I have history with trust issues and proper maintenance. Can I trust that a valve adjustment is a valve adjustment, or is it somehow "special" b/c it's a mercedes? B/c if a friend walked me through it I could probably do it myself next time w/o consulting here

AND...if the answer is take it to my mechanic, how much might that run me? $ could be an issue depending on price vs. difficulty of DIY

THANKS!