Honestly, I think i'm the worst DIYer on peach parts.
Now I didn't completely botch it (almost) but mistakes where made. For me it pretty much every time, then again all of these procedures where new to me.
So when someone says "Ah it took me 2 hours to do xyz." I figure I'll complete it 2 to 3 times as slowly as they did.

Ok lets go.

Fan shroud install:It took my brother and I probably 5 mins to figure out which way the fan shroud went on .

Coolant flush: Took off the wrong plumbing, behind the upper radiator hose, I thought the bulbous thing with the 3 sensors in it was the thermostat so I removed it like an idiot. Ended up putting back on. Filled fluid at the reservoir instead of the upper radiator hose. Forgot to torque down various nuts, and install drain plugs (thank god the car was stationary did not over heat.)

Transmission fluid change: Didn't torque down bolts on the pan evenly enough so I had to do it over again. Got transmission fluid all over my clothes, face, and mouth . Drain pan plug immediately stripped, as soon as I loosened and lowered the pan a gust of wind blew transmission fluid everywhere.As I was searching for the bell housing drain plug I realized I was on the wrong side of the whole time....

Differential oil change: Installed drain and fill plugs in the wrong spot, AFTER filling the diff. Proceeds to remove drain plug WITHOUT some sort of catch pan to collect it so it doesn't got to waste Wasted a nearly a entire bottle of gear oil on the ground, now I'm pretty much covered in my entire torso and head with gear oil and transmission fluid. Had to use some spare gear oil I had laying around that was the wrong weight, 85w-140, instead of 75w-90...

Went around shirtless collecting tools around the car, washed hair with dawn dish soap and called it a day.

Still need to get new diff fluid still.

__________________
1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

LOL!!! you sound a lot like me. I read up and then do it, and then do it again... but, you'll get it. The important part is trying in the first place, its the only way to learn and get better.

You're determined and have a great sense of humor, both admirable qualities.

Was this all in one day??

The struggle is part of the fun (except when you're in the middle of it).

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

At least you're trying! I can't tell you how many people I know who are afraid to change their own oil and call AAA if they have a flat! So you made some messes and had to do a few things over again. So what, that's how you learn. You have the desire and ability to get back in there and try again. That alone is commendable.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Don't beat up on yourself too bad. We've all had Oh $hit! moments when it comes to wrenching on cars. Some worse than others.

I've definitely lost my share of screwdrivers, prybars, etc (albeit temporary) from getting cut, pinched and the like...and generally ends with some tool getting thrown across the garage. One time I was using some makeshift hose spring clamp pliers rather than the proper tool and got a nice chunk of skin stuck in the clamp. Only way to get unstuck was to quickly yank my hand out and hope for the best. Prybar through the drywall.

Very few of us can honestly say we've never done anything less than perfect on a repair.

Something else to ponder...there are few people that care to keep our old relics running properly. Most "mechanics" these days rely on computers for troubleshooting...and are lost if no codes are generated to start on a diagnosis.

Those of us who do want to keep them running like a swiss watch, we either get lucky and find a good old timer mechanic who can diagnose by sound/touch/feel...or learn to fix them ourselves.

__________________
Lance Allison
Lance@LanceAllison.com

Current:
11 MB S550 4Matic, 55k miles, Designo Black/Black
14 Ford F150 XLT Lariat Crew, 73k miles, 5.0
Coyote V8 4x4. Black/tan.
09 GMC Envoy Denali, 5.3 V8, 4x4 SWB. 38k miles,
Jewel Red/Med Gray.

Gone:
87 MB 300SDL, 320k miles, Astral Silver/Blue.
98 VW Jetta TDI, 488k miles, Classic Green/Gray.
85 Olds 98 Brougham FWD, 4.3 DIESEL V6, 80k
miles, 3x Gray.

MBCA Member, Chicago Region

The Coolant was done two days ago.

Everything else was today. Started at 7:00am finsihed at 1

;00pm.

This wasn't as bad as when I stayed up all night doing replacing the entire front braking system and wheel bearings.

__________________
1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

Good plan of attack. Do one job. run it for a while see that everything is OK, then on to the next task, That way if you mess up you know where to look. On two different GP changes on a 617 once I broke the temp sensor lead, and once a vacuum line to the shut off valve. Both EZ fixes cause I knew they worked before and where my hands were since.

All sounds rather normal. I have seen professional mechanics make similar mistakes. It is easy to lose your focus sometimes and sometimes your head is full of pudding.

If you never done a job you are going to make mistakes even though you read up on it.

The above is why experience is valuable and takes time to gain.

Do-it-yourself threads that go smoothly make you think that if you do the job the same it will be fast and easy and are not as valuable as the threads that show how problems were delt with.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I've learned the hard way to always have a tray for parts and tools next to me whenever I work on anything.

__________________
1973 220D ~135k Mi
1979 Ford F100 300 I6 - 225k Mi

Yes, sometimes it's embarrassing how one side takes 2-3 days and the other takes 30 minutes, for example a brake job.
But, as others have said, keep after it. I'm betting most folks here can relate from their own personal experiences with the frustration. They chuckle inside because they've done the same things.
Sometimes the greater satisfaction comes from realizing everything you went through and it all worked out in the end.

Usually, the only time I don't mess up a DIY is because I've already done it twice. ;-)

__________________
Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

I get made fun of because of my admittedly large collection of various screws, nuts, clips, washers, etc.

HOWEVER guess who always gets the phone call when someone I know is in need of a stray bolt or strange clip...

__________________
Lance Allison
Lance@LanceAllison.com

Current:
11 MB S550 4Matic, 55k miles, Designo Black/Black
14 Ford F150 XLT Lariat Crew, 73k miles, 5.0
Coyote V8 4x4. Black/tan.
09 GMC Envoy Denali, 5.3 V8, 4x4 SWB. 38k miles,
Jewel Red/Med Gray.

Gone:
87 MB 300SDL, 320k miles, Astral Silver/Blue.
98 VW Jetta TDI, 488k miles, Classic Green/Gray.
85 Olds 98 Brougham FWD, 4.3 DIESEL V6, 80k
miles, 3x Gray.

MBCA Member, Chicago Region

Yes, I swear my most essential tool is a Magnetic Parts Tray!

__________________
Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

During a project I'll say "Right when this is done I'll get good at it and then I won't ever do it again/do it just a few more times." I was changing an inline fuel filter, pulled off the old one, grabbed for the new one for a quick swap and knocked it into the shock spring tower. Deep inside the coil spring. Laying on the bottom. A plastic part. Fuel supply line flowing.

Oh boy.. the time i decided to change the in tank fuel filter screen and decided to trust the fuel gauges reading of "empty" - 30 mins before it got dark, last December.

At least 5 gallons of diesel went all over me, the driveway, and the 26 million sheets/blankets/rugs I ran around trying to use to soak it up.

Epic fail, smelled like diesel for days.

Your experience is pretty typical. I just put new brake pads on my Discovery II. Took about 1.5 hours on one side because I forgot that the washer on the retaining bolt that holds one end of the caliper is rectangular, not square. You remove only that bolt, swing down the caliper, replace the pads, and swing it back into place. But the bolt will not line up back in the hole if that dang washer gets turned 90 degrees. Almost thought I was going to have to give up and call a wrecker and take it to a shop. Then I just experimented by turning that washer back 90 degrees. Presto, went back together perfectly.

Other side took me less than five minutes after the tire was off.

Then again, that's the only way you learn.

Keep it up.