I'm ranting. I just did all four brakes and I miss my Peugeot, I had lug studs instead of lug bolts. Mounting a wheel was pleasant compared to wrestling with a wheel while searching for bolt holes.

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5 speed '91 190E 2.6 320,000 mi. (new car, fast, smooth as silk six, couldn't find any more Peugeots)
5 speed '85 Peugeot 505 2.5l Turbo Diesel 266,000 mi. (old car, fast for a diesel, had 2 others)
5 speed '01 Jetta V6 (new wifes car, pretty quick)
5 speed '85 Peugeot 505 2.2l Turbo Gas 197,000 mi. (wifes car, faster, sadly gone just short of 200k )
5 speed '83 Yamaha 750 Maxim 14,000 mi. (fastest)
0 speed 4' x 8' 1800 lb Harbor Freight utility trailer (only as fast as what's pulling it)

I hate any repair that I have to do on a cold rainy Saturday morning that requires me to crawl underneath a wet car on a cold garage floor. Most of these repairs involve removing rusted suspension parts or working on bad oil leaks.

Or working on my Toyota, talk about a pita to fix.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Anything under the dash I'll put off as long as I can. Exhaust work I will take to a shop, usually.

On a W123, I would have to say the most hated thing I've ever did was replacing rusted out floorboards. Made the nhew ones from heavy sheet steel, got my but kicked all weekend.

Replacing a collapsed lifter alongside the road in a 65 Ford 6 cylinder in middle of Death Valley in 1968. On the plus side was having the skill to fix, a spare set of lifters, and of course the luck of it being Febuary.

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'10 Chrysler T&C Stow-N-Go White. Grandpa's ride.

'13 Chrysler 200 Touring Candy Red. Grandma's ride.

Age and cunning will always over come youth and vigor.

What I hate is the learning curve associated with doing anything that you are not familiar with. It does not matter what area it is, It's the necessary learning about it, the reading, figureing what tools you have and what you need to buy and/or make. etc. this is usually because it broken and now you have the pressure to get it fixed.
I guess Ive gotten old, is 50 old? I just don't like the idea af tearing apart a new " anything" and figuring it out. Replacing the evaporator, sure, been there, have the documentation and pictures.
It has become so mush easier with the internet. This forum and the Vintage Mustang forum. I dont' think I would be doing what I'm doing on the Mercedes and Mustang without the knowledge provided here and at VMF.
I have actually considered getting and old 722.2 tranny just to learn how to rebuild it. After thinking about it, never mind

Dave

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1970 220D, owned 1980-1990
1980 240D, owned 1990-1992
1982 300TD, owned 1992-1993
1986 300SDL, owned 1993-2004
1999 E300, owned 1999-2003
1982 300TD, 213,880mi, owned since Nov 18, 1991- Aug 4, 2010 SOLD
1988 560SL, 100,000mi, owned since 1995
1965 Mustang Fastback Mileage Unknown(My sons)
1983 240D, 176,000mi (My daughers) owned since 2004
2007 Honda Accord EX-L I4 auto, the new daily driver
1985 300D 264,000mi Son's new daily driver.(sold)
2008 Hyundai Tiberon. Daughters new car

Auto trannys aren't so bad, at least the US ones... I've done a bunch of Th350's and 400's, A904 and 727's and a C6. Not too bad with a manual. Lots of seals, bronze bushings and torque specs. Never did a 4spd auto but its just another clutch pack and set of planetaries. They are cleaner than motors and you can do 'em right on a bench. RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

That's why Mercedes gives you a wheel mounting pin doo-dad in the tool kit!

I love bodywork!

Metal, fiberglass, filler, glaze... I love it all! The satisfaction I got making custom fender flares on my Datsun 510 is far greater than any mechanical work I have ever done. Body work is an expression of self.

I hate any sort of cooling system work. It is messy and makes me paranoid (about overheating my car).

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Cassidy
1982 MB 300DT - Running Great @ 104K!

1972 MB 220D - RIP @ ~200K (Dropped prechamber)
1992 MB 190E 2.6 - SOLD @ 145K

i hate the way it feels yuc
i do all the work i can on my cars so of cours that incluids brakes hate bleeding to , i need to get one of those vac bleeder kits
Anything under the dash or in it on my bug

and never geting all the crud out from under my finger nail

So that's what that doo-dad is for.

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1984 300SD 326,997 miles and counting . . . No wait, my odometer is still dead

Replacing the wiring harness on our '83 300CD-T. This is the one that starts around the emergency brake and ends at the tailights. Ack!

replacing upper oilpan Getting crud from under fingernails

Larry,

Tell us about your new lift. I'm considering a garage addition with a lift.

My next door neighbor is now adding an additional two bay garage and extending his existing two bay attached garage by 10 feet.

Envy!!

Wray

Take a can of gunk and your car to the carwash before you start a job like this. Blast away the accumulated ook before you ever put a hand on it.

Put the hand in a glove before you put your hand on the car. Cheap gloves are available at the auto parts and discount places. Latex or Nitrile.

If you can't stand the thought of gloves, some people are silly that way, at least coat your hands in watered down dishsoap and air-dry them before you start.

The idea is to not get your hands dirty.