epic fail on my part replacing belt tensioner
 

so belt tensioner replacement on a W201 isnt exactly the easiest task ever.

removing the radiator wasnt so bad, had to yank the sucker out after undoing the hoses and trans lines.

clutch fan/pulley was a HUGE pita. i ended up trying all sorts of different rods i bent into shape and finally used a 4mm allen to hold the pulley in place. the 8mm was stuck hard and i ended up scratching my arm on the condensor twice. ouch.

finally I got everything back except the radiator and it was getting pretty dark. i decided to call it a night and tried pushing the car back into the garage, but there was a slight bump on the driveway that I couldnt push the car over. i thought to myself, itll just spray water everywhere for about 2 seconds right? no big deal.

got in the car and put in reverse and made it into the garage but i quickly realized and forgot that the trans cooler lines were still out!

so I ended up spraying trans fluid ALL over the engine bay, headlights and on my fenders. HAPPY XMAS TO ME, i get a bucket of fail to end my night.

ahh, dang. and here we thought you were a 201-expert

It's amazing how much different replacing the tensioner on a 2.3 is compared to a 2.6. The 2.3 takes about 30 minutes to replace.

finally I got everything back except the radiator and it was getting pretty dark. i decided to call it a night and tried pushing the car back into the garage, but there was a slight bump on the driveway that I couldnt push the car over. i thought to myself, itll just spray water everywhere for about 2 seconds right? no big deal.

At least it wasn't dirty engine oil, which never comes off the walls (I've tested it). Plus, you get a bonus partial tranny fluid changeout.

haha thanks guys :P

I got everything back in, car works just fine! smoked alot due to the trans fluid left on the manifold, but it burned off within 30 minutes.