DIY maintenance work

[tcles]

oh damn. didn't see the italy part. hummm. can't go on with out walmart

I didn't even know walmart had ramps, I must investigate this.

I will vouch for how incredibly awesome having ramps are, I have a pair of old ramps that used to belong to my great grandpa (he's still alive, but luckily isn't driving ever since he crashed his caddy, still insisting to this day it was the other guy's fault. These ramps were for this caddy ) You will wind up using the ramps for just about everything that involves under-car except wheel/front suspension. They made my flex joints and engine mounts replacements much much easier. Especially those engine mounts since it frees up the jacks and jackstands. Just be very careful when putting it up on the ramps, I would not recommend doing it without another person to act as spotter, especially since sometimes a ramp will catch right away, sometimes it will get pushed just a little bit rather then let the wheel roll up since MBs are rear wheel drive.I have overshot on one side before and it will likely give you a heart attack. New ones may work better then mine since some of the rubber is worn on mine, but reguardless I'd suggest placing them on a rougher surface, a surface that is too smooth will almost certainly lead to more pushing then climbing. I've found that I HAVE to back my car into the carport to put it on the ramps, the cement in the carport is far too smooth and it is impossible to get enough friction to safely climb up the ramps, the instinct will be to gun it a little bit since the jolt will let you get up further due to the coefficent of friction being higher (like how you stop faster if your wheels are turning then if they lock up and allow a skid) but BE careful, it is easy to overshoot the ramps, I wouldn't even chance gunning it a little bit unless you have a spotter, that's how I overshot on the passenger side that one time.
Also I found that I have to jack my car up and kick the ramps in as much as I can then let it down so the bumper will clear, once the car is on the bottom of the ramps it is angled enough that there is barely clearence, but that beginning where there is the angle doesn't allow. I don't think the different bumpers on the non-AMG w202's give more clearance, but they might. Ramps with a more shallow angle would allow without jacking, but I don't know if it causes enough of an inconvience that I would personally trade that for the shorter height that the ramps would likely have as a result. Mine are a good foot high and though it gives quite a bit of room, I wouldn't be happy if it was any lower, especially for stuff in the back or around the transmission. Make sure you have cardboard, a roller board would be awesome, my back would appreciate it, but remember that it will reduce your space, so make sure you have it up on the ramps and think you can spare the extra room before going out and getting a roller board, but if you think you can, def get one, your back will thank you. Make sure you also have proper lighting for under car repairs, worklighs wont go under there very easily and hook lights are kinda a pain and both get it VERY hot under there. I recommend a magnet LED light and a headlamp for working under car. I have even had one that was both (light came off the headband and had a magnet).

I'm gonna check out these walmart ramps, might be worth it if they are a more shallow angle since it would be nice to not have to jack up the car if I'm doing work underneath closer to the front where the additional space isn't as needed.

Oh yeah, one last thing, make sure you have car stops, or at least big rocks or bricks to put behind the rear wheels, even when the car is all the way on the ramps and seems very well seated, it's better safe then sorry. You will probably get freaked out at first and want to place a jackstand under the car with you, but for me I got very confident of the integrity of the ramps and very annoyed with having to work around the jackstand and no longer use it, I usauly throw a spare tire under the side after the ramps so I have some protection if a catastrophic failure occurs. Of course my ramps are permanent angle-iron and non-adjustable, if your ramps have any kind of folding mechanism I would recommend the stand, you never know.
Safety first, you can always get a new car, but you can't get a new you, remember that ahead of time as the first instinct WILL be to place yourself in harms way to save the car if you have put a lot of DIY work into it Shoudda seen me clutching the engine lift for dear life in a bear hug when it collapsed during a cyl head pull.

Edit: and I am pretty sure there are autozones in Seattle, I'll ask my buddy that helps me work on my car where they are since he moved from there and did a lot of automotive work when he lived there. I do know he's commented many times about the crappyness of carquests up there since they are absolutely awesome down here and we go to them quite often.