First time DIY... all did NOT go to plan!

[Laird Scooby]

When i started reading about a DIY disaster i was expecting something long the lines of wrapping yourself up in wallpaper or accidentally painting the cat!

Joking aside, as has already been pointed out, we've all been there and even after years of experience, things don't always go to plan so don't beat yourself up about it, chalk it up to a learning curve that we've all been on at some point.

If you go down the Mole grip/ Vice grip wrench path to remove the reluctant sump plug, when using any adjustable spanner or wrench, always set it so the moving jaw leads, this reduces the risk of it slipping off and actually improves the grip on the fastener.

When you get a bit more involved and increase your tools kit, i'd suggest a set of impact sockets (most are 6-point so are similar to the "Flat-Drive" ones mentioned) and one of these :

https://www.banggood.com/588VF-2-in-...ientCountry=GB

Surprisingly it's the same as Machine Mart sell for about £120 (check their catalogue to see what i mean) and does the job very well. I've had a few electric impact wrenches but until now they all felt cheap and flimsy and sadly proved themselves to be just that.
Only had my new one a few weeks but have given it some serious punishment and it hasn't felt flimsy once, just done the job. For example, using another device i found some bolts that were in excess of 225lbft - they were ~28 years old, had been sat out in the rain for a few years, lived on a car before that that suffered the "sea breeze effect" so in addition to their original tightening torque of 170Nm (~130lbft), the rust etc was making them much tighter!
This wee beastie shifted them!

Pretty certain it would have shifted your torque rod bolts, might seem an extravagance this early in your mechanical "baptism of fire" but you'll be surprised what you'll use it for! Don't use it to fully tighten wheel nuts though, especially on alloys as it can imapct on the lands where the nuts sit rendering the wheel scrap. Too many "fit-while-u-w8" tyre places do this and i've lost two sets of good alloys (rreplaceable as it turned out) due to this.
You can however use it to "spin" the nuts on (once started by hand to avoid cross-threading) but stop before it starts impacting then use your torque wrench.

Please note i am in no way affiliated with banggood.com nor the manufacturers of the product i've recommended, it's just a good product. Also my ideas on use are in no way instructional, just hints i've found useful.