Re: My approach

Hey guys - thinking about doing this myself for the first time. What method do you recommend (and why)? Safety is my top concern. By ramps I'm referring to something like the Rhino ramps.
Thanks

the VW Golf, the Boxster, GTO, Turbo, even the Cayman S twice.

Early on I raised the front of the Boxster to see how much the rear being elevated affected the amount of oil. As I raised the from level no big surge of oil came out the drain hole. Just the steady thin thread.

Ramps are just so much faster.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

I do stands now because I invested in a really good low profile jack and can get the car up very quickly. I have used ramps many times in the past, though with no problems.

Are you guys raising the front or the rear with ramps.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Thanks folks. When you DO go w/ the jack stand approach, does that mean 2 jack stands (right in front of the rear wheels)? Or 4 stands total (2 more in the front)?

..ramps

What's the problem, dont want to store ramps?

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Hey Grant - there's no concern I have w/ storing the ramps or anything like that. Just trying to figure out the SAFEST approach. Since I'm a little uneasy about working under the car for the first time. What pictures are you referring to in your last post?

since th jackstands would have a side load on them since the car would not be level.

I have posted many pictures over the past year of my car up on blocks in the garage, in which my 6x6x18s can be seen.

No time now to go digging and posting. Maybe later.

G

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

I've always been afraid to use jack stands out of fear that if I didn't center it right, or some other user error, it would slip and the car would fall and smash my head.
I use rhino ramps to change the oil. I feel safe when I see the rear wheels fully on the ramps.

it is quite stable.

But if you want safer, remember my pics. I have a stack of 6x6x18" pressure treated stock that i stack at 45 degree angles and place under the factory jack points, lifting elsewhere. That is stable, and cannot buckle without warning.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

When I had a Boxster, I used Rhino Ramps, and they worked fine, though it's a little tricky backing onto them, particularly with a stick shift. I was always worrying what would happen if I gave it too much gas and drove off the back of the ramp. They are a lot easier to use driving forward with our FWD Saab 9-5, which is an automatic. With our 06 911, I can back it up to the edge of the garage with the rear end hanging out over the driveway, and there is room to get the drain pan under it with no need to raise it at all. It's actually the easiest vehicle to change oil on that I have ever owned, as long as the drain pan is in the right place when that drain plug comes out!

Is to use 2x10's,one nailed on top of the other, staggered, so the car first drives up into one, and then onto the next. The ramp end is cut at a 45 degree bevel. At the other end, is a 2x2 attached perpendicular to the far edge, to prevent the car from rolling off.

I slide these ramps under the car, in front of the rear wheel, and then drive up.

That extra 3" allows me to slide under the car on a piece of cardboard (my mechanic's creeper is too high), to drain the oil, and change the filter.

The benefits - the car is very close to level, and there's no chance of the car falling off anything. These 2x10 ramps are much lighter than my rhino ramps, and safer and much easier to use than my jackstands.

Hey folks - how about wheel chocks. What do you recommend for that for the front wheels? So many different ones online so looking for some recommendations.

when jacked up to change a flat tire or even when the front or rear tires were on ramps even to change the oil. I carry a couple of pieces of finished lumber in the car's trunk to use for that. In auto parts stores you can find metal (maybe plastic now) wheel chocks if you do not want to bother with blocks of wood.

Pretty sure my father made this for the '36 Chevy he bought when he came back from WW2. Note the curve to match a tire's roundness. The circular pattern of indentations came from putting a jack on it to gain height on maybe one of my Alfas to get it high enough to slip in jack stands.

Funny thing, this is image 0981 on my iPad.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2014 03:03PM by Laz. (view changes)