oc on the ramps

[daveams]

Ive been changing my oil on ramps ever since the car was new.

With the engine up in the air,ive always asked myself does the oil drain properly?

 

[AdRock]

It can depend on how much it's at an angle and where the drain plug is.

 

[oilboy123]

I'm OCD and never give it a second thought..... So you got me beat.

Depends on the pan design and drain plug placement, like AdRock mentions.
Not enough to worry about. I use ramps on an inclined driveway, so by the time it's on ramps it's about level. If you can find somewhere like this then your set.

 

[daveams]

how do you put a picture on here , i would show you where's my drain plug right now.

 

[The Critic]

This is a bit off-topic, but I'm curious why ramps are so popular for oil changes or other light vehicle maintenance.

Unless everyone is getting free tire rotations done at a tire shop, at every oil change, I find that I need to raise the entire car anyway because I need to remove all of the tires for a rotation.

Do all of you guys just change your oil and never rotate your tires (or have a tire shop do it)?

As for draining the oil on ramps, I find that it drains a lot quickly than raising the entire car.

 

[momomeister]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
This is a bit off-topic, but I'm curious why ramps are so popular for oil changes or other light vehicle maintenance.

Unless everyone is getting free tire rotations done at a tire shop, at every oil change, I find that I need to raise the entire car anyway because I need to remove all of the tires for a rotation.

Do all of you guys just change your oil and never rotate your tires (or have a tire shop do it)?

As for draining the oil on ramps, I find that it drains a lot quickly than raising the entire car.


I built myself wooden ramps out of 2x12's and 2x10's, giving me a 6" lift. I just feel safer if my cars are on my ramps instead of rhino ramps or jack stands, both of which can fail without warning. Wood on the other hand, is pretty much incompressible.

I have a set of snow tires/wheels for my vehicles so I just swap tires 2x per year, without having to "rotate the tires" per say.

 

[daveams]

i feel totally safe on rhino ramps at 12,000 lbs , i wouldn't worry..my corolla is only 3000 lbs

 

[Big_Kat]

Originally Posted By: daveams
i feel totally safe on rhino ramps at 12,000 lbs , i wouldn't worry..my corolla is only 3000 lbs


Same here

 

[cos]

I use jack stands but only in addition to my big heavy duty floor jack. The floor jack also lets me bring the car down while the oil drains.

Of course I only used a floor jack by itself until I was 30 and then decided "safety first" was a good policy.

 

[expat]

I never have rotated the tires!
Except to put the best on the front and replace the worn tires as required.
I change the oil with the car/Truck over a Dip in the ground.

 

[SaturnIonVue]

I use ramps because my car is too low to allow the use of standard sized drain pans. If a pan is swallow enough to go under the car, then it usually lacks the capacity to safely hold five quarts of oil without sloshing oil out of the pan when it is being removed.

I also like to use ramps so that I have the clearance while I'm under the car to have a look around under the engine and transmission, check the steering gear, ball joints, and especially the boots on the drive shafts, etc. With most newer cars these days 6" to 8" or less clearance doesn't let you inspect very much. Ramps do the trick.

 

[tonycarguy]

I used to rotate tires by using the spare as a temporary. I haven't used jackstands in many years, except as backup when changing brake pads

 

[demarpaint]

I don't do tire rotations the same time as oil changes. If I did I would change the oil on the ramps, get the car off them and jack it up to rotate tires. I used a 3 ton floor jack and stands for years. December 08 I treated myself to Rhino ramps, and couldn't believe I used a jack for 35 years or so. The Rhino ramps are awesome. Two of my vehicles have the drain plug at the rear center of the oil pan, what could be better. I would suggest to anyone thinking about getting Rhino ramps to spend the extra few $$ and get the 12,000 lb pair. They are well worth it!!!!!!!!!!! Slighlty wider and a whole lot stronger than the standard set. JMO

 

[Spector]

Rotate once a year at State inspection time it evens out this way the same as doing it every 5000 miles at least it has for me. Tire rotation at 5000 miles is a hassle if one does not need to bring vehicle in for anything else. Of course on my 3 vehicles I put on less than 10000 a year

 

[KrisZ]

On all my previous cars I used ramps and it worked pretty well. I was never concerned about getting all of the old oil out, I still don't worry about it, but I always managed to drain pretty close to the oil capacity speck. On my current car I just lift the driver's side, much faster than fiddling with ramps.

 

[jorton]

Have you measured the used oil after an oc? If an oc is supposed to take 5 quarts of new oil you should have almost 5 quarts in the drain pan if the level was "full", and a little more in the old filter.

 

[xxch4osxx]

Originally Posted By: expat
I never have rotated the tires!
Except to put the best on the front and replace the worn tires as required.
I change the oil with the car/Truck over a Dip in the ground.
Same here, I never rotate the tires and I never have any abnormal wearing problems.

 

[stenerson]

I don't need ramps to change oil on the P/U but use them on the Caravan. Since the drain hole faces the rear of the pan/vehicle it drains better with the front raised.

 

[cp3]

+1 for demarpaint's post

I use the ramps when doing the oil changes and usually just rotate the tires spring and fall when I have them off for cleaning and waxing. Not sure if I have the 12000lbs Rhinos or not but I love them.

 

[daveams]

yeah i measured it,drains pretty well though.

sometimes i feel like there's still half a quart left in the engine.