Oil change in parking lot

[ka9mnx]

Way back in my younger years I took my MGB on a Florida road trip, from Illinois, to escape Winter. Ended up changing out the left front wheel bearing in an auto parts parking lot. It was quite an amusement for the store workers. They even loaned me a big socket I didn't have.

On the same trip I ran out of gas on the highway because I was busy chatting on the CB radio while not watching the fuel gauge. A nice state trooper stopped and gave me a ride to a gas station. He waited for me and gave me a ride back to my car.

On another wild trip to California to visit a close school friend in my Pinto, I ended up replacing the head gasket on the streets of San Francisco. Yea, the hippy district. I had to take a bus to the parts store. I told the parts guys I was from Illinois, needed a head gasket and asked if they could look up the torque specs for the head bolts. Oh, and could I borrow a torque wrench? They were happy to help.

The funny, and scary, part was when two beat cops walked by. I thought I was going to get a ticket (California) or would they notice the antifreeze running down the gutter. Nope, they just asked me what I was doing, had a chuckle, and moved on.

 

[jkhawaii]

How many miles is twice the manufacturer recommended interval?
You can do oil or filer changes anywhere where is quite and you clean after yourself. I know a friend of mine who does it at a school parking lot on the weekend.

Two times the olm. Which this time was only 5 months and 6000 miles. 1500 of it was a long drive from another state. I had been just changing it using the olm, and AMSOIL just for a little extra margin. I’ll go a full year or 15000 this time.

 

[gfh77665]

When I was a kid, Dad would pull his 56' Chevy over the shallow ditch in front of our house. It worked great.

 

[zzyzzx]

Apartment living. It is forbidden to do any vehicle maintenance

Just do it when the apartment office is closed.

 

[PF52]

When I was a kid, Dad would pull his 56' Chevy over the shallow ditch in front of our house. It worked great.

I was working at a very large regional post office under construction a number of years ago, and on one slow day I watched one of the contractors (foreman for the plumbers, or electricians, etc) park his truck over a low spot and he drained the old oil out right into the dirt. After his oil change was done, he moved the truck and kicked dry dirt over the old oil. Right in the middle of the new building under construction. I'm sure if a safety (or environmental) inspector had seen it there would have been big problems.

 

[oilfan99]

at my my local advanced auto parts lol

 

[RyanY]

When I was a kid, Dad would pull his 56' Chevy over the shallow ditch in front of our house. It worked great.

I grew up in a small town that had a relatively tall curb with a large storm grate next to it. Lots of people seemed to like it until they dropped the drain plug (the nearest parts store was in the next town)! FAFO

 

[jeepman3071]

Just do it when the apartment office is closed.

Everything is on camera now.

I'm fortunate I have a garage to work in and do maintenance, so many of my friends and family members who don't have a space stop by and either I help them or they do the work themselves. Around here the apartment complexes and auto parts stores don't want anyone doing work on their vehicles in their parking lots. My brother in law tried to replace the headlight bulb on my sister's Acura in their apartment parking lot. He had the hood open to try and reach the bulb, and in about 10 minutes someone came by and told him he couldn't do that.

 

[Jpc1623]

I live in an apartment building, I’ve done oil changes on equinox and crosstrek in lot or closed buildings nearby. I extract thru dipstick and for the Equinox with the filter underneath I use a large baggie around the filter to catch the oil. No oil spills.

 

[JeffKeryk]

My 1st purchase was a small condo in Campbell, CA. No car work allowed. The manager ragged on me so I offered to service his car.
Problem solved.

 

[The_Jeff]

I did oil changes all the time in my first apartment. Landlady even walled off "lockers" for her tenants in her barn with 2x4s and chicken wire, where I kept my oil supplies and snow tires.

Also pulled off a complete front brake job in a Lowes parking lot in swampy Virginia under the scalding sun. Pads, rotors, calipers. Just parked as far away as I could to be considerate. Had grease up to my elbows so I went in to use the bathroom to wash up and bought lemonade. That was some good lemonade, LOL.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I can also rent a lift for $45 an hour. Which I’ll do next time to rotate the tires and do a full oil change.

I would pay for that. IDK how they allow it for so cheap, the business insurance exposure must be pretty expensive.

 

[nomas]

I watched two guys pull the transmission out of a car and replace it in a residential neighborhood right next to the curb . It took about three days and nobody seemed to care .

 

[jkhawaii]

Yeah I caught a guy that changed his oil at the apartment complex where I worked. Exxon Valdez type spill on the ground. I made him go get oil dry and clean it up.

the Maintenance guy that works here (his vehicle) drops so much oil on the ground his vehicle should be banned from the property!

 

[jkhawaii]

I watched two guys pull the transmission out of a car and replace it in a residential neighborhood right next to the curb . It took about three days and nobody seemed to care .

I don't think anyone would care around here either. I do think the car would be stripped though lol. Go back out the next day and only the shell is left.

 

[jkhawaii]

It defenetly doesn't save any money. Oil changes and tire rotations are cheep. I'm a 30 year mechanic with no facility's. Want to do something on my car.

 

[gfh77665]

I grew up in a small town that had a relatively tall curb with a large storm grate next to it. Lots of people seemed to like it until they dropped the drain plug (the nearest parts store was in the next town)! FAFO

Yep. Dad dropped the drain plug straight down into a "crawfish hole" once. We had to dig a bit to get it out. People in the deep south know what I am talking about, LOL.

 

[jeepman3071]

I don't think anyone would care around here either. I do think the car would be stripped though lol. Go back out the next day and only the shell is left.

Most people won't bother you, especially if you are at the edge of a lot out of the way. What you need to watch out for are those who feel it is their duty to enforce the policies of whoever owns that lot, whether they actually be affiliated with them or not.

I live on a dead end street that has a few areas along the road that get quite high making it hard to see deer or people walking. I'll mow it with my tractor occasionally, only takes me about 15 minutes and makes the road look much nicer. The land I mow is technically owned by the town, but they don't maintain it. My neighbors love it, but I have had people stop and ask me what I'm doing and why I don't let the town do it, they are not town workers and not residents of the neighborhood, just Karens who feel the need to get in the way.

 

[fen1]

I've done several roadside oil changes in non crowded places when doing long trips. One time I just parked as far away on the parking lot as I could at a motel. I never left a mess, however.

 

[captainbeandip]

Back in my Navy days, we had a young kid that was traveling home from CT to Ohio for the holidays. We were talking about car maintenance and he said he hadn’t had an oil change since he got to the ship. A year and a half. Granted, some of those months were underway, but still. Anyway, he said he checked it and it was on the low mark, so he added a little bit of WATER to get it full! I thought he was kidding, but he was not…..

He was leaving the next morning, so I took him to the Navy exchange, bought him 4 quarts of oil. Luckily, they had the correct filter (they had a limited selection.). I also got a catch drain pan that closed so you can take to recycling. We did the oil right there in the Navy Exchange parking lot (I had some tools in my truck.). He left the next day and returned after the new year. Still driving that vehicle when he transferred a couple years later.

My kid is stationed at the submarine base in CT right now. They have an auto repair shop that people can reserve for free. I think it has tools and a lift and a guy there to help you.

Not sure how long this has been a thing, but it is handy.