What equipment needed for oil changes and etc..

[VicVinegar]

I use the "Race Ramps" rubber wheel chocks with the Rhino ramps. Just out of curiosity, I tested the chocks. With the car in reverse and a good jab on the throttle the car didn't move. Now my car is light and small, but someone did a similar test on a Amazon review of the chocks with an F-150 and had a good result. The car isn't rolling with those chocks.

Now I suppose the ramps could fail, or your jack stands could fail too or be incorrectly positioned. The latter worries me as a newb who hasn't used stands yet. I just plan to read up on proper support spots on the car and keep a couple "backups" under there with the stands. The jack and/or any wheel that is off.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
First rule of the first oil change is not to fumble the drain plug either into the rapidly filling pan or a far corner of the garage. If the motor's hot the plug will be hot and if you haven't much experience you won't know how many complete turns before it comes apart and gushes out.


Chopsticks are useful in this case, and I found that if you push the drain plug into the pan when unscrewing it out, you'll be able to "feel" when is it out, and can manage the drain much easier.

 

[fdcg27]

Rhino ramps work fine for oil changes.
Depends upon the car, though.
With our two Subarus, there is no need to raise the car to get to drain plug or filter.
With our '97 and '99 Accords, you can easily drain the oil without raising the car, but the filter must be removed from below and is very difficult to get to unless you raise the car.
We'll see how much of a pain our '12 Accord turns out to be.
On the BMW, the drain plug is very hard to get to without raising the car, although the filter is a cartridge removed from the top.
Bottom line, a set of Rhinos makes changes much easier.
Make sure you have the right size socket or wrench for the drain plug and it's always good to have a filter wrench handy, in case you need it to remove the filter.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Sometimes you can park up on a curb/ sidewalk and buy space under the car that way. They put cuts in for wheelchairs but you can use 'em too.

Running two wheels up onto the curb outside my apartment, so the car is on an angle, is my plan too. I'm going to take a whirl again at changing the Buick's oil myself. The last time I tried, I got the filter off, but I could NOT budge the drain plug. Brought it to my mechanic; it wasn't seized or anything.

He suggested, "Next time, instead of pulling on the wrench, get on the other side of the car and push." So I'll try that, which means parking the car with the filter side low instead of high.