Anyone doing oil change without ramps or stands

[sfl109415]

Well I am a little tired of draining a little oil after the overfill of each and every oil change done at the dealership. I was going to start doing them myself and read all of the oil change threads here I could find over the last few days.

It appears that most here use either ramps or a jack and stands. I am not wanting to use either if at all possible.

I got on my back today and could see where I could get a ratchet on the plug but I could never get my hand on the oil filter. Is it unaccessible or are any folks here actually doing an oil change without ramps or jacks. Are you reaching under the front or side of the car. Is it feasible to remove the front skid plate or plastic panel, whatever it is called.

I am spoiled doing oil changes on my Tundra where I have room to spare underneath.

Just looking for tips from people who are doing a complete oil change with the car flat on the ground.

Thanks

[lefat1]

I have done all my oil chages so far and all w/o jacks or stands. Get an oil filter remover (for lack of proper term) from Walmart or auto parts store that fits a socket wrench and extension and feel for the oil filter. I use a small mirror to assist install. The drain plug is a no-brainer.

[Patrick Wong]

It won't be very easy for you to change the oil without raising the car up. Is it possible to park on a curb in such a way that the driver's side of the car is raised up above the ground, thus allowing more clearance under the car?

When looking for the filter, you need to be at the front of the car. It is not necessary to remove any of the engine under covers to access the filter. The filter is in front of a semi-circular indentation in the oil pan and hangs down (not sideways mounted.)

You will need to use a cap oil filter wrench; bring a replacement filter with you when shopping for the oil filter wrench.

[northwichita]

I found using ramps difficult because of the low ground clearance in front, I drive up on two old brake disc rotors I had laying around, gives me another couple inches of clearance. I also wanted to add a point about the oil pan itself, it's made with a crease in the mid part that will retain oil if the car is level during the drain , I jack up the driver's side of the car a few more inches to get every last drop out. I noticed this one day, decided to raise the one side after draining, and was surprised to get more oil out. Advantage of doing it yourself.

[Rae Vynn]

DH has always done all the oil changes for Rudy, and he doesn't use ramps.
Of course, he has long arms, and uses a hand mirror to see under the car!

I have some photos of our first oil change on my Flickr site.

[JimboK]

My first oil change was done with the car on the ground. I couldn't see the filter but my long arms could reach it. I got as much of my shoulder and torso under the car as I could to allow as much reach as possible.

Even so, I still bought a set of ramps after that. They're a good investment, IMHO.

[Shawn Clark]

I did mine without ramps and without using the jack if memory serves. It's possible that I jacked one corner a few inches but I don't recall doing that for this car (I've done it with other cars before.) My garage floor is clean enough and smooth enough to eat off of so I don't mind a bit of crawling around. I have a decent reach and am not hefty so that helps. The difficulty with the filter is always getting the angle just so, so that it threads. The Prius oil change is clean because the filter isn't on its side like my Tundra (what a mess it can make.)

If there is inadequate clearance for you, you might get enough clearance just by running the front tires up onto short sections of 2x8 scrap on each front wheel. 1.5" makes a pretty substantial difference when you are starting with about 4" of clearance. Of course you want short enough board lenght so that you can slip in beside the front wheel if memory serves. You could probably make a nice mitre cut on one side of the wood so that the tires would climb it easily. Then take the cut strip or other scrap and attach it to the top side near the other end to serve as a stop guide.

I sold my old steel car ramps last year since I rarely used them anymore, even for the Tundra. They were too tall for my Accord, 240, or Prius.

[sfl109415]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I was able to reach the filter with my hand rather easily after I realized that I needed to slide my arm and shoulder in from the front and not the side in front of the tire.

So all I need is to shop for that oil filter wrench. I have a strap wrench but realize I need the one that you all suggested that fits on the end of the filter and then on to the ratchet and extension.

One other thing I realized is that during my dry run I slid what I thought was my very low profile oil change drain pan under the car and while it fit barely I could not get to the plug or filter so I will have to shop for another even shorter pan.

One favor from anybody who could help. I know I could take the new oil filter in to a parts house and match it to a wrench but I live about 25 miles from the nearest walmart or autozone. I do 90 percent of my shopping online. Would anyone know of a brand and part number or even just the brand name of a wrench bought online. I am actually about to do an extensive search for one right now so I can probably find it on my own. It would just be nice to know of a certain one that someone is actually using.

Edit: I just saw this one that looks like it will do the job. 09228-06501 Oil Filter Wrench Toyota 2485 64mmx15 flute

Thanks

[hyo silver]

I park a bit sideways on a slight slope, and slide in from the front. I tried a filter wrench, but the clearance is kinda tight, and I found it easier to just grab the filter with my hand. A small LED headlamp was very useful the first couple of times, but now that I know where everything is, I just feel around in the dark.

[Shawn Clark]

I tighten and loosen oil filters by hand (haven't used a filter wrench in years, mainly because they never fit worth a darn, except one I wrapped heavily in duct tape.) And I'm not someone with an iron grip either. Of course, changing one that somebody else overtightened can be a bit tougher and require a screwdriver shoved through the filter housing, but I haven't had to do that in many years.