DIY Oil Change

For a DIY Oil Change, I had a simple question: Do you use tire ramps or jacks? I'm thinking of getting ramps for the front and jacking the back. A friend also said that I could reverse the car onto the ramps and access the drain plug / filter from there without jacking up the front. Is that a ridiculous idea? Anyone done an oil change that way? Will that scratch the front bumper?

No ramps needed. Just get on your back and reach under the car. If you are fat or your car has been lowered, simply drive the car up on 2 by 6's and you have more than enough clearance. It's one of the easiest cars to change oil on.

Can the filter be accessed without ramps as well?

Guess I'm fat then, thanks a bunch 1999Porsche911! I use ramps, reverse the P Car on, and change the oil that way. Easy to use, no jack stands required - pleny of room to work, get the large oil pan in place, etc etc. And here's a trick, as demostrated on my Land Rover here.. Just use 4 ramps at the same time! (Check for clearance under you P Car 1st!) Feels strange as the car goes up equally at all corners but the access is great, and the car stays level. Make sure you have roof clearance though! Chris.

Yes, the filter is easily accessable too without ramps or lift.

I used at jack and jack stands, I can't see me trying to change the oil without more ground clearance. I'd rather use ramps though. When I used the jack(to jack up the driver's side) I let the oil drain until it stopped. Out of curiosity I removed the stand to let the jack down without closing up the drain plug and another 3 minutes of oil came out. Then once I jacked it up again to reinstall the drain plug another minute of oil came out. The car took more that 9 quarts to refill.

I use ramp as it's easier. I recommend the car be raised to inspect fluid leaks while getting serviced. Without a ramp or jacks, you can't properly inspect suspension, leaks, etc that you are supposed to do each year or 15k mi.

I reached under the car for mine-only drawback is you need a shallow but big oil pan and replacing filter is a PITA Mike

I use ramps - gives a little bit more room. It works great.

I always change my oil after bringing it up to operating temperature, so the extra space/room provided from jack stands and/or ramps is nice to help avoid the hot exhaust, engine and oil.

Thanks to all -- this has been a helpful thread. For those who use ramps: Do you set the ramps behind the car and reverse the car on the ramps or do you set the ramps between the front and back wheels and drive forward up the ramps (which might be hard with an aerokit)? Finally, after ramping the back wheels, do you bother to jack up the front end or do you just get the job done (e.g. oil change) on the inclined car?

I dont think all the oil would drain out if you only had the rear of the car on stands/ramps. You want to keep that engine level or even a little biased toward the rear. You have 9.5 quarts in there. Make sure you get it all out.

Yep, I ended up putting in 9.5 quarts in during my oil change last week.

Use ramps on a slightly sloping driveway. Once I back up on the ramps, the car is perfectly level!

I back on to the ramps and let the oil drain for at least a good half hour. I always use at least 9.5 quarts. I can't imagine that the residual oil would have much effect.

Yep, no issue with getting a full change even with the car on the rear ramps. Just run the P car a little to heat up the oil, and it'll flow out faster. But be careful of hot oil treatments to the hand and arms! Chris.

I just use a floor jack to raise the rear about 6 inches to remove the filter and drain plug then lower it back down while it drains. You should be able to reach everything without actually getting under the car. This car is by far the easiest to change the oil of any car I have ever owned. It is the only one I change myself. Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes (not including the drain time). I usually do something else for a few hours to let it drain completely. Kris