Has anyone ever changed their oil without lifting the car with either a jack or lift? Is it even physically possible to get under the front of the car this way? Stock suspension, BTW.

 

Try it and find out. But you could get away with driving one wheel on a curb to gain space. And no jack or lifts? Yes, ramps.

 

I have on my car, it was accomplished with my long ass arms, it wasnt very comfortable, it only takes a couple mins to jack up the car makes it much easier.

Have no jack?

 

Ah! I forgot ramps.

 

when i was on stock suspension and wheels. i always did my oil change without a lift. all u do is turn the wheel and take off the splash guard that hides the oil filter. i believe 3 screws hold it in place. when u do this, u dont even need to climb under the car. on the VQ30, ull see the oil pan screw as well and there is no need to go under the car. its a bit of extra work but it makes it hella easy. never go under ur car. takin of the splash guard makes takin off the filter 10000000000000x easier.....


i still do the same thing but i must jack up the car a few inches now cuz i cant fit the oil collector under the car anymore without a lift


/thread

 

Can you even get an arm in with the ksports?

 

Getting a jack and stands is not a problem. The problem is that my apartment is on a hill and I have no access to a garage...yet. I figured maybe I could drive it up onto the curb to get under it because I have a big azz nose.

 

to tell u the truth. i attack it from the sides with the wheels turned all the way. but even then i have a hard *** time on the 245's cuz the wheel well is freaken filled up with the 8" rims.
and yeah i can fit two arms under the car. its 5" off the ground. but im goin another inch or so lower soooon

 

I was able to touch the filter without a jack but I needed like 3 more inches of leverage in order to grip the filter. So if you got some long thin arms you can do it. I just ended up using ramps. It was like cake then.

 

When I first got my car, I didn't kno you were supposed to remove the splash panel. Stock 205 wide tires and stock suspension, I turned the wheel right, crawled under, and got the job done. I think the oil drain stream hit the splash panel and made a mess, which's how I found out it's supposed to be removed. Also, angling to get the filter wasn't very easy.

When removing the filter, I always get a dribble of oil going down the oil pan. How do you guys keep the mess to a minimum?

Jae

 

I change mine all the time even with it lowered. Just turn the front wheels to the passenger side and have a flat type of drain pan. Just pull the splash panel out a bit to get at the filter. Its a 10 min job.

 

I still change my oil w/o a jack with Eibachs.

 

Yes you can do it. Turn the wheel all the way, remove the fenderliner, change oil. Not too hard.

 

I have been doing it without a jack because there is just enough clearance. Plus with full synthetic I don't have to do it much only once or twice a year within the oil mileage warranty.

 

If you jack up the car, doesn't that mean that not all the oil will drain towards the drain plug and you might still leave some oil in? I had ramps, but I decided not to use them since I might not get all the oil out.

 

On a 4th gen, you need to turn the wheels all the way to the right. Then remove the plastic splash shield. It's held by two screws and two plastic riverts. Then the oil filter is right there, and the drain plug is there too. My plastic pan fits just barely, but there's enought clearance for the wrench to undo the drain plug.

I also have a set of ramp, and I tend to think that it's easier to drive up on the ramps, then to remove the splash shield.

 

i don't turn the wheels or remove the splashguard, and i've never had any trouble.

 

I changed mine more than a dozen times so far without any special tricks. I can get to everything without any problems or needs to remove anything out of the way...

 

yea...my car is 2" on 18's...all i do is just turn my wheel and take the plastic cover off. I just hate having the car on stands or ramps while im under the car.

 

Thanks everyone for the recommendations/instructions. I changed my oil today on my street without any aid of a lift/jack/ramps, etc. The only problem is I broke one of the bolts that holds the splash guard. It doesn't make a difference so all is good.

Edit: Typo

 

Yeah, I just did my oil change the other day too. The exact same way. Thanks for the info all!

 

So whats the Word? Does all the oil drain out if the car is jacked up ?

 

i changed the oil without jacking it up or turning the wheels once...but im 5'6 with <130 lbs.

 

On the 5th gen, the plug is at the back of the pan. So the more the car is lifted in the front the more will come out. My street is sloped so I pointed my car upward and all the oil came out the back of the pan. Either way, all the oil should come out whether the car is slanted back or flat.