Ramps for oil changes

[Red 05]

I went to change the oil on my Fit last week and realised that the ramps that we've been using for a while are too steep for the bumper of my Fit. I'd destroy the lip to my car before I got anywhere near the ramp itself. It's not just the Fit too. My mother's '09 Accord can't clear the ramps without running into the same problem. So I'm wondering what ramps you guys use to change the oil on your cars to where it doesn't impact the lower bumper when driving up the ramp.

[Selden]

Originally Posted by Red 05

I went to change the oil on my Fit last week and realised that the ramps that we've been using for a while are too steep for the bumper of my Fit. I'd destroy the lip to my car before I got anywhere near the ramp itself. It's not just the Fit too. My mother's '09 Accord can't clear the ramps without running into the same problem. So I'm wondering what ramps you guys use to change the oil on your cars to where it doesn't impact the lower bumper when driving up the ramp.

Since the oil drain is on the passenger side, why not jack up just the left front wheel, and use a jack stand, or put something solid under the left wheel?

[Red 05]

Because we change the oil in our cars in the grass, incase of spills. What I ended up doing was jacking the right-front in the air, putting a jack stand under the car and put a chunk of wood behind the left-rear to hold it. I parked the car half on the driveway and half off so that the jack stand had something solid to sit on. I'd rather not do that again, looking back on it because I think it was dangerous and stupid. It doesn't help that I jacked up the wrong side of the car, lol...

What we did for the accord because it sits higher than the Fit was we ran some planks of wood between the tire and the ramp and put some more wood under it to support the weight. Worked fine, but since my dad is in the market for a new set of ramps now, I thought I'd pitch in and get a set that I could use as well.

Oh, and changing the oil on the Accord is a HUGE pain in the rump. The oil filter sits less than half an inch from the exhaust headers and once off the car, all the oil that was still in the filter spills all over the lower suspension arm. I'm glad that the oil filter on the Fit sits nice and low....

[spreadhead]

I had the same problem. I bought a set of ramps at Wal-Mart that work.

[mikefunaro]

Get dimensional lumber the appropriate width and create a ramp for the ramp. I have steel ramps that were a little bit too "high" for the lip of the bumper...I cut two 3' pieces of 2x10 and used this on the ramp's incline, effectively extending the ramp. If you want to be real careful so that there's no chance of the 2x10 popping up when you first roll the wheel on it, you can bevel the edge down.

We've done this quite a bit with a lot of cars on our set of ramps. If you need even more to clear the ramp, you can put down a 2x10 on the ground or something, drive on the 2x10 completely (at least with your fronts) and then use the added height to gain an advantage on the ramps.

Works like a charm. If you use wide lumber it's not much of a safety hazard. I know somebody that messes around with little 2x4s though.

[Red 05]

I'll have to bring that up the next time I see him. I'm a little apprehensive about building something that is supposed to support over 60% of the weight of the car, but I suppose if built correctly, would be safe.

[08FitSport]

Mike's just saying to use the wood pieces as a pre-ramp to clear the lip......

That's what I did using 4" x 1" stacked 3 high per ramp.

[JDMxGE8]

I'm planning to get these: Trak-Jax(tm) - Car Ramps | Low Profile Jack Assist Ramp | RaceRamps.com your best solution for Lightweight Car Ramps!

[mikefunaro]

Those trak-jax only do 3" of lift--I hope you're a skinny dude

[JDMxGE8]

Originally Posted by mikefunaro

Those trak-jax only do 3" of lift--I hope you're a skinny dude

You have to jack it up too of course.

[mikefunaro]

Originally Posted by Red 05

Because we change the oil in our cars in the grass, incase of spills. What I ended up doing was jacking the right-front in the air, putting a jack stand under the car and put a chunk of wood behind the left-rear to hold it. I parked the car half on the driveway and half off so that the jack stand had something solid to sit on. I'd rather not do that again, looking back on it because I think it was dangerous and stupid. It doesn't help that I jacked up the wrong side of the car, lol...

What we did for the accord because it sits higher than the Fit was we ran some planks of wood between the tire and the ramp and put some more wood under it to support the weight. Worked fine, but since my dad is in the market for a new set of ramps now, I thought I'd pitch in and get a set that I could use as well.

Oh, and changing the oil on the Accord is a HUGE pain in the rump. The oil filter sits less than half an inch from the exhaust headers and once off the car, all the oil that was still in the filter spills all over the lower suspension arm. I'm glad that the oil filter on the Fit sits nice and low....

There's nothing to build..just extend the ramp or use a board to raise your car up before it hits the ramp.

Changing your oil/doing anythign with your car on grass seems kinda stupid/unsafe to me. Unless you have 4" of item 4 or process under your topsoil and its incredible stable, I'd want all sorts of jacks/ramps/etc to be on a very firm surface.

Also, just put some sheets of newspaper down on asphalt/concrete. This way, if and when it does spill, it goes into the newspaper, and into the trash, rather than into the ground and into the water supply.

[kenchan]

i use the generic Rhino ramps but made an extension for it out of oak.

[Steeldog]

I use the Rhino ramps too, which I bought from Advance Auto Parts. They're too steep for the Fit's plastic, so I took two of those cheap concrete pavers, like you'd use to make a patio, and put one in front of each ramp to give the wheels a pre-ramp "lift." They're cheap, sturdy, and they store easily. The Rhino ramps have rubber "stoppers" (feet) on the bottom, so they stay put and don't try to slide across the carport when the car pushes them.

[Spacecoast]

The oil filter sits less than half an inch from the exhaust headers and once off the car, all the oil that was still in the filter spills all over the lower suspension arm. I'm glad that the oil filter on the Fit sits nice and low....

First, turn the filer one turn or so to losen, but don't break the seal. Next, puch a hole in the bottom (I use a long rain gutter spike) and let the oil drain. Much easier this way.

[SleepyNyte]

Originally Posted by Steeldog

I use the Rhino ramps too, which I bought from Advance Auto Parts. They're too steep for the Fit's plastic, so I took two of those cheap concrete pavers, like you'd use to make a patio, and put one in front of each ramp to give the wheels a pre-ramp "lift." They're cheap, sturdy, and they store easily. The Rhino ramps have rubber "stoppers" (feet) on the bottom, so they stay put and don't try to slide across the carport when the car pushes them.

Can we get a picture of these concrete pavers? Not exactly sure what you are talking about. Thanks.

[chloeishere]

Originally Posted by SleepyNyte

Can we get a picture of these concrete pavers? Not exactly sure what you are talking about. Thanks.

Steeldog probably means something like these. It's not the season for them anymore (I used to work at a hardware store), but they probably still have a few left at this time of year. The plain, non-colored concrete ones are a bit over a dollar each, or at least they were a year ago, like $1.08-- couldn't find them online, though.

I'm looking for a really cheap pair of ramps, under $30, that can be used for the Fit. I don't really want to go the plywood self made ramps, though. Any ideas? I don't need anything fussy, just safe.

[Steeldog]

Originally Posted by SleepyNyte

Can we get a picture of these concrete pavers? Not exactly sure what you are talking about. Thanks.

Well, without going to the trouble of getting the pavers out, and shooting the photo, and having it hosted so that you can see it here, I'd like to first try just describing what it is I'm talking about. Every home supply store sells them, like Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, Wal Mart (in the garden department), KMart, et cetera. They are flat blocks of concrete, often colored red, about 2" thick and 12 x 12 inches square (one square foot).
You would use them as stepping stones, or to pave walkways, patios, etc. in your backyard. They're less than $2 each, often on sale for about $1.00 each.
Knowhutimean?

[El Chupacabura]

Man, I have my fit dropped on some coil overs and it was a major pain in the @$$ to change the oil. I was feeling lazy that day so I drove by a pep boys on the way home the guy took a look at my car and said "that's not gonna work". So I took it to jiffy lube down the street where they have a pit you can just drive over, but they have these little metal rails that stick out of the ground to guide the tires, I had three guys look at it and they all said there was no way they could even get my car over the pit. Long story short I went home, took of the front end of the car drove it up my ramps changed the oil, it took me like 2 hours of work total... I have to find a better way.

[Steeldog]

Hey Chloe,
You might not find ramps under $30, unless you're just in the right place at the right time when some ramps get marked down for clearance. However, you can watch the sale flyers that come out every month from places like AutoZone and the other parts places. If it's convenient for you, stop by these places and get their sale papers and compare them. I saved about $20 by driving one block when I was looking for ramps: Auto Zone had a few different ones, and I almost bought the ones with the slowest rise (the least-steep ones). I decided instead to look at WalMart, but they didn't have any ramps at all on display that day, so I went to Advance Auto. They had a couple of different kinds of ramps to choose from, and fortunately, they had them on sale. At AutoZone, I was about to spend $59, but by looking around literally for fifteen minutes, I bought the Rhino brand for $39 instead.

[willitfit]

2 piece of 2x8 wood about 3ft long, slide it in front or behind the front tires drive forward or roll backwards then jack it up.

thats what i do since my cars lower'd.