oil change

cena

I want to change the oil in the car but I have no axle stands. Can I still change it.

Kenny Logins

Yeah, but won't be easy if you have to remove the belly pan, you won't have room to remove the screws/bolts easily.

akura

What my dad used to do is drive the front wheels onto the footpath so he could change the oil

Alanstrainor

Sure axle stands are pretty cheap anyway, even buying them the whole thing would work out cheaper than a service in a garage.

corktina

don't even think of getting under it with just the jack. Axle stands are cheap and essential for safety.

cena

I can feel the sump plug without lifting the car up.

cletus

A set of axle stands in halfords will set you back about €20, much less than a new head if your car falls on you

Kenny Logins

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Yeah, but won't be easy if you have to remove the belly pan, you won't have room to remove the screws/bolts easily.

Safety not access should be the concern.

Too many people needlessly lose their lives or get injured due to rank stupidity, such as getting under a car not adequately supported.

JJJJNR

autocare (dundrum, bray and rathnew) are selling oil suckers for 65 euros, you don't need stands to do an oil change.

cjt156

Access to the filter may still be an issue though. Could you manage sump plug and filter with 4 wheels on the ground? As stated axle stands are cheap.

Yawns

while oil vacuum pumps are great and easy, I would not use them all the time. It's fine to use every second or third service but for the rest I would remove the sump nut. Metal filings will be resting at the bottom of the sump and it's best to open it up and let all the crap pour out. With a vac pump it may or may not get all of it up. I have used them and they are very easy but I would be opening the sump the next oil change after.

PaulKK

cena wrote: »

I can feel the sump plug without lifting the car up.

I always just use a jack to change the oil.

Just put the spare wheel and a few blocks of timber under the side of the car so it cant go anywhere.

I let it down once its draining so its flat, then I jack it up again to put the sump plug back in.

Simple, and safe.

JJJJNR

cjt156 wrote: »

Access to the filter may still be an issue though. Could you manage sump plug and filter with 4 wheels on the ground? As stated axle stands are cheap.

Depends, my own filter is accessible from the top of the engine bay.

spiggotpaddy

If I hadn't got the tools to do a job, then I wouldn't bother me bollocks. A couple of jack stands FFS.

Esel

spiggotpaddy wrote: »

If I hadn't got the tools to do a job, then I wouldn't bother me bollocks. A couple of axle stands FFS.

FYP

cena

Oil filter is at the front. It's a punto lads. It's not a BMW. Audi etc. which seem harder to do

PaulKK

cena wrote: »

Oil filter is at the front. It's a punto lads. It's not a BMW. Audi etc. which seem harder to do

BMW is easy to do, you don't even need to take off the splash guard to get at the sump plug, and the oil filter is easy to get to and lifts straight up out of its housing.

Katunga

cena wrote: »

Oil filter is at the front. It's a punto lads. It's not a BMW. Audi etc. which seem harder to do

some Audi are easy you don't need to loft the jack the car to open the sump plug on a A4 B6 TDI you can reach it from the front of a car and all the filters can be accessed from the top.

Yawns

Some cars are easy, others can be tight n tricky.

I can get my sump off by getting under the car without it being lifted if I wanted. It's a tighter space but I can do it. The tools make life easier. Oil filter can be done by simply opening the bonnet and reaching down, but it's slightly easier to get a good grip on the tool when doing it from the bottom.

TheChizler

Op a few blocks of wood will do if you're not going to invest in axle stands. Just make sure they're solid, stable, and wider than the tyres.

mickdw

I typically drive the front up on something like a high path. Somewhere that it physically cant fall on me.
I think a quality set of ramps would be the best solution. I dont like stands at all. Ive seen a few dodgy setups in my time with stands.

JJJJNR

Interesting thread, Referring to TDi's in particular I have been doing oil changes at about 10k (10,000 km for pedantic pat) and I've been looking at various sites over the past while, and some people seem to think changing the filter at this stage will almost be as good as changing the oil, esp if using fully synth long life oil etc.

Anyone got some helpful advice or can add some substance to this claim with out attempting to derail the thread.