A Question for the Gearheads

['Hamas' Jenkins]

I want to change the oil in my 1995 Taurus. I assume that this is fairly straightforward. I'm a slightly bigger than average person, 6'2" 185. I assume that all I need is the requisite oil (5W-30), a pan to drain it out, and maybe one of those things with wheels on it to slide out from under the vehicle. Can I conceivably do this without having to jack the car up??

[ChiefsOne]

I used to change the oil in my cars, but figured it is not worth the aggravation that it causes to save $10. You buy the stuff it cost $7-8 bucks or you can pay someone $15-20. Not worth it IMO.

[4th and Long]

Originally Posted by HC_Chief

You can call whatever you want... fact is ramps are inherrently less safe than jack stands. If you place ramps on smooth concrete, like poured treated cement you find in most garages, the chance of slippage is extremely high. Then consider front-end clearance on the vehicle: the front bumper on many vehicles sticks out far & low enough to "scoot" the ramps prior to the vehicl safely reaching the top. On top of that, you still have to chock the rear tires.... unless you like risking your life on the transmission and/or emergency brake alone.

My ability to make the previous posts, coupled with the fact that I have never sustained an injury (sans cracking an occasional knuckle) wile changing using ramps clearly points toward operator error.

Actually, I never change my oil in the garage on a concrete surface. I always do it outside. I'm messy like that.

[sedated]

cars are for suckers.

[Bugeater]

When I was younger and had a sense of immortality, I used to park my car with two wheels up on the curb and then I could get under it to change the oil. I use a jack and stands now when I do my oil changes myself. What cdcox said is true with most cars these days, they have low front ends that don't work well with ramps.