legacycentral bbs

You know those ramps people use in pairs, usually on the front two tires to work on their car?

Example:

Ramps. You know 'em. Most of you have 'em.


Well, so my ignorant question is that if you wanted more room to change the oil, would it be okay to use 4, one on each tire (since you want the car to be level)?

I've done it. Although, it's a unlikely you'll be able to just place the ramps on all four corners, then proceed to drive up ALL of them at the same time. I just drive the front up like normal, then carefully jack up the rear until I can slide the other two ramps under the rear tires. Make sure you do this on a level surface, concrete prefered. I have an asphult driveway, and things like ramps and jackstands tend to sink into the pavement if I don't lay some plywood under them. Just like dirt.

I couldnt get my t-leg onto the ramps, the bottom of the bumper hit them

its not even lowered

1. You should be able to do oil without jacking up the car. There's plenty of room.

2. I'd prefer a jack and jackstands as opposed to those things.

Manarius wrote:1. You should be able to do oil without jacking up the car. There's plenty of room.

2. I'd prefer a jack and jackstands as opposed to those things.

+5

I tried once. I just pushed the ramps with the bumper.

4 high jack stands + high-lift SUV floor jack = about a foot to 15 inches of clearance between the ground and the rocker panel.

Put your ramp money toward getting some jackstands and a jack.

Ramps are only cool for tall cars that never need their wheels removed.

to that, AWD_addict. What kind of jack would you recommend?

Soul Shinobi wrote: to that, AWD_addict. What kind of jack would you recommend?

Standard hydraulic should work. Most are 2-3 tons. Just get one with a big handle on it, not one of those rocker styles.

How much higher than the stands should the jack be able to lift? And if I'm jacking all four tires, in what order should I put them up?

Soul Shinobi wrote:How much higher than the stands should the jack be able to lift? And if I'm jacking all four tires, in what order should I put them up?

The jack will go just as high as the stands. I always do back first, use the two stands I have (I put them under the swaybar frame mounts) then I jack up the front with the jack. That gives me plenty of room to do whatever I want.

Manarius wrote:

Soul Shinobi wrote:How much higher than the stands should the jack be able to lift? And if I'm jacking all four tires, in what order should I put them up?

The jack will go just as high as the stands. I always do back first, use the two stands I have (I put them under the swaybar frame mounts) then I jack up the front with the jack. That gives me plenty of room to do whatever I want.

So you crawl around under the car, supported only by the jack? If you did that around me, I'd kick your ass.

Yeah, dude, never get under a car if it's being held up by a jack! Jackstands, ramps, or a proper lift are mandatory.

And cinderblocks do not count as jackstands.

vrg3 wrote:Yeah, dude, never get under a car if it's being held up by a jack! Jackstands, ramps, or a proper lift are mandatory.

And cinderblocks do not count as jackstands.

I don't like getting under the car much as it is. I don't have 4 jack stands so I make do with two. I rarely need the jack except to get the wheels off anyways. And in that case, I'm not getting under the car.

Cool, so long as you're not relying on a jack to keep 3000 pounds of steel, aluminum, and various polymers and other metals from crushing you.

A guy I used to work with just lost his brother to that ^^^ a year or two ago.
...crushed by a poorly supported car.

Shit dude... Just, shit--that's rough. We can only hope the rest of us will learn from this thread.

Manarius wrote:Standard hydraulic should work. Most are 2-3 tons. Just get one with a big handle on it, not one of those rocker styles.

I agree. The longer the handle, the easier it is. Long handle is good for using the center jacking points.

If I was buying another jack, I'd get a fancy one that raises the seat (saddle?) to the car with one pump of the handle.

I'm a lazy piece of shit. I just drive the front of my car onto the ramps and go to town. I'd be able to change my oil without ramps if a) the car wasn't lowered(1.5 inches DO make a difference) or b) I didn't have breasts.

LaureltheQueen wrote:b) I didn't have breasts.

Errrr. Yeah. I've got a friend with those and she has no problem...

getting under her lowered legacy on a creeper to change the oil?

LaureltheQueen wrote:getting under her lowered legacy on a creeper to change the oil?

that's your problem right there.... the creeper adds unnecessary height... I lay on my back in the driveway with no ramps or jack and have no problems...

and my car is essentially lowered because it has the stock '91 junk suspension..

sans-boobs still though

i like my creeper. I've tried and it's still VERY tight without the creeper

My car is essentielly lifted and I can't stand to be under there without more room. I like doing things the easy way, and using ramps is easier than fighting space constraints.

Oh, and I have no boobs.