GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Ok, maybe someone here can help. I'm trying to jack up da vibe so I can change the oil. Don't worry, I'm not planning on getting under it any more than I have to. I bought a jack and jack stands at walmart. Here's my issue.I'm pretty sure the area circled in the picture attached is where the jack is supposed to lift the car, right?So if the jack is there, where do I put the jack stands that's a safe place to hold the weight of the car up?I tried right at the bottom left of the wheel well, but when I started to let the car down, it looked like it wasn't holding it...Can anyone shed some light on this mystery for me? Where do them stinkin stands go? Thanks!

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Ok...so where do I put the stands though?They can't go there, cause the jack is there....

Is it the thing i pointed the arrow to in this pic?

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Why not just using ramps to jack the front of the car???I always changed my oil that way.

quote:Why not just using ramps to jack the front of the car???I always changed my oil that way.I thought I heard people say they din't trust ramps...plus, walmart only had the jack/block/stand kit...I paid $30...but frankly, it took me a good hour to get my baby jacked up high enough...It was nuts...Considering ramps for my next endeavor...

True!

Oh..lol...Well, it's funny, after I brought her back down to the ground, I had a spot of oil on the cardboard tester I slid underneath...so I decided to give everything another 1/4 turn...and realized, I never needed to jack it up, I can totally reach the drain plug and the filter from the front end of the car.So, I think I'll return the jack, because quite frankly, it was a pain in the (removed), and I don't think it worked right...Unless someone has a good reason why I should keep it (or if anyone in NJ wants to buy the package deal off me)...

quote:Here is a picture of how CohoCarl did it...I can't spell deceiving, but that's what that picture is. I didn't jack the car up with it in the center like that. That picture is after I had it up on stands, then brought the jack up to the engine cradle and lowered it after I had the bolts out. You probably could lift the whole car by the center support like the pic looks like, but I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think it was designed with that thought in mind, and you may bend the cradle. That would be bad.I did use the floor jack on the far end of the "cutout" where the jack goes, then was able to put the jackstand at the opposite end of the "cutout". Then proceeded to do the same to the other side of the car. I have changed my oil several times by just laying on my back in the driveway. No need to lift or ramp the car at all. Unless you have put lowering springs on it, there's alot of ground clearance. My Vette is a different story....

quote:I can't spell deceiving, but that's what that picture is. I didn't jack the car up with it in the center like that. That picture is after I had it up on stands, then brought the jack up to the engine cradle and lowered it after I had the bolts out. You probably could lift the whole car by the center support like the pic looks like, but I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think it was designed with that thought in mind, and you may bend the cradle. That would be bad.I did use the floor jack on the far end of the "cutout" where the jack goes, then was able to put the jackstand at the opposite end of the "cutout". Then proceeded to do the same to the other side of the car. I started to lift it like that, but it didn't seem steady, and I wasn't comfortable with the way it was going, so I stopped. I ended up using the wheel control arms as the jack stand location...the jack stands and jack itself were too wide, and i couldn't get both in the same little section. I wasn't overly thrilled with the groans, creaks, cracks, and wahtnot the car made both as i put it on the stands, and let it back down again...So I think I'm gonna oust the jack and look into ramps instead...How high are the average ramps themselves...meaning, how many inches off the ground do they lift the wheels?quote:I have changed my oil several times by just laying on my back in the driveway. No need to lift or ramp the car at all. Unless you have put lowering springs on it, there's alot of ground clearance. My Vette is a different story.... I didn't lower it, but because I had trouble finding the drain plug and filter, I figured I should be able to really get under the car this time around...now that I know where it all is, I think next time I'll either use ramps, or nothing at all...

quote:Why not just using ramps to jack the front of the car???I tried ramps, they wouldn't clear the front bumper. I change mine without jacking it up at all. It's easy enough to slide under and get to everything.

quote:I tried ramps, they wouldn't clear the front bumper. I change mine without jacking it up at all. It's easy enough to slide under and get to everything. What if you backed onto them, outta curiosity? Would that fix the bumper issue?

I haven't tried it but it might work. Didn't see the need as it's easy enough to do it with the Vibe on the ground. If I end up dropping it a little then I'll probably need to jack it up.

Yeah. The ones I have are pretty high.