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Changing oil with suspension drop
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 5:33 am
by dmitri
im gonna do it today but is there any place in front to jack it up? like under the engine somewhere? (i know its a sub frame and i dont want the engine to pop out lol)My jack doesnt fit under the frame with the drop, so what i do is take the factory jack and lift it up enough to get one in then i go to the other side and do the same thing just with my other jack, and have my dad jack it up at the same time as me. gotta be an easier way lolshould have thought about oil changes when i had my car up on jack stands takign the resonator off
Re: Changing oil with suspension drop (dmitri)
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 5:36 am
by Triton
How much of a drop do you have? Or what kind of jack are you using? I have used a floor jack under mine with no problem and I have a 2" drop on mine.
Re: Changing oil with suspension drop (dmitri)
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 6:49 am
by ragingfish
According to the matrix owner manual, and backed up by Geo's testimony, there is a center jack point under the engine block you can use to lift the car off the ground and get it on stands, should you choose to do that:(Click the image to see a full size version of the picture.)
Re: Changing oil with suspension drop (ragingfish)
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 8:41 am
by MadBill
You could also just drive the front wheels onto a couple of lengths of 2 x 6.
Re: Changing oil with suspension drop (MadBill)
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 9:30 am
by dmitri
nah i have ramps and i cant get up them in the front cause its too low lol.i have the progress springs.
Re: Changing oil with suspension drop (dmitri)
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 9:40 am
by joatmon
You could cut a couple pieces of a board to make two small steps, creating a very token platform about the same height as what you lost when you did the drop, then all the jacking points would be back at the stock height and you should be able to use jacks the way you did before your dropped it.
Re: Changing oil with suspension drop (joatmon)
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 9:58 am
by MadBill
That's what I meant with the 2 x 6s: lay them flat, drive up on the resulting 2" high "ramps", regain the pre-drop ground clearance, use the jack as before...
Re: Changing oil with suspension drop (MadBill)
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 10:06 am
by joatmon
That's what I thought you meant, but seemed like he took it as a suggestion to make ramps out of 2x6's, which is still an option, just need to make them gentle enough to be able to drive up.One place i lived there was drainage ditch on the side of the road, and I could straddle it with the car, sort of a natural mechanics pit.
Re: Changing oil with suspension drop (joatmon)
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 1:27 pm
by rainvibe
Hope the neighbors didn't see you chaging the oil into the drainage ditch! You did have a catch pan didn't you?
Re: Changing oil with suspension drop (rainvibe)
Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2003 1:52 am
by joatmon
duh what's a catch pan?yes, of course
Re: Changing oil with suspension drop (joatmon)
Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 1:46 am
by rainvibe
I knew, no Vibe person would consider doing that. Handy where I live, they take the oil away with the trash pick up, along with all our other recycle materials!