augsburg911

I am going to take the large step and attempt my first oil change. I have searched through all the threads on how to change my car's oil. I am going to use the DIY from wsybert, which is excellent btw. I just have one question. Do I need to jack the car up? I didn't see it mentioned. Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

crg53

You need to get the drain bucket under the engine and get the oil drain plug out, yes so unless you have access to a pit, you will need the car elevated.
Good luck.

Dave R.

Rhino Ramps work well.

If the car has stock suspension heights you might need to lay down 12-18" or so of 2x8 wood as "pre-ramps".

When I went from stock suspension to Bilstein HDs and H&R Greens on '90 C2 the nose came down just enough to change the angle of the rear fascia so I no longer needed the wood sections to back onto the ramps.

Bearclaw

I've never used my ramps on the C4. I actually roll all 4 tires up on 2 X 8 strips, that keeps the car level and seems to be enough room to get the job done. I even took the tray off at this elevation (ONCE, don't tell anyone) and cleaned the hell out of everything. It was an up-close-and-personal experience, but it worked.

Then I quickly returned the undertray to its natural position before the neighbors saw it.

augsburg911

Thanks for all the replies. I'm actually able to get to the drain plugs, with my oil pan under them, on ground level.

augsburg911

I'm having a problem getting the oil drain plug by the right rear wheel well off. I'm using a 15mm ratchet, which fits perfectly, however the plug won't budge. Has anyone experienced this?

kdfwagen

use PB Blaster? Also try knocking/tapping it loose with a mallet.

augsburg911

kdfwagen, thanks for the suggestion, I'm going try it.

boxsey911

Yes that plug can be very tight. I've always found that my floor jack handle slipped over the wrench as a breaker bar works.

augsburg911

Well, I tried the PB Blast, tapping on the bolt, and using a breaker bar. I think I've pretty much stripped the bolt. Has anyone ever dealt with an almost stripped drain plug before?

kdfwagen

I should have mentioned that you should let it soak in PB blaster.. Anyways, it sounds like its frozen past the ability of PB blaster. I had an O2 sensor stuck on my cat before and it eventually came out by filing down the stripped edges and using a pipe wrench.. Somebody should chime in before you do this... because a pipe wrench should be close to your last resort.. Good luck, frozen bolts/nuts are really frustrating..

PNine64

Is that the one for the oil tank or in the fender well? If fender well you don't need to mess with it (although I'm guessing oil tank based on 15mm).

augsburg911

Unfortunately it's the the plug just before the passenger's side rear wheel. I'm just contemplating what my next move should be. The plug is not completely stripped, but it's just about there. I sprayed PB Blast on it, and maybe I will attack it in the morning. I'm just preparing for the worst case scenario.

kdfwagen

yeah the longer you let it soak the better... Maybe if you heat the bolt up with a blow torch after letting it sit in pb blaster over night?

augsburg911

kdfwagen, I was thinking the same thing.