I can't beleive I am asking this BUT....

[Joshu]

The firehawk is due for its first oil change and I don't want someone else working on it. However, I do not own jacks or ramps currently. I am as skinny as it gets. Any chance I can do the oil without putting it up?

Thanks

[Joe 1320]

I seriously doubt it.

[Rob B (shoebox)]

Unless you are secretly one of the Fantastic 4, I don't think so.

Go get some ramps.

[ReBop]

Buy Mobil 1 at Walmart and take it to a quality oil change dealer. You'll get over it.

[Injuneer]

Get a set of Rhino ramps, generally about $40, and even less if you can find them on sale. Cheap plastic, but work fine. I have a set for the track (just in case I ever take the car out of the garage again ).

[Joshu]

Thanks, Fred.
I'll pick them up at advance auto tomorrow or sat.

[99Firebird3800]

It is NEVER a bad idea to purchase a low-profile, high-lift jack and a set of stands. Sure it's a big up-front expense, but it's well worth it in my opinion. Tire rotations, oil changes, major repairs, those all require a jack and jackstands, might as well own one.

[Craig 94 TA GT]

Yeah, it's not worth trying to crawl under there without jacking or lifting on ramps. I have a BMI of 17 and I can hardly get in there. Maybe if I tried hard, but if you rotate or make a sudden movement, you will bang your head, arms or torso against something. Even with it minimally jacked, I ended up with bruises and scrapes all over.

[Trash man]

got some wood planks laying around? build some.

[3800_Firebird]

We have steel ramps but the problem is my Grand Am and Firebird have too shallow of approach angle requirements. The nose pushes the ramp away before the tires come close to the ramp. So I built my own out of 2x10 and 2x4. Now both cars can easily scoot up them. And it was cheap.

PM me if you want photos and design elements. They put the car's front up higher that most store-bought ramps and are nice and wide.

As the other guys have eluded, there's really no good way to change an fbody's oil without elevating the front.

[Injuneer]

I use a set of Sears two-piece ramps. They raise the car a full 10", and the ramp portion comes off for extra clearance when you are working under the car. They also are wide enough for tires like 275's, and even handle my 315 drag radials fairly well.

Another advantage of the two piece design is the ability to shim the ramp with 2x10's to solve the problems of the low nose on the 4th Gens. I have a 45-deg bevel cut on a 2x10 board about 3-ft long, and another board stacked on the last 1.5-ft of the first one. The end of the ramp rests in a groove cut about 6" from the end of the top board. Works perfectly.

But the Rhino's are a lot easier to take to the track.

[Joshu]

Guys im getting pretty pissed right now. I found the oil drain plug but I am afraid I am stripping it. I am using a 5/8 socket on it and it doesnt seem to being doing the job.

Help?

[PontiacFan]

"Righty-Tighty, ..., Lefty Lucy" ?!?
Goin' counter-clockwise?

Did ya pick up some cheap ramps?

[Joshu]

Yes got the rhino ramps and they are great. However, my bolt is now stripped.

[Injuneer]

The drain plug is metric.... 15mm hex I believe. Threads are 12mm. It shouldn't be that tight.... maybe 22 lb-ft.