drives

Hello, did post this on the UK site but it would appear Rhino Ramps might be more commonly used in the US so thought I'd ask here as well...

I do a few bits of DIY (fluid changes mainly) on my S and hate using axle stands. I was looking at this sort of thing which they don't really sell in the UK it would seem:

http://www.autobarn.net/usm11905.html

Firstly can anyone advise whether something like this would be suitable for driving the front end of the car up to give enough clearance for oil changes etc? Would they raise the car enough and does anyone on here use them?

Secondly to get the car level I was thinking along the lines of getting the front end on ramps, using a jack on the rear jack points by the wheels, raising each side in turn and then putting either paving slabs or wooden blocks under each wheel and then lowering it down, so that I get the car more or less fully raised and level so I can do all of the engine oil and diff oil changes. Are there any problems with this method?

Cheers

jetboater

If yo usae ramps for the front tires, I'd use jack stands under the rear wheels rather than paving slabs or wooden blocks--you'll be raising it 8-10 inches and that's a lot for paving blocks. Jack stands are made for this and not sure what they run over in the UK but over here a decent set with a 3000lb capacity can be purchased for about $15--well worth it for the safety!

another option----I put a Fumoto oil drain valve on my s2000 so now I just open the hood, slide a drain pan under the oil drain and open the valve from above. I also can reach the filter from above so no need any longer to get under the car. The valve is used on lots of cars and heavy equipment---I really like htem--they're on all my cars (they're sold as OEM valves thru the service departments for Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, etc.) They run about $24 here in the US.

Here's the link--

http://www.qwikvalve.com/?gclid=CKLz...FcU-MgodQx4A1w


For transmission and diff fluid changes (every few years) I use 4 pieces of 2x6 wood about 8 inched long--I put one in front of each wheel and drive up on them and set the parking brake--that inch and a half give me enough room to get under there and do the fluid changes.

dwight

https://www.google.com/search?q=s2ki...learance+angle

drives

Thanks for that, so if you manage to do all the fluid changes with that clearance I should have more than enough with the ramps.

Dwight, thanks mate I've done loads of searching; was really after some first hand experience with the Rhino Ramps which I couldn't find although saw the post re: ramps slipping due to RWD, not sure how accurate this is?

dwight

Slippage can depend on the floor. I imagine that if you have a slick cement floor it might be a concern, but if you have a textured concrete floor then it's less of an issue.

jetboater

Another option is to forgo the ramps altogether and get 4 jack stands--- very safe and very easy to put the car up on them and you'll have complete open access under the car.
Couple of other advantages to this--- 4 jack stands would be less than half the cost of a set of ramps and much easier to store when they're not in use

sillyboybmxer

you could get 4 ramps and put the car on them by jacking each side up

Billman250

Have been using Rhino ramps for 10 years and they are absolutely fantastic.

Lowered cars will need a helper block of wood in front of the ramps so they nose does not rub, but stock AP1 cars can drive right on. AP2 will need very slight start off with helper blocks.

1 drive front on to rhino ramps
2 jack car up by the dif, set jack stands under rear subframe or rear corner jack points
3 work away

this is the safest strongest most stable set up to work under. 0% chance of knocking the car off the ramps.

Yoohoo

My car is lowered and it was a pain to get the car onto Rhino Ramps so I just returned them. If you want to utilize the ramps you can use helper blocks as Billman said. The way I jack my car up is first by driving the front wheels onto two 2x4's and placing chocks at the back wheels. Then I jack up the front and place two jack stacks behind the front wheels. Then do the same for the rear, jacking the back of the car from the diff casing and placing two jack stacks in front of the rear wheels. Very simple, safe, and as others have stated about 1/3 of the cost of buying ramps.

Edit: Also with this method you can work on anything that would require your wheels to be free from the ground or ramp.

At any rate, which ever method you go with always put safety first and foremost.

drives

Excellent, thanks Billman exactly what I was after. I've now ordered a set from autobarn; shipping is as much as the ramps but its an investment /> Out of interest are there any problems accessing the rear diff to jack up once the front end is on the ramps or will I be okay? My jack is a bit old and was pretty cheap so I'll probably get a new low profile jack as well...


Cheers for the advice; my car is standard so I should be okay. Went for the ramps in the end as it just seems like the safest method as Billman said and what I feel most comfortable with.