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> OK, this is probably the most basic question you will get here, and I'm sure
> it will make most of you laugh, but here goes.
No prob; everyone starts out with zero knowledge. Good way to learn is
to ask. :)
> When jacking up my Mustang
> to change the oil, what is the proper way to get the car up? Do you use the
> front cross member as the jack point, or jack up one side at a time? I have
> a floor jack and jack stands.
This might help. I got this PDF from someone here a couple years back.
It's for a 2003, but should be applicable to any Mustang from 1979-2004.
> Once the car is up, what is the proper
> position to put the jack stands? I know this is car care 101, but I really
> don't know the answers.
Depends on what you want to do. If you lift the front of your Mustang
from the center (using the K member as a jacking point), you can stick
the jack stands either under the A arm (loaded suspension) or under the
frame rails (unloaded suspension).
However, if you're going to be doing your own oil changes, it's way
easier to just use ramps, IMO. _Especially_ if you're working on less
than an ideal hard surface. :)
RT <noyabusiness@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:n6nlu1t2902apedk3prgb1mb0ladser4do@4ax.com:
> On Wed, 8 Feb 2006 19:44:24 -0600, "KJ.Kate"
> <KJ.Kate@WhoseHotMail.com> wrote:
>
>>Amy,
>>Some of the guys will raise hell about this but here is my take on it.
>>
>>I think that Ron's advice is sound in some ways ONLY IF you are using
>>a floor jack.
>>If you are using the jack that came with the car, jack it at the jack
>>points. The little rinky dink jacks that come with these cars are good
>>for emergency use only.
>>
>>If you try to use the little jack that came with the car, and then
>>crawl, under it you are asking for trouble in the form of a car
>>planted on your chest.
>>
>>There is a part of me that has to ask why do it yourself?
>>Why not just go down and have the oil changed at Speedy Lube? They
>>dispose of the old, check everything, and lube the rest, check it all,
>>top it off and even vacuum it for you and wash the windows. For not a
>>whole lot of money. It's definitely worth the few extra bucks
>>considering the mess it is to deal with used oil, taking it to the
>>recycling center, messy oil filters and so on.
>
> yeah, and they also don't put enough oil in your car, don't tighten
> the drian plug enough, overtighten the drain plug, don't tighten the
> oil filter enough, over tighten it... etc etc.. they're cheap because
> they have idiots do the work that can't do anythign better. They also
> screw this up.
>
>>
>>If you really want to DIY get some ramps at Pep Boys, and drive it up.
>>Put a good block (like a brick) behind the rear wheel and be sure that
>>your brake is firmly set if it's an automatic, be sure it is in park.
>
> ramps are the best investment I did for my car... until I bought the
> cobra and can't drive it up the ramp because the front hangs down too
> much. Still need to jack it up. but yeah, for my previous mustang and
> any other car I used the rhino ramps. works very well, and it's safe.
That's exactly why I made my own ramps from 2x4s. The store-bought ones
are too high, as my LX is lowered and won't fit on them. But the 2x4s
are perfect.
Joe
Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies
Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC
>>Damn... be careful. NEVER crawl under a car without jack stands under
>>it or unless it's on ramps.
>>
>>Oh, let us know how you do ok!
>>
>>Kate
>>
>>
>>"RSCamaro" <rscamero@frontiernet.net> wrote in message
>>news:6hsku1dbfeisif67fua31ia45d7c79efi4@4ax.com...
>>: On Wed, 08 Feb 2006 22:11:13 GMT, "Amy Andrews"
>>: <amyken@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>:
>>: >OK, this is probably the most basic question you will get here, and
>>: >I'm
>>sure
>>: >it will make most of you laugh, but here goes. When jacking up my
>>Mustang
>>: >to change the oil, what is the proper way to get the car up? Do
>>: >you use
>>the
>>: >front cross member as the jack point, or jack up one side at a
>>: >time? I
>>have
>>: >a floor jack and jack stands. Once the car is up, what is the
>>: >proper position to put the jack stands? I know this is car care
>>: >101, but I
>>really
>>: >don't know the answers.
>>:
>>: The largest piece of metal that you can find is what you want. The
>>: engine cross member is what I use. Stay away from sheetmetal as you
>>: can do some fairly major damage the body. Use jackstands for
>>: obvious safety reasons. The extra 60 or so seconds it takes to put
>>: them under the car is worth it.
>>:
>>: ...Ron
>>: --
>>: 68'RS Camaro
>>: 88'Formula
>>: 00'GT Mustang
>>
>
>
Well, then I'd jack it up of course. But the OP never mentioned that...
"Carl" <carlsaiyed@hotmailREMOVE.com> wrote in news:ydOdnfQoeryjCHfeRVn- jA@comcast.com:
> Maybe the OP wants to check the wheel bearings at the same time?
>
> Carl
>
> "Joe" <nobody@home.now> wrote in message
> news:Xns9764C4FBD9BEnospamforme@216.77.188.18...
>> "Amy Andrews" <amyken@earthlink.net> wrote in
>> news:50uGf.15799$vU2.10703@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:
>>
>> > OK, this is probably the most basic question you will get here, and
>> > I'm sure it will make most of you laugh, but here goes. When
jacking
>> > up my Mustang to change the oil, what is the proper way to get the
car
>> > up? Do you use the front cross member as the jack point, or jack
up
>> > one side at a time? I have a floor jack and jack stands. Once the
>> > car is up, what is the proper position to put the jack stands? I
know
>> > this is car care 101, but I really don't know the answers.
>>
>> Why jack it up in the first place? It's a lot easier to make a
little
>> set of ramps out of some wood and drive right up on them.
>>
>> I got some 2x4s and had Home Depot do an angle cut on each so they
look
>> like wedges from the side. Now I just set each one in front of a
tire
>> and drive right up onto them. Takes all of 20 seconds and there's
>> plenty of room to change the oil (the extra 2" was all I needed).
Plus,
>> the car is still as level as if it were on the ground.
>>
>> Joe
>> Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies
>> Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC
>
>
>
This PDF is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for all your responses.
This group can always be counted on not to make you feel like a moron.
Oh....and the reason I'm not down at the QuickieLube...I'm getting to a
point in my life where I will be able to have some time to dedicate to my
car, and I want to start doing some of the work. I absolutely LOVE having
AAA (they have saved me many, many times), but this is not a daily driver
and I can afford to have it out of commission for days on end doing
maintenance, modifications, or having it towed up to the mechanic if I screw
it up. :-)
I neglected to mention previously that the car is a 2001 GT, 5 speed, 17,000
original miles.
"Garth Almgren" <nospam@v6stang.com> wrote in message
news:4505g4F4bldiU1@individual.net...
> Around 2/8/2006 2:11 PM, Amy Andrews wrote:
>
>> OK, this is probably the most basic question you will get here, and I'm
>> sure
>> it will make most of you laugh, but here goes.
>
> No prob; everyone starts out with zero knowledge. Good way to learn is
> to ask. :)
>
>> When jacking up my Mustang
>> to change the oil, what is the proper way to get the car up? Do you use
>> the
>> front cross member as the jack point, or jack up one side at a time? I
>> have
>> a floor jack and jack stands.
>
> This might help. I got this PDF from someone here a couple years back.
> It's for a 2003, but should be applicable to any Mustang from 1979-2004.
>
> http://www.v6stang.com/diagrams/Must...ing_Points.pdf
>
>> Once the car is up, what is the proper
>> position to put the jack stands? I know this is car care 101, but I
>> really
>> don't know the answers.
>
> Depends on what you want to do. If you lift the front of your Mustang
> from the center (using the K member as a jacking point), you can stick
> the jack stands either under the A arm (loaded suspension) or under the
> frame rails (unloaded suspension).
>
> However, if you're going to be doing your own oil changes, it's way
> easier to just use ramps, IMO. _Especially_ if you're working on less
> than an ideal hard surface. :)
>
>
> --
> / Garth - '83 GL V6stang Hatch <Former MW #7> \
> | My V6stang: http://www.v6stang.com/v6stang |
> | RAMFM Merchandise: http://www.cafeshops.com/ramfm |
> \ ~~ Ventis secundis, tene cursum ~~ /
On Wed, 8 Feb 2006 19:44:24 -0600, "KJ.Kate"
<KJ.Kate@WhoseHotMail.com> wrote:
>Amy,
>Some of the guys will raise hell about this but here is my take on it.
>
>I think that Ron's advice is sound in some ways ONLY IF you are using a
>floor jack.
>If you are using the jack that came with the car, jack it at the jack
>points. The little rinky dink jacks that come with these cars are good for
>emergency use only.
I should have qualified my post with the floor jack statement. Good
catch Kate. I think that I may not have mentioned a floor jack
because I've always had one around to work on my cars. I think that
it (the floor jack) is one of the first tools that I bought.
On Thu, 09 Feb 2006 12:22:06 GMT, Joe <nobody@home.now> wrote:
>RT <noyabusiness@yahoo.com> wrote in
>news:n6nlu1t2902apedk3prgb1mb0ladser4do@4ax.com:
>
>> On Wed, 8 Feb 2006 19:44:24 -0600, "KJ.Kate"
>> <KJ.Kate@WhoseHotMail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Amy,
>>>Some of the guys will raise hell about this but here is my take on it.
>>>
>>>I think that Ron's advice is sound in some ways ONLY IF you are using
>>>a floor jack.
>>>If you are using the jack that came with the car, jack it at the jack
>>>points. The little rinky dink jacks that come with these cars are good
>>>for emergency use only.
>>>
>>>If you try to use the little jack that came with the car, and then
>>>crawl, under it you are asking for trouble in the form of a car
>>>planted on your chest.
>>>
>>>There is a part of me that has to ask why do it yourself?
>>>Why not just go down and have the oil changed at Speedy Lube? They
>>>dispose of the old, check everything, and lube the rest, check it all,
>>>top it off and even vacuum it for you and wash the windows. For not a
>>>whole lot of money. It's definitely worth the few extra bucks
>>>considering the mess it is to deal with used oil, taking it to the
>>>recycling center, messy oil filters and so on.
>>
>> yeah, and they also don't put enough oil in your car, don't tighten
>> the drian plug enough, overtighten the drain plug, don't tighten the
>> oil filter enough, over tighten it... etc etc.. they're cheap because
>> they have idiots do the work that can't do anythign better. They also
>> screw this up.
>>
>>>
>>>If you really want to DIY get some ramps at Pep Boys, and drive it up.
>>>Put a good block (like a brick) behind the rear wheel and be sure that
>>>your brake is firmly set if it's an automatic, be sure it is in park.
>>
>> ramps are the best investment I did for my car... until I bought the
>> cobra and can't drive it up the ramp because the front hangs down too
>> much. Still need to jack it up. but yeah, for my previous mustang and
>> any other car I used the rhino ramps. works very well, and it's safe.
>
>That's exactly why I made my own ramps from 2x4s. The store-bought ones
>are too high, as my LX is lowered and won't fit on them. But the 2x4s
>are perfect.
How exactly did you make that out of 2x4's ? Did you cut them diagonal
?
RT <noyabusiness@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:67qnu1dk24bachte93k46kq5ge62mbpo5v@4ax.com:
> On Thu, 09 Feb 2006 12:22:06 GMT, Joe <nobody@home.now> wrote:
>
>>RT <noyabusiness@yahoo.com> wrote in
>>news:n6nlu1t2902apedk3prgb1mb0ladser4do@4ax.com:
>>
>>> On Wed, 8 Feb 2006 19:44:24 -0600, "KJ.Kate"
>>> <KJ.Kate@WhoseHotMail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Amy,
>>>>Some of the guys will raise hell about this but here is my take on
it.
>>>>
>>>>I think that Ron's advice is sound in some ways ONLY IF you are
using
>>>>a floor jack.
>>>>If you are using the jack that came with the car, jack it at the
jack
>>>>points. The little rinky dink jacks that come with these cars are
good
>>>>for emergency use only.
>>>>
>>>>If you try to use the little jack that came with the car, and then
>>>>crawl, under it you are asking for trouble in the form of a car
>>>>planted on your chest.
>>>>
>>>>There is a part of me that has to ask why do it yourself?
>>>>Why not just go down and have the oil changed at Speedy Lube? They
>>>>dispose of the old, check everything, and lube the rest, check it
all,
>>>>top it off and even vacuum it for you and wash the windows. For not
a
>>>>whole lot of money. It's definitely worth the few extra bucks
>>>>considering the mess it is to deal with used oil, taking it to the
>>>>recycling center, messy oil filters and so on.
>>>
>>> yeah, and they also don't put enough oil in your car, don't tighten
>>> the drian plug enough, overtighten the drain plug, don't tighten the
>>> oil filter enough, over tighten it... etc etc.. they're cheap
because
>>> they have idiots do the work that can't do anythign better. They
also
>>> screw this up.
>>>
>>>>
>>>>If you really want to DIY get some ramps at Pep Boys, and drive it
up.
>>>>Put a good block (like a brick) behind the rear wheel and be sure
that
>>>>your brake is firmly set if it's an automatic, be sure it is in
park.
>>>
>>> ramps are the best investment I did for my car... until I bought the
>>> cobra and can't drive it up the ramp because the front hangs down
too
>>> much. Still need to jack it up. but yeah, for my previous mustang
and
>>> any other car I used the rhino ramps. works very well, and it's
safe.
>>
>>That's exactly why I made my own ramps from 2x4s. The store-bought
ones
>>are too high, as my LX is lowered and won't fit on them. But the 2x4s
>>are perfect.
> How exactly did you make that out of 2x4's ? Did you cut them diagonal
> ?
That's it. Nice, long diagonal cut so it's easy to drive right up on
them.
"Joe" <nobody@home.now> wrote
*snip*
: > ramps are the best investment I did for my car... until I bought the
: > cobra and can't drive it up the ramp because the front hangs down too
: > much. Still need to jack it up. but yeah, for my previous mustang and
: > any other car I used the rhino ramps. works very well, and it's safe.
:
: That's exactly why I made my own ramps from 2x4s. The store-bought ones
: are too high, as my LX is lowered and won't fit on them. But the 2x4s
: are perfect.
:
: Joe
: Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies
: Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC
:
:
Hubs did the same thing for ours. It was so low he had to concoct steps out
of wood to get the jack under so he could lift it onto jack stands.
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