re: How do I raise my car enough to change my own oil? Tried going up on a curb

Yes, if I drive on those ramps, I'm for sure putting emergency break on. That'd flatten my face if the car rolls back off ramps. I'd be a vegetable.

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I have a jack with my spare tire

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Only in life or death situations should you get under your car with the little jack in your trunk. Get ramps like everyone else said. Every man should have ramps to get a vehicle up.

I was having trouble believing a curb wouldn't be high enough for you, but then I googled the ground clearance on an Explorer and was surprised at how low it is.

As others have said, get a good set of ramps but be damn sure you are comfortable driving up onto them, you over shoot them and you'll be in deep shite. Once you are squarely on those ramps, set parking brake and get a set of chocks for the back tires (you being a newb here means zero room for error). Get a long handle flex-head ratchet and a magnetic drain plug tool too. Lowes.com Craftsman version.

Paper towels or shop rags, oil filter wrench (if needed), 7 mil nitrile gloves, and brake cleaner should round things out. I also keep large sheets of cardboard handy, keeps incidental splashes or spills off my concrete.

I keep a dedicated oil changing tool kit, has the ratchet, socket sizes, oil filter tools, spare crush washers, drain plugs, etc all handy in one tool box.

turn it over..........duh

Crazy stat, your owners manual will give qts. of oil to refill with the new filter. They round up to even quart measurements. As to most motors are built using liter measurements.

As for oil changes, don’t do them, a place around the house does it for around $50. Full Synthetic, Mobil One. I change it every 10,000 miles. It’s been changed 13 times, so you know the mileage on my vehicle.

Another fact, Exxon bought out Mobil for one thing, Mobil One oil.


Oh, get some ramps.

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I find it hard to believe that you can't crawl under an explorer.

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I don't, newer SUVs and trucks are miserable in terms of ground clearance, even my fiancée's 2004 Silverado sucks. My F-150 has plenty of clearance but I still prefer to use ramps as it makes it much easier to get to the oil filter.

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I drove up on a curb, it was still not enough space to work. I have a jack with my spare tire. I haven't tried raising that up yet. Maybe that gives more raise than driving up on a curb, it just appears that it might not though considering it's kind of a small jack.

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Just……

Wow.

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the ground clearance on an Explorer

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When I've gotten the oil changed in my Explorer ST, they suction it out, they don't drain it from underneath. It'll take up more space than ramps, though. They penny pinching of this board is amazing. Unwilling to spend $65 (for ramps) that will pay for itself in two oil changes.

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Drive on ramps are worth the money if you plan on doing this regularly.

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And get wheel chocks for your rear tires

There's a ditch near you.