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Why does nobody mention jacking the car up before pulling the drain plug
I did my first solo oil change on my 2012 Civic last Saturday and lost about half a quart onto my driveway because the pan was too close to the ground. Then it hit me to just raise the front end with my $40 floor jack and put it on stands, and the stream cleared the pan with room to spare. Am I the only one who never thought of this, or is there a reason folks leave it flat that I'm missing?
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gray_gibson9d ago
Wait, did you check your owner's manual on the jack points first? The reason most folks leave it flat is that on a lot of cars the drain plug sits at the back of the pan, so raising the front actually tips the oil away from the hole and you leave more old oil in there than you'd think. Your Civic might drain fine either way, but on some cars you'd barely get a trickle. The other thing is if you jack up just the front, the car isn't level, so you can't trust the dipstick to tell you if you got the right amount back in. Next time try ramps instead of a jack and stands if you just need a few inches, way faster and safer.
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