You need a lift? You could build a ramp out of dirt or wood if you can't figure out how to use a car or floor jack. At a Canadian Tire the idiots made up some BS about they couldn't check my transmission fluid on my Stealth because of "Liability" if they stripped the fill/check oil plug.???!!!! So I made some comment to the Manager of the automotive "shop" department and told them to watch me do the oil check on their front sidewalk.
I drove my car to the front sidewalk curb and ran the tires on the passenger side up the 'groove' for pedestrians and ran the pass. side tires along the sidewalk until there was 12" of clearance under my car in the middle. I took some garbage cardboard and climbed under the front of my car. I bought a wrench in the store and checked the oil in my dress clothes (it was fine). I reinstalled the oil fill plug back in the trans and went back into the store to make sure that the shop/mechanic foreman knew that although his mechanics couldn't be responsible to check my oil (because they were acting lawyers?), I had bought a wrench and done the mechanics job in their parking lot - and I'm not even a lawyer! I also told him that I thought that if I was a lawyer they could be sued if I was hurt doing mechanical work in front of their mechanical work that they refused to do. A front sidewalk in front of the stores main entry doors is not technically the ideal place to climb under a car. I then went hom and wrote a scathing letter showing the ignorance of a mechanic's shop that refuses to do simple mechanical work like removing and re-installing a bolt. I emailed it to the stores local newspaper and a picture of my Stealth parked across the sidewalk with me under the front of the car. Hopefully I embarrassed them into doing the job they are supposed trained for?
Anyway, an oil change is only a little tougher than changing a fuse. If you can't afford a floor jack to lift your car so you can climb under it, dig a hole in the middle of your driveway so that you can fit under your car to reach the drain plug at the bottom of your oil pan and your oil filter at the front of your oil pan, Remove oil and filter. pour oil into the filter, make sure to use your finger and spread fresh oil on the entire rubber gasket surface, then screw the new (half full - or more) oil filter onto the pipe thread where you removed the old filter from. Replace the oil drain plug firmly and climb out from under the car. Add the 9-11 ltrs of oil through a funnel into the cap marked OIL in the top of the valve cover and check the oil dip stick. Your oil level (after 3-5 minutes) should be at the high level. Start the car, let it idle for 3-5 minutes, shut off the engine, wait for 3-5 minutes and adjust oil level according to correct level on dip stick. Close hood because you're finished.
You just saved about $50-75. and did it at your convenience. Probably took less time to change the oil than most people spend driving to the oil change shop.
Hope this helps.
Ted
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