Changing Transaxle oil

I saw this in an earlier post and wanted to ask this question. Is it considered safe to ride your car up on ramps on a downhill? thus making the car level, using blocks of course.

 

The instructions provided with the ramp will probably say that you should use the ramps only on a level, paved surface. I think it is OK to use the ramps as you described above, but of course this is to be done at your risk.

I do not think it is necessary to worry too much about making the car level, as long as you don't add more than 4 US quarts of new fluid and you stop if you see fluid dripping out of the fill hole.

 

It doesn't sound safe, pretty much if you have to ask it most likely isn't safe. The safest home remedy to raise the car and keep it level would be to jack the car up and put it on 4 jack stands. I have 2 long 2x8 boards that originally were the seats of a large picnic table. I lay them flat one in front of each wheel and drive all 4 wheels up on them, it lifts the car high enough to where you can get your face and arms up under there as well as a collection pan. I do this for the engine oil as well. (you could probably do this with a few 2x4's as well.)

 

Drive all four wheels up on some 2x6's. Much safer than having ramps downhill

 

+1

If you have any question about it, it probably isn't safe.

 

sounds like a plan. i will keep it in mind when my car gets closer to 60k and if the dealer gives me an absurd quote to do it.

 

I'm going to be a contrarian here, as I am trying to visualize why this is deemed to be unsafe by the group.

If you are on a concrete driveway which is sloped sufficiently so that the car is level when the front tires are up on ramps, the front tires are centered within the ramp pockets, while the rear tires are blocked, the gear selector is in P and the parking brake is fully set, then how can the car move from that position to hurt you?

My problem is that my ramps have a sufficient rise so that the Prius (and other relatively low-riding cars, for that matter) can't drive up the ramp. So if I want the car to rest on ramps, I have 4 x 8 lumber that I will insert under the front tires after jacking up the front of the car. Then I rest the leading edge of the ramps on the lumber with the tail end of the ramps on the pavement. This provides a lower angle that the Prius can easily climb without the front of the car bumping into the ramps.

If I am doing a major project under the car (say changing the exhaust system, for example) I like supporting the front of the car on ramps. Then I jack up the rear of the car and support that with two jackstands so that the car is level.

 

I think it really depends upon the specific details of the terrain and equipment, but the ramps that I bought for the Prius are made of plastic and although they are supposed to support 1500 lbs each, when the car is on them, they flex enough that I'm not that comfortable under the car. If I then raise the rear of the car, or face downhill on a slope so that the car is level, it would shift even more weight onto the ramps.

I used to have some metal ramps, but the slope was too steep to use with the Prius or the Avalon. The metal ramps were kind of a pain to use on concrete because they had a tendency to slide as you were trying to climb the ramp (RWD vehicle). I don't know if they would slide downhill with the weight of a car on them, but I wouldn't really want to risk it.

I would rather work on a flat solid surface and use jack stands to support the car. I watched my friend's Mazda pickup bounce up and down on four jackstands during the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, and that made a lasting impression on me.

 

I too use ramps on a downhill, a slight one in my fiancee's driveway. And I too trust the ramps, at least with my method. I don't drive up all the way on them; it's just enough to bring the car nearly level and for me to get at the drain and fill plugs (and the oil filter when I change the oil, and then I stagger the ramps to tilt the car slightly to the right). The parking brake is set and the rear wheels are chocked.

Like Dogfriend's, mine are plastic. If the hill was steeper and the car was all the way up on them, I might be a little wary.

 

OK, thanks for the feedback. I have steel ramps, intended to carry vehicles up to 6,500 lb GVW and they do not flex at all even when holding up a medium-size SUV such as a Ford Explorer or Toyota Highlander Hybrid. I also would question being under a vehicle supported by plastic ramps that flex under load.

It's good that we are having this discussion. I agree with dogfriend that the safety of the situation depends upon the precise ramps being used, the surface that they rest upon, and the weight being carried.

 

I wonder if there is some safe method to check the stability of the car on jack stands or ramps. One bad way is to push hard on the car to see if it would fall off, but I may damage the car if it does fall off.

 

Better to damage the car, than to have it fall upon and damage you. As you gain experience raising up the car, it will eventually become obvious if the car is safely in the air or not.

I question the idea of driving the car only partially up on ramps as suggested by Jim, especially when the ramps are staggered to achieve an uneven lift. If the parking brake slips and the wheel chocks don't work, then the car will want to descend from the ramps. Further, by having the tires resting midway on the ramps, this may encourage the ramps to slip out.

If the ramps are correctly positioned and the tires are resting where they are intended to be on the ramps, there's no way the ramps can slip or the car can move. Setting the gear selector to P, the parking brake, and the chocks are all supplements that add to your safety (in other words, the belt and suspenders method of keeping your trousers on.)

If those supplements were all released/removed, the car should still stay where you intend it to be. If you have to rely on those supplements to hold the car in place and maintain your safety, then I question the method used to raise the car.

 

+ 100

 

I've often wondered what that would sound like?

"Splat?"

"Squish?"

or, and this is what I suspect

"Crunch?"

 

Hi '09Prius,

I had no need to put the car on Jack Stands to do the transmission fluid change here. I had to take down the aero-covers and the left wheel well liner, but that was it.

 

Great point! Thank you!

 

How about "Aaaah!"

 

Thanks!

 

How do you guys re-torque the bolts? do you just tighten them until it seems tight enough? Or do you actually bust out a torque wrench and measure?

 

I actually use a torque wrench. (I own 4)

Its probably not critical on the drain and fill plug as long as you have a good feel for it. On my first vehicle (a 1974 Ford Courier aka Mazda) I busted off several bolts and studs thinking tighter is better. I also rounded off some bolt heads using the cheap socket set that I had. It was a good learning experience. I learned that snug is better than broken, and good tools are better than cheap ones. :madgrin: