I have never jacked up the front (or use a ramp) on oil changes. Wouldn't that bring the drain above what would be the lowest point of the pan, thereby resulting in not letting all the oil drain? Wondered about this for years.
That possibility occurred to me too. When I use my ramps, I point the car downhill in the driveway and drive onto the ramps only part of the way. The car ends up pretty much level, front to back. I also stagger the ramps slightly so that the left side of the car sits slightly higher than the right, putting the drain plug a tad lower than it would be otherwise.
I partially jack up the front left side of the car, leaving all the wheels on the ground. That somewhat unloads *both* sides of the front suspension, tilts the engine slightly toward the oil drain hole, and gives a little more room underneath. You can use the little scissor jack that comes with the car, or something larger; I've got a slightly older but heftier scissor jack that came from my old Datsun or something years ago. . Set the parking brake so there's no "rolling slop", and it's safe enough. . _H*
I jack it from the passenger side to reach the plug and filter, and lower the jack so it drains normally, and raise it again to re-install everything from below. With a floor jack its easy, probably not so with a scissor jack. Just my .02.
I don't lift the Prius at all. However, I did install a Fram SureDrain in place of the drain plug to make subsequent changes easier. If you have a cap-end filter wrench, it's easy to get the oil filter off. rpm
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lenjack @ Apr 17 2007, 08:01 PM) [snapback]424966[/snapback]</div> I can't agree or disagree; I simply don't know. That's why, just in case, I aim to have the car level when I change the oil.
Most oil pan bolts are to the rear of the pan, which usually put the oil plug at the lowest point on ramps.
