Transaxle Fluid Change DIY?

I bought these low profile ramps from Amazon (my car has been lowered by about an inch)

 

Ramps alone aren't good for the tranny fluid change because you need to also raise the rear by the same amount.

One way to keep the car level is to begin by putting a piece of painter's tape on the car door and taping a bubble level to it. Of course you don't need precision accuracy but you want to get in the ballpark.

 

That's why I bought two sets...

 

Have you used them yet? Did they all fit? Was 3" of lift enough?

 

No. not yet.

 

For me, 3" wouldn't be enough. I had a Sears floor jack for a decade, and I finally replaced it with a real floor jack from Harbor Freight which has two feet of lift. I can practically walk around under my car now. It's huge -- weighs 100 pounds -- and cost about $200. Jack stands extra. But it makes car work a lot easier.

 

Because my car is lowered 1" I have to drive it onto the ramps to get my Harbor Freight Floor Jack underneath. I am not interested in performing my own fluid maintenance.

 

Oh!!! I was trying to figure out the point of 3" ramps

 

Any pics of your Prius in the air?

Sounds like a great setup!

 

I hope you're putting the car on stands?

Our other car is an '05 outback....no need to jack it up unless I'm doing brake or suspension work.
My Prius - need to put it on stands to change the oil

 

I like safety stands, plus a squat tree trunk section pushed under, near the centre, as a backup.

 

Rebound did mention jack stands as a complement to the floor jack. Yes, a safety must!

 

Correct. Also mentioned lifting it 2 ft.....which most jack stands will not extend to. Climbing under a car that is jacked up to 2 ft with no jack stands is no joke dangerous- just pointing it out.

 

Max height of the jack is 24", that doesn't mean the car is raised that much, more like 18"~19", due to the lift point being about 6" clear. 6 ton jackstands will just be up one or two notches.

I would heartily recommend NOT using the scissor jack locations; there's more substantial and stable bearing points, at the leading edge of underbody structural rails.

 

Some pics, my jack has an advertised lift of 21", measured no-load lift recently, it was about 20": The pictured safety stands are 6 ton, fully retracted, have height to top of cradle is around 15".

 

I won't get under my car without jack stands. I haven't tried my stands with my new jack yet, so I don't know if they'll need upgrading. But the jack stands go closer to the center of the car than the jacking point, so they don't need to be quite as high as the jack's 23 inches. We'll see how it goes, but I'll definitely lift it higher than before.

I've been traveling on business so no car playtime.

 

I did my ATF change yesterday at 30K miles. Went OK except for tight quarters as my 4 ramps were only 3" high. Did the funnel and hose fill method. I put the first 3 quarts in and then added the 4th slowly until it started to dribble out into the drain pan.
Fluid was a bit dark (reddish-brown instead of pink) so I'm glad I did this 'early' change.

 

RAM v I really do recommend 30,000, then 90,000, then every 90,000. 30,000 will still be the darkest.

 

Yeah, that's why I decided to do mine at 30,000. Glad I did.