Chevy Colorado & GMC Canyon banner

question about jacking the truck for an oil change

11K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  IraSummers 
#1 ·
Forgive me for sounding like such a rookie, but here's my question. Is a 2 ton jack and two 2 ton jackstands sufficient enough to hold up a coly (crew cab w/auto trans.) for changing the oil. I'm plannin' on chaning the oil for the first time one my own and I basically know what's what underneath there and have found posts on this procedure quite helpful. But when ya crawl under there for the first time, it just seems like a totally new monster :x and I'm just looking if anyone out there has done this safely also with the same capacity jack/jackstand i'm using. I was also wondering where on the front would you jack up the truck? I was lookin underneath there and there barely seems to be much room on the cross member up front; more specifically the area where the stock skidplate is located.

again, I hate it that I'm sounding like such a rookie to you all but any/all help is appreciated.
 
#2 ·
2 ton could be considered overkill [not really] cuz your only going to be lifting 1 end of the truck/ not the entire weight of it
try lifting it behind the frt wheel on the frame
 
#4 ·
Unless you lowered it, there should be enough clearance under a Z85 to change the oil without jacking it up. If the truck is not close to level you won't get all the oil to drain out.

If you really need to, get some ramps to drive up on. They are only about $20. If your driveway slants down back in and then drive up on the ramps, the slant will help keep the truck more level.
 
#6 ·
As stated you want the truck level or the oil won't all drain out. You should not have to jack up the front of your truck to reach the drain plug or the oil filter unless you've lowered the suspension or not on flat ground.

Tip-o-the-Day: When you remove the drain plug the oil will shoot all the way over to the tire. Place your drain pan so it can catch the oil over there and put down a piece of cardboard so you don't get oil on the driveway...
 
#7 ·
Hypurr said:
Unless you lowered it, there should be enough clearance under a Z85 to change the oil without jacking it up. If the truck is not close to level you won't get all the oil to drain out.

If you really need to, get some ramps to drive up on. They are only about $20. If your driveway slants down back in and then drive up on the ramps, the slant will help keep the truck more level.

Some of us aren't skinny! ;) I almost ripped off my lower valance with my belly. And I'm 5'11" and weigh only 180 lbs.

I used the 2 ton jack and 2 ton jack stands. Gave me a lot more room to avoid the "fire-hose" effect of the oil spewing out. But I had mine on 4 jack stands and rotated the tires at the same time. Made it a lot easier.


I'm still trying to figure out why over a quart of oil came out when I removed the filter. That made a huge mess.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the input ya'll. I am an oil change virgin no more!. I'm a lil fat (not so much "a lil", more like "am very:)so I had to jack up the truck a bit. I only needed to get it up on the first couple pegs of the jackstand. I kinda compromised tho and backed up my drive that happens to be on a slight slant.

p.s. you weren't kidding about the firehose effect of the draining oil. Good thing I was ready with the cardboard and kitty litter. :cry:

p.p.s. that oil can be mighty warm :shock:
 
#11 ·
ptkid2 said:
Anyone have any experience with Fram Suredrain valves? It might be an alternative to solve the fire hose problem.
I just installed one on mine and won't be able to say how it works until the next oil change. I can say it doesn't leak at this point and as long as I don't loose the hose I think it's a good deal. It will be much slower draining as the opening is half the size of the hole in the oil pan. I got one so I wouldn't have to remove my skid plate at every oil change...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey spoolin - my oil pan is alum and the only place the hot drain plug has gone is into the oil drain pan, well actually this last time I wore some gloves and was able to hang onto it... Were you thinking of changing the trans fluid? ;)
 
#12 ·
Hey spoolin - my oil pan is alum and the only place the hot drain plug has gone is into the oil drain pan, well actually this last time I wore some gloves and was able to hang onto it... Were you thinking of changing the trans fluid?
no i was talking about the oil, take the oil drain plug the tip of it is magnetic, the transmission pan is metal so it will stick to it provided it is cool enough to touch without getting burned.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top