jzcrna

Hey everyone. What kind of ramps do you use for those who change their own oil sooner than every 15,000?

Thanks.

luigi524td

I have an xi that has more ground clearance than other models ... so for a bit of extra wiggle room I drive up on a couple of sections of 2x8 about 18" long.

ADD

Funny, I just changed my oil for the first time yesterday.

I had a much rougher time than my '99 528.

With the M-Tech front and Sport Suspension, I had to put two 1x6s in front of the ramps so the bumper would clear, and even so, it was a pretty tight squeeze to get back to the access panel on the 535.

I just use the black ABS ramps that they probably sell at Walmart or Autozone. Can't remember where I got them 5 or 6 years ago. One piece molded construction, very sturdy.

*Edit Actually, these are the ones... Rhino Ramps

Don't forget to chock your wheels.

lcc014

rhino ramps.

chesney72

I've started to use a pump to suck the oil out the sump via the dipstick! Much less messy!

It's made by Pelo and works via suction pump. Very simple but I have found it takes a while to drain. Plus side is no need to jack the car up and get too dirty.

Andy@SonicMS

For the DIY'er, the oil pump is the way to go. I have one back from when I did stuff in the driveway. This is just one for example:

http://www.whatsyourconcept.com/item...asp?itemID=926

But I'm sure you can find them on EBay and whatnot. VERY simple to use...pull the dipstick out, put the vacuum hose in, and give it a few pumps. Give the machine a few pumps every minute or so to keep the pressure up. When the extractor has pulled up everything from the sump, I normally undo the filter, and then use the extractor as a vacuum to pull up all the oil in the filter housing.

Yeah, the oil removal is a littler slower then if you were to just pull the plug out, but thats because you are pulling from a tube that as an OD of like 0.25 inches. Its not EXTREMELY slow, but I would say the total time you spend using the extractor is not much more then if you were to get your car up on the ramps and all that stuff.

Using the oil extractor is the ONE thing I would do to a car service-wise, that I would feel comfortable doing in nice clothes because its possible not to get a drop of oil anywhere you don't want it to go!

ADD

How does this work without a dipstick?

Phantom Mark

Surely by not dropping the oil out of the bottom of the car you are not completely removing any potential contaminates or larger particles via sump plug ?

jzcrna

How does one use the vacuum pumps on cars without a dipstick? This would be nice to have, but where do you put the hose on the newer E60s?

525iEnjoy

+1