Why dont you just get some Rhino Ramps from Wal*Mart?

 

Man, PLEASE don't do this with using the scissor jack alone. This is dangerous! I don't want to hear a story about a evo owner being crushed by his own car. I used some rhino ramps I bought for about $15, like mentioned above. Easy, safe, cheap. Can't beat that.

 

Yea...in fact, that was one of hte easiest oil changes I have ever done on a car...just make sure you get the type of oil filter wrench that fits OVER the filter and then connects to a socket wrench. You won't fit one of those loop thingys around it.

 

I cranked the jack up high enough that I could fit a couple inches of wood under the tire, and my driveway is set up so you actually lay a couple inches lower than the tires anyway. So I wouldn't have been crushed if the jack disintegrated or something. But thanks for caring.

What makes a scissor jack less stable than say jack stands anyway? I'm not arguing, just asking.

 

Jack stands/hydraulic floor jacks havfe a much wider base to stand on than the stock scissor jack. A scissor jack has an extremely narrow base and is consequently much easier to disturb than jack stands.

 

They also bend and twist out of shape after about 7-8 uses. Not very durable at all.

 

The Rhino ramps someone mentioned are also available at Meijer's for $39.99 regular price. They have a shallow 17 degree ramp, and so should not cause problems with front overhang.

I was at the Red Barn Spectacular car show at Gilmore car museum this weekend and a guy was selling a product made by GRIP (Grand Rapids Industrial Products) that sort of converted a floor jack to a two pad lift similar to the 4 point lifts shops use. It was a rectangular center section with a welded large diameter shaft for attachment to a jack. Each side then had a smaller rectangular section that slid into the larger section(adjustable). On each end was a roughly 4"x4" rubber flat pad on a steel platform. The idea is to place those points on the two side jacking points and lift the front of the car, or for rotating tires, place it on the two jack points of one side of the vehicle. I'll try to find an image, my description may be poor. It was like $40, but I did not buy it since I wanted to see if I could find it cheaper.

 

Has anyone tried putting an EVO up on a low-rise pad lift? (The ones with a large panel that fit under the sides?) Would that crush some body flares?

 

The one time I have lifted the front of the car so far (1st oil change/general checkout) I placed my floor jack saddle as I always have with front wheel drive cars, in the middle of the engine crossmember. There is a round flange like part welded at this point. The only problem I encountered was this point is fairly far under the car, and due to the low ground clearance, I had to pull the 2 front tires onto a couple pieces of 3/4" particle board to have enough clearance to actually pump the jack handle. I know the shop manual shows that spot in the radiator area which has been mentioned, but removing the plastic shields is a PITA, due mostly to the cheap-*** plastic "screws" used as someone mentioned. Again, I have used this technique with many cars w/o damage (most of a car's weight in the front is the driveline anyway, and you're jacking directly under it), and no damage occurred with the EVO. An added advantage is the car is lifted higher for when you stick your jack stands under the sill jack points (I use rubber pads on top of the stands). Now I need to raise the car again for another oil change & for tire rotation, and even though I had no trouble the 1st time (other than the clearance issue) or with any other car, I'm concerned about using the engine crossmember. Anyone else doing it this way?

TIA

Dan