I am contemplating buying a 2 1/2 ton jack (PROLIFT 2 1/2 Ton Speedy Lift SUV/Truck Jack ) so I can change my oil and rotate my tires on my 2000 Miata.
Questions:
Can I use this type of jack to raise one side of the car at a time safely? If so where would I place the jack? I want to be safe as well as avoid damage to the body.
Where is the oil filter on a 2000 Miata? Can I get to it easily using a floor jack?
Cut a groove down the length of a piece of 2x4 (a router works well), deep enough to straddle the lip along the bottom of the rocker panel, so it won't be crushed. Use the 2x4 between the car and the jack. Position the jack directly under the side mirror.
This is OK for rotating tires, but don't even think about crawling underneath without ramps or jackstands. Personally, if I were doing a rotation and oil change at the same time, I would jack up the front under the crossmember, place stands under the forward jacking points, then jack up the rear under the differential, and put stands under the rear jacking points (see your owner's manual for locations). Don't forget to loosen the lugnuts while the car is still on the ground.
Before you buy any jack, make sure it can drop low enough to fit under the car.
Heh. The filter is under the intake manifold. If you're rotating tires, do the filter while the right front wheel is off. Watch out for hot, sharp things you can't see.
My car is lowered with FM springs and the cheapest thing to do without having to buy a new jack is to drive the rear wheels up onto a couple of blocks of wood. There you go, your existing jack now fits under the car. ( and I wouldn't worry about crushing the lip either, mine's still ok after years of tire rotations) Those aluminum racing jacks cost aroune 200 bucks. A 2x4 will cost you about $2.50
Paco
97 Montego Blue (for fun only)
94 Dodge Grand Caravan ES (work van) The La-z-boy with wheels
87 Toyota Vanwagon (backup work van) Yes, it has an engine... somewhere.
Lanny recommended the 2x4 but it works fine without it. I've jacked mine up 100's of times and it's never crushed the lip he's talking about although the 2x4 certainly distributes the weight (but lowers the clearance). Be absolutely sure the jack you're considering will actually fit under the car - they are low and some of the cheaper floor jacks have a saddle that's positioned fairly high. There are some jacks made specifically for low profile automobiles whereas the one you are considering may have a high initial saddle height because it is made to lift trucks. I finally went and purchased an all aluminum racing jack with a roller in the front instead of wheels and it fits nicely under the car and pumps to full height in three pumps.
I walked into the Northern Hydraulics store in Richmond about two months ago and they had them on the floor as a special purchase @ $279.00. There are much cheaper ones out there, Harbor Freight has one for $89.00 and another that is $129.00 but I don't believe they have the three pumps to full height feature.
I just bought a jack at Wal Mart that comes in a nice plastic case, it has a metal head with a slot for the lip. Remove the filter from above but first cover the stuff underneath with a sheet of aluminum foil to keep the oil off. Bob
Not to beat a dead horse, but.... If the oil filter on the 2000 is like previous models (and it sounds like it is), I find it MUCH easier to get to from above. Reach in under the intake manifold and unscrew it. Couple of pointers....
Do this with the engine mostly-cold [*], wear a long-sleeve shirt, or have asbestos skin. If you do this with the engine hot, that intake gets very toasty and will singe your forearm. Unless you're the tough-guy mechanic at the oil-change shop. The cigarette didn't even jiggle as he reached in and pulled the filter off. I'm a wimp, though, so it's a grubby old sweatshirt or let the engine cool off. [*] - by "mostly-cold", I mean let the engine cool off completely and run it for a couple of minutes, or let it cool off almost completely. Either way, the goal is to have the oil warm enough that it pours out quickly, but the engine innards cool enough that you don't burn yourself.
Unscrew the filter until it's almost off. Then slide your hand up to the engine end of the filter, and, gripping it tightly, unscrew it the rest of the way. Let the non-engine end flop down. You're now holding the filter open-end up. Carefully slide the filter up and out of the engine compartment. After more oil changes than I'd like to recall, I've found this to be the way to minimize drip. Just hang on to the thing tightly or it'll slip out of your fingers and onto the garage floor. And that would be bad.
One of the best $30 purchases I've ever made! Easy / secure/ light weight / just enough room to work, I now use them for every oil change in every car I do. They really are great.
That is funny. Mine have just plastic edges as bottom.
When did you get yours? I got mine, I think from Moss, about 1997-98. They were definitely sold as Rhino ramps. There was also a note in the product review section of miata.net about them slipping.
I got mine Rhino Ramps "8000lb", in Pep Boys in Illinois, about a month ago. Paid about $20 (promotion). Yes, they have a rubber block at the bottom to avoid slipping. Very stable, about 6.5 inch high, 17 degrees lift.
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