Is it possible? Oil change- single car garage.

[StangTime]

My condo board forbids any car maintenance done in the driveway (maybe inside the garage too idk) anyway... is it possible to even do an oil change within the confinement of a single car garage? There is barely enough room to get in and out of the drivers seat. Have any of you done it? What did you use to lift? I am thinking ramps would be best. Not enough room at the sides for a jack.
I have never been under the car yet. Is there a belly pan that has to come off? I understand these cars really gush oil once the plug is removed. I dread taking it to the dealer for an oil change. Grease monkeys always make a mess of my car.

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[2017GBGTPP]

Ramps will be easiest and give you plenty of space to get underneath. You just need to undo a nut and the filter, no big parts have to come off.

 

[BmacIL]

Absolutely. Use ramps and you'll have enough room.

 

[dh3605]

My condo board forbids any car maintenance done in the driveway (maybe inside the garage too idk) anyway... is it possible to even do an oil change within the confinement of a single car garage? There is barely enough room to get in and out of the drivers seat. Have any of you done it? What did you use to lift? I am thinking ramps would be best. Not enough room at the sides for a jack.
I have never been under the car yet. Is there a belly pan that has to come off? I understand these cars really gush oil once the plug is removed. I dread taking it to the dealer for an oil change. Grease monkeys always make a mess of my car.

The 10 quarts comes at you real fast. Be prepared for it and get something that will handle it or you have a big mess.
I used this https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/flotool-5-gallon-drain and it works well

 

[StangTime]

The 10 quarts comes at you real fast. Be prepared for it and get something that will handle it or you have a big mess.
I used this https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/flotool-5-gallon-drain and it works well

Thanks. My first oil change will be the messiest. I ordered a Ronin valve to replace the original drain plug. Future changes will be under total control.

 

[Andy13186]

Ive determined its not worth doing it myself when my shop charges me 15$ if I provide the oil and filter and I can basically tell them how I want them to do it and watch. The time, the mess, the danger, labor of jacking it up , the cleanup, the disposal of 10 qts used oil and a filter... definitely worth it to have them do it

 

[StangTime]

Ive determined its not worth doing it myself when my shop charges me 15$ if I provide the oil and filter and I can basically tell them how I want them to do it and watch. The time, the mess, the danger, labor of jacking it up , the cleanup, the disposal of 10 qts used oil and a filter... definitely worth it to have them do it

Unless... when you get the car back and find oily hand prints on the door panel, steering wheel, and greasy dirty footprints on the floor mats. My car always comes back with clean oil and a dirty interior. This is my experience when I take my Fusion in for an oil change. If your service department is treating you good and they are competent then by all means that's the least hassle. Consider yourself lucky.

 

[CrashOverride]

Although it is probably more than you want to spend, if the condo is something you plan to live in for a long time, and you don't want to deal with ramps, a quickjack (Made by bend pak) might be what the doctor ordered. They are about $1000 when on sale. Although they don't lift the car straight up (The car will inch forward about 17 inches) it is still less than a ramp, plus it is much taller to do other items (Exhaust, etc).

I'm very happy with mine. This is one of those things that I wish I would have bought 15 years ago when I switched from just simple maintenance to pretty much everything.

 

[2017GBGTPP]

You also don't need too much room to Jack a car up, you can do it at an angle. You just want to do it a bit at a time and go back and forth. Jacking rails help immensely too. My Jack handle can be split in half for especially tight areas, I got it at pep boys. I've seen people do it with less room than this

 

[StangTime]

You also don't need too much room to Jack a car up, you can do it at an angle. You just want to do it a bit at a time and go back and forth. Jacking rails help immensely too. My Jack handle can be split in half for especially tight areas, I got it at pep boys. I've seen people do it with less room than this

That's about the size of my garage too. I am going to buy a nice low profile jack.

The quick jack is very nice. Looked into those but after taxes it ends up being about $1700 CDN. I don't plan on being under the car enough to spend that kind of money.

 

[ugstang17]

You don't have to pull it all the way in. If you are working under the hood and its under cover then you are technically in the good from what you have shared. Race ramps make a nice setup that allows the rear portion of the ramps to be pulled out for easier access. There is also a lift system that can be had for about 1300 as I recall that will work in the confined area. It raises the car about 18" if I recall correctly. They have a motor driven and a hand pump version. There are threads about it on this site. I would get one myself but my driveway and my garage floor are both buckled. Needs a flat surface to work safely. Wish you luck. I feel your pain. I would love to have a 2 car garage. But at the same time I don't want another bill or to drain the savings account for one since they don't do much in return for property value in my area. A 15K garage in place of an existing single car might increase value 3-5K only according to appraisers I have spoken to. So I quit pipe dreaming about one.

 

[boB]

My condo board forbids any car maintenance done in the driveway (maybe inside the garage too idk) anyway... is it possible to even do an oil change within the confinement of a single car garage? There is barely enough room to get in and out of the drivers seat. Have any of you done it? What did you use to lift? I am thinking ramps would be best. Not enough room at the sides for a jack.
I have never been under the car yet. Is there a belly pan that has to come off? I understand these cars really gush oil once the plug is removed. I dread taking it to the dealer for an oil change. Grease monkeys always make a mess of my car.

I have a '19 PP1, the belly pan does not have to come off, there is a "flap" that allows access to the oil filter by removing one or two screws. With the big drain plug the oil comes out like you have never seen oil come out before!!! ;) Just have some sort of backstop on your (10+ quart) drain pan and it will be ok. Make an aluminum foil funnel/shield for the filter to drain without getting all over the car.

 

[StangTime]

I have a '19 PP1, the belly pan does not have to come off, there is a "flap" that allows access to the oil filter by removing one or two screws. With the big drain plug the oil comes out like you have never seen oil come out before!!! ;) Just have some sort of backstop on your (10+ quart) drain pan and it will be ok. Make an aluminum foil funnel/shield for the filter to drain without getting all over the car.

Thanks for the tips. Still preparing for the "Texas Tea" gusher. Got my Ronin valve a couple days ago.

 

[br_an]

I can basically tell them how I want them to do it and watch.

I bet they love being told how to do their job

 

[Andy13186]

I bet they love being told how to do their job

They do like it actually since I would go back and make them clean it up if my car was dripping oil on my driveway or something if they didnt clean the undercarriage trays (this happened once on a prior car). Also I think its good to let them know that oil comes out of these much faster than a normal car, the oil plug is huge. Also 15-17 mustangs took 8 quarts these take 10 so they may assume it took 8 but I just tell them. I provide my own oil and filter and they let me pull it in and out of the bay. Its mainly a tire shop though they dont service many 18+ mustangs and this was the first time I had this car there. I've been going there for years. But 15$ and avoiding 100% of the mess, danger and discomfort of crawling under a car (i always end up with a sore neck of a pulled back muscle) and disposal of 10 quarts of oil is easily worth it if you have a shop like this.

IMO I think its mutually beneficial to tell people how I want stuff done so I leave satisfied and return again.. and they probably learn that some people actually care about sloppy bs work and may get their shit together a bit more. After all I am hiring them to do the work and if they arent able do it up to my expectations I wont return..

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