I see in the OM there is a "proceedure" for changing the oil. Is there one here in tech someplace? Does anyone have a ramp they are using to get the car up in the air? Do jack stands work? Thanks!

 

Couple of oil change issues on the C5. One is that the car, even at stock height, is too low in the front for normal ramps (Rhino, old-style steel, etc.). Some people on the forum say they use Rhino ramps for the front of the car but I don't see how. Maybe removing the rubber "skirts" would allow this but I don't know. So-called "Race Ramps" are available, but inexplicably high-priced (if a regular Rhino Ramp set can sell at parts stores for $40 or less, why can't they make a longer ramp that would fit under C5s for not too much more?).

Anyway, you can make your own ramps out of 2X10 or 2X12 sections. Yes, jacks and jackstands will work IF you can get your floor jack under the car and IF (big if) you jack and support in the proper places. Otherwise you can do real damage to the car.

A further complication is the wonky drain plug location on the C5. It is at the front of the pan, which means to get a good drain the car should be level or, ideally, raised a little at the rear. If you were in central South Carolina I'd do it for you at my house. A possible alternative if you don't have the proper equipment as outlined above is one of the quickie oil-change shops that drive your car over a pit as opposed to using lifts. Fewer chances for car damage with the pits, but try to find a shop where someone actually gives a damn and is not trying to get you "in and out in 15 minutes". Good luck.

 

Rhino ramps work just fine. The plastic skirt is meant to bend a little.

There is no need to raise the rear. The little oil left in the pan is not worth the time/danger of lifting the rear.

This is an EASY job that people like to compicate with their pedantics.

Use the oil GM, Porsche, Rolls, Ferrari, and Mercedes recommends.....Mobil 1

 

Saw your your comment about Race Ramps.

The main difference between Race Ramps and Rhino ramps are quality and performance. Its like comparing apples and oranges.

Race Ramps are cut from a solid block of high-density expanded polystyrene, not injection molded like the cheap ramps. They are then coated with a hybridized polyurea. What this means is that the ramps are incredibly strong and lightweight. As well they don't slide on the floor, even epoxy coated floors. The quality raw materials are expensive.

The angle of approach is 10 degrees, with optional extenders to reduce angles even further.

We have heard horror stories of Rhino ramps suddenly collapsing. Due to the Race Ramps construction technique, it is impossible to have catastrophic failure if the ramps are severely overloaded.

Race Ramps are made by Americans in Michigan, not in a Chinese sweatshop. So, labor is more expensive.

Do a search on this website and you will find a multitude of very happy users of Race Ramps, who feel the value they receive is well worth the cost of the ramps.

The "inexplicable" has been explained.

 

Hmm so if you made your own ramps at 10 degrees they would need to be pretty long Im thinking. Like maybe 5-8 feet? If you supported them every 2 feet or so that should hold the weight.

I assume there are designated jack points under the side rails. but where are the proper places to position the jack stands?

 

I have Rhino ramps, and have driven up and down them once, but did'nt like it.



Not only does the air damn have to bend, but the front gets scraped, you can see how it is about to bottom out on the ramp.



Simple solution...

 

Just used some scrap wood, used finish nails to fasten the two pieces, and the bottom piece does not have to be that long, probably at least the length of the 2nd piece, it's like stairs.

No scraping or rubbing now.

The carpet (scrap) helps keep all of it from sliding like it can do on concrete.

 

Bronsin; Lots of info with a search... a couple of good ways to lift the car... a couple of bad things to avoid... read up and make a wise decision as to lifting and always use jack-stands, you will be UNDER the car...a slight pitch to the front will help drain ALL the oil. Mostly, Be safe.

 

This is what I do: First and foremost is I take the car out for a run up to operating temps. I return home and I face my car nose down on my slightly angled driveway. I have a low profile jack to get under my lowered car. I jack up the drivers side of the car. I put a jack stand for safety under the front. put my catch can under the engine pan. remove the plug and drain the oil. I let it drain for about five minutes. Then I lower the car to remove that last 1 % of oil that usually has 100 percent of the contaminants that accumulate in the bottom of the pan. when I lower the car its easy to see that the oil actually starts to flow again.. I let the car stay down for about 5 minutes until there is no longer any drips.. jack the car back up, pull out the drain pan and pour it into my recycle container, slide it back up under the oil filter, remove the oil filter and allow it to drop into the empty drain pan, a full drain pans is very messy if you drop a full oil filter into it. I clean off the surface of the area where the O ring will sit. Next I fill the new filter with clean oil, it takes several fills to actually fill it, and lube the O ring. I install this filled filter, and oil plug. I then fill the engine with the rest of the 6.5 quarts of oil. Remember you have used about a pint of oil in the filter so you don't have a dry start. Start the engine, check for leaks, and reset the OLM. Clean up, lower the car , and go for a drive.

 

Also, I had always raised the rear of the car a bit higher than the front to help get the oil out, I had a Corvette mag that said not to do this, and I tried it their way, once.

Well, it only took 5 qts on that oil change, so the next change I went back to raising the rear a bit higher, and it took the 6 qts.

I use a big floor jack, put a thick phone book on it to help spread/cushion the load on the crossmember.

Yep, I use the Mobil 1 fully synthetic 5W30, buy the 5 qt jug, and one qt at Walmart, about $30 bucks or so, and get the AC Delco oil filter after hearing about Fram's filters sometimes having problems, $4.50 or so.

Got the car in 2003, and have never let anyone else change the oil, don't trust them!

 

Me neither and Im not paying the dealer $100 I hear they get!

 

buy two 5 gallon jugs at walmart.

it works out cheaper over the long run.

and you have some to top off if needed.

 

The dealer where I store it charges 62 dollars. At that price I watch tv in the waiting room for 20 mins while someone else gets dirty.

 

But I LIKE getting dirty. It validates the image I have of myself as a man. But for $62 maybe they can do it cause the oil and filter must be like $40. This is a Chevy dealer?

 

Hey, I have ramps made of 2 x 6's , starting at 3 feet and two more on top a little shorter. My inlaws have a 42 foot motor home they put on wood risers for leveling? Corvette? Not a problem.

 

I made a set of the stepped ramps out of 2X8's to get the car up 3 inches in the front. I had a small floor jack and went and bought another one for $20. The 3 inches that the front is up allows me to put the floor jacks under each side of the frame close to the jacking holes and I jack each side a few pumps at a time until I can fit my jack stands under the frame next to the small floor jacks. I saved more than $20 changing the oil myself and now have two small floor jacks instead of only one.

 

I didn't know Walmart sold 5 gallon jugs of Mobil1. Wow, each jug would be enough to do 3 oil changes!