2 questions on DIY oil change

[mcfrosticles]

Hi all,

Just got my first Yaris a few months ago, a blue 2008 hatchback. Love it to death and decided I would like to do my own oil changes. I had two questions though.

1.) Where on earth do you place the front jack? I looked at the manual and it is referring to a handle-like area near the front that I can't see at all under my car. Would anyone happen to have more detailed pictures of where this is?

2.) I cannot for the life of me take off the oil drain plug. I'd say that I would have above average strength, but this thing won't come off. I'm using a 14mm socket as well. I bought my car used so I'm assuming it has had oil changes before. Any tips? Do I need to have the dealership take this thing off then hand tighten it back on?

Thanks for any help you can provide me!

[RJay]

I just jack my car up at the chassis reinforcement beams underneath the car, I do this with all my cars so I don't get my jack points confused. :) And the rear jack point... well, after you lift the front a bit it should be obvious

For point 2, I once changed the oil on a mate's Golf convertible and the drain plug -and- oil filter were stuck as a house, so I just used powertools to get them loose. I used a cargo strap hooked into the chassis with the oil filter wrench to get enough power to give it a qt. turn and a (cordless) impact wrench for the oil plug. First cover the wrench in some plastic to prevent oil getting into it, because it will shoot straight out.

[ex-x-fire]

In the picture you'll see the long channels that go along the floor pan, its safe to jack & support on there.

[RJay]

Yup, those are the beams I meant :) Do make sure your jack has a rubber pad or something on it to prevent from scraping the coating and thus encouraging rust to take it's course though!

[CTScott]

According to Toyota, the correct placement of a jack for lifting the front or rear of the car is:


If you are using a lift or are supporting the car with jackstands, then the correct lifting point is at the pinch welds at the edges (where the OEM jack would lift from). The unibody boxes are not designed to support the car for lifting.

[268i]

Originally Posted by CTScott

According to Toyota, the correct placement of a jack for lifting the front or rear of the car is:


If you are using a lift or are supporting the car with jackstands, then the correct lifting point is at the pinch welds at the edges (where the OEM jack would lift from). The unibody boxes are not designed to support the car for lifting.

Why does the diagram suggest lifting from the rear axle? I find that safer than the designated point which seems a lot less secure..

[WeeYari]

Originally Posted by 268i

Why does the diagram suggest lifting from the rear axle? I find that safer than the designated point which seems a lot less secure..

There is risk of bending the rear axle beam. That it why it is not a recommended lift point.



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[mcfrosticles]

@CTScott: I do want to use jack stands for my oil change. But if I jack the car up on the edges there, how would I place the stand there too? My thought was jacking up the car in the front area, then placing 2 stands on each side and lowering the Yaris onto the stands.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by mcfrosticles

@CTScott: I do want to use jack stands for my oil change. But if I jack the car up on the edges there, how would I place the stand there too? My thought was jacking up the car in the front area, then placing 2 stands on each side and lowering the Yaris onto the stands.

That's exactly how you would do it (center jack, side jack stands). As RJay mentioned, you do want to use rubber pads, particularly on the jack stands. The best jack stands are the ones with the round tops, as with those I use hockey pucks that I cut a slit in to support the pinch seams.

[mcfrosticles]

@CTScott: Ah ok, I must have read your reply wrong. Thank you! I'm still not *entirely* sure where to place the front jack. My manual shows the picture you have (looks like a handle).

@RJay: I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to cars. The picture ex-x-fire provided is pretty small, so I'm not sure where the chassis reinforcement beams are. Anymore details you can provide? :)

[RJay]

Well, I was going to paint a few red circles into that picture, but if you look at the pictures provided by CTScott you should have the 2 points for jacking up front and rear and the 4 poitns for jack stands quite clearly ;)

However, for completion, I use these on all my cars: see img below

With a jack with a nice rubber pad ^^
I need to get a new one and ductape it back on because both of my pads are misplaced right now.....

Also I jack my yaris up about halfway through the door in a 3 door model, seems to be the cennter of weight for the car. ^^

Also, the picture scott posted shows the front cross member that goes under the engine oilpan / gearbox / differential like thingy. I don't know excactly how fwd's are lined out but I put them in order of likeliness.

[mcfrosticles]

@RJay: Thank you so much! I definitely know where those are, so I will lift from there on each side, then place the jack stands.

I'm looking into getting a drill with a socket attachment to get this oil drain plug out, but worst case scenario I will take it into the mechanic to get it off.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by mcfrosticles

@RJay: Thank you so much! I definitely know where those are, so I will lift from there on each side, then place the jack stands.

I'm looking into getting a drill with a socket attachment to get this oil drain plug out, but worst case scenario I will take it into the mechanic to get it off.

Slip a piece of pipe over the end of your ratchet for some extra torque to break the drain bolt loose.

[RJay]

Originally Posted by CTScott

Slip a piece of pipe over the end of your ratchet for some extra torque to break the drain bolt loose.

We've had ratchet-connecting ends break on us renderingratchet and socket useless when using this method.

They were old pieces of kit tho'
And that was when working with the distribution of a Lampredi engine.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by RJay

We've had ratchet-connecting ends break on us renderingratchet and socket useless when using this method.

They were old pieces of kit tho'
And that was when working with the distribution of a Lampredi engine.

I've snapped a few myself. I can't imagine though that the drain bolt could be tight enough to brake a socket or ratchet, as there are only about 5 or 6 well lubricated threads. A breaker bar is the way to go for something truly stubborn, but the old pipe trick should be fine for the drain bolt.

[RJay]

I have one of these, very expensive but they work very good:



Then again, we stripped down and rebuilt an entire car partially with that thing, lol.

Also, good luck :) Changing oil is not something you should be paying a third party like a garage for. And please do get a new carter plug, they're dirt cheap. I know you should be able to re-use the old one but for that buck-and-a-half you shouldn't take that risk.

[WeeYari]

^ corded ones can be had in North America for very little $$

[RJay]

Yeah, but we really needed a cordless one since we're also using it to mount and unmount wheels on places where sometimes no mains plugs are available :)
Paddocks for instance.