Anybody using ramps to change their oil?

[PaulLR3]

On my A4 I just use a floor jack and add jack stands for backup when changing the oil. However, the LR3 is a much heavier vehicle and I would feel safer under it if I used ramps instead of a floor jack. Anybody find ramps that work well with the LR3? I had ramps years ago but I tossed them because they were too narrow for the tires on my '96 A4. One more question...how heavy is that front skid plate? I'm guessing I need to support it on a milk crate or something when I remove all the bolts that hold it on. Thanks!

 

[Rogo]

I use ramps. I think they are 12K total capacity. I'm not sure. Thet were the larger capacity of the two at PepBoys. They work fine.

The skid plate is not all that heavy, but there are a ton of bolts. You'll have to remove both skid plates, as the front one is below the filter. Get some anti-seize compund. Not sure where you're located, but here in the rust belt, the bolts can get pretty stuck.

 

[PaulLR3]

Thanks for the anti-seize advice. I'm in Boston so I'm sure the winter road salt will cause the same problem on my LR3, not to mention the beach sand and Vermont mud.

 

[JackMac]

Just curious - you have a 2008 HSE. Oil changes are included within the maintenance program up to 50K miles. Why DIY at this point?

 

[PaulLR3]

Because the service advisors at the dealer insist that regular oil is just fine with 7500 mile change intervals. They also insist that I should not use synthetic oil. I've had this discussion with them twice and even if I tell them to use synthetic I don't trust them enough to know that they will actually put it in. I think 7500 change intervals with synthetic are fine, but that is a little long for regular oil. So, I'm changing it myself every 3750 with regular oil between the free dealer changes. Once it hits 50K I'll do my own changes with synthetic every 7500. The cost of doing the extra oil changes is small compared to the sticker on the LR3.

 

[morrisdl]

TRy sending a sample to these guys to confirm you concerns:

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

Test kits is free.