C5 Oil change simplified

[Cruzen]

Only once in my life have I ever paid someone to change the oil in any of my cars and that had to do with being on the road away from home. I preparation of doing the oil change on my C5, I got on the boards and read all the procedures related to changing oil in the C5 specifically the ideas about keeping the car level due to the flat oil pan etc. Most suggested to put the front of the Vette up on ramps then raise the rear level with the front. What a waste!! Here’s what I did.

Every drive, garage floor or whatever has a slight slope. I pointed the nose of the car down the slope. Put a jack on the drivers side under the shipping mounting hole then raised the Vette up so I could get under. I removed the drain plug, crawled out from under the Vette and lowered it back down making sure it cleared the drain pan. It was now level with the nose pointed down the slope and the oil was draining nicely. I removed the oil filler cap and pulled the dip stick up a bit to better vent the engine. I then went into the house ( it was already in the high 90’s at 7:00a.m. when I was doing this and I was sweating) fixed breakfast. Went back out after breakfast and saw that the oil had stopped dripping. Raised the Vette back up, got underneath replaced the drain plug and pulled the oil filter. Replaced the filter dropped the car back down and refilled with 6.5 quarts of oil. End of project!!

I don’t see the need to go through all the trouble with ramps under the front and jack stands under the rear etc. Why all the bother?? I did the same with one 38 year old floor jack. By the way, many years ago I fabricated a steel brace that fits between the raising pad of my floor jack and it’s frame. Once the car is raised I jam this brace under the pad just in case the jack’s hydraulic cylinder leaks down or fails completely. That way the car will not drop down on me. In 38 years this has never happened but you never know.

The trip is short,
enjoy the ride,
Denny

 

[cscarlson]

Sounds good. hey... i will be over for an oil change..

 

[gmjunkie]

Only once in my life have I ever paid someone to change the oil in any of my cars and that had to do with being on the road away from home. I preparation of doing the oil change on my C5, I got on the boards and read all the procedures related to changing oil in the C5 specifically the ideas about keeping the car level due to the flat oil pan etc. Most suggested to put the front of the Vette up on ramps then raise the rear level with the front. What a waste!! Here’s what I did.

Every drive, garage floor or whatever has a slight slope. I pointed the nose of the car down the slope. Put a jack on the drivers side under the shipping mounting hole then raised the Vette up so I could get under. I removed the drain plug, crawled out from under the Vette and lowered it back down making sure it cleared the drain pan. It was now level with the nose pointed down the slope and the oil was draining nicely. I removed the oil filler cap and pulled the dip stick up a bit to better vent the engine. I then went into the house ( it was already in the high 90’s at 7:00a.m. when I was doing this and I was sweating) fixed breakfast. Went back out after breakfast and saw that the oil had stopped dripping. Raised the Vette back up, got underneath replaced the drain plug and pulled the oil filter. Replaced the filter dropped the car back down and refilled with 6.5 quarts of oil. End of project!!

I don’t see the need to go through all the trouble with ramps under the front and jack stands under the rear etc. Why all the bother?? I did the same with one 38 year old floor jack. By the way, many years ago I fabricated a steel brace that fits between the raising pad of my floor jack and it’s frame. Once the car is raised I jam this brace under the pad just in case the jack’s hydraulic cylinder leaks down or fails completely. That way the car will not drop down on me. In 38 years this has never happened but you never know.

The trip is short,
enjoy the ride,
Denny

Some of us check the Fluid in our differential and 6sp!!

I'm sure glad you explained the last part on the Jack,I was gett'n ready to ream you on it!!!

 

[Cruzen]

Some of us check the Fluid in our differential and 6sp!!

I'm sure glad you explained the last part on the Jack,I was gett'n ready to ream you on it!!!

Yep! Yep! and rightly so!

On my other cars, 94 Vette, 55 Chevy etc. I put a jack stand under the frame and drop the load onto the jack stand. There did not seem to be sufficient room for that under the C5 without potential of doing panel damage. Anyway it was easy, which may suite others more so than the ramps, floor jack scenario, and relatively quick with the exception that for some reason I had to raise the Vette higher after breakfast than before breakfast. Must have been due to the heat!!

The trip is short,
enjoy the ride,
Denny

 

[Cruzen]

Sounds good. hey... i will be over for an oil change..

Just leave it in your driveway with the keys in the ignition and I'll be right over...........

 

[TooFast]

You know, that is very simple and a great idea. Next year when I change my oil, I will back the car in to the garage!

 

[Smmmokin']

Any reason this idea won't fly on an '08 Z06?

 

[Tuna]

When I owned C5's I just didn't let it bother me that all the old oil didn't drain out during an oil change with just the front up on ramps. There are lots of vehicles out there that always leave a little old oil in the engine after an oil change, so I just drove mine up on ramps and changed the oil and filter. I'm still doing that with my C6's - then I don't have the 'dry sump' systems that the ZO6 has either.

 

[Patman]

When I owned C5's I just didn't let it bother me that all the old oil didn't drain out during an oil change with just the front up on ramps. There are lots of vehicles out there that always leave a little old oil in the engine after an oil change, so I just drove mine up on ramps and changed the oil and filter.

I'm the same way, I really wonder why so many people go to the trouble of jacking up the back end just to get out a tiny little bit more oil. When you factor in the huge 6.5 quart sump in these engines, that little bit of extra leftover oil only represents a small percentage of the total. Besides, most C5 owners tend to change their oil way before the oil life monitor hits zero, so the oil they are draining is still in great shape already.

I wait for my oil life monitor to hit zero (which in the case of my 98 usually means between 6000 to 7000 miles), and don't jack up the rear ever when I change oil, I just drive the fronts up on rhino ramps. But yet my oil analysis results always look very good and based on those I'm very confident my engine will last a very long time (it's currently at 106,000 miles and runs like new)

 

[5thgeneration]

Back car on ramps change oil. Drive car off ramps your done ! DUH !

 

[njlouc]

Nice car!!
Is there a way to make it little safer. It looks a little dangerous to me.
possibly an additional jack??

 

[5thgeneration]

It's safe. Front ramps are Race Ramps Roll Ups which are a solid piece and cannot collapse. The rear of the car is on Rhino Ramps. The load rating on the Rhino's is well above what the rear of car is. I do however want to get Race Ramps for the rear which are higher than the Roll Ups which are also solid pieces and cannot collapse. The Race Ramps also will not slide on any surface. Though pricey I think they are worth it. In my opinion the only thing better would be a Backyard Buddy 4 post lift ! Car is an '02 which I purchased new and " birthed " down at the assembly plant in July '02.

 

[mstromquist]

Hey Cruzen, Nice write up. Going to have to try that.

BTW, Love your 98. I've got one in the garage as well..

 

[Cruzen]

Hey Cruzen, Nice write up. Going to have to try that.

BTW, Love your 98. I've got one in the garage as well..

I see you're not too far from me. Maybe I have seen your Vette. Ever attend the Saturday night Pavilions car show in Scottsdale?? I was a regular there for about ten years however for the last few years I don't get there often unless I am planning on meeting someone. Let me know and maybe we can meet up there some time.

The trip is short,
enjoy the ride,
Denny

 

[mstromquist]

I have been there a few times. It is pretty fun to go around and see all the other rides. I work Saturday nights unfortunately. When I do have one off, I usually head to the Pav's. I have a couple off for sure in November and December so I will give you a pm and see if we can meet up.