Thread: Oil Change on a 3.1L V6

Here is the oil pan, only has 1 drain plug.

The filter is on the front side of the motor just above the oil pan, look between the metal sub frame and oil pan/motor and it's there. Oil will run down the side, have some brake cleaner or something with a rag to clean it up.

You can jack it up on the metal subframe, I choose the 1 of the corners where the control arm bolts into the subframe and jack it up high enough for me to squeeze under there, I place the jack stand either under the subframe area or under that sides control arm just incase. Personally I don't care to get both front tires off the ground, I'm alright with not getting that last 1/4th of a quart of old oil from the one corner out when I only jack up one side.

this is where i jack the car up from, the jack cup is over the sub frame bushing and bolt.



you can put your jack stands on the frame to the right of the jack.

if you have a strong enough jack you can jack from the middle of the front part of the sub frame, and lift both wheels up at the same time. then put the jack stands under the frame, lower the jack slowly.

car ramps are the easy way to get it up in the air. they are on sale all the time at parts stores and harbor freight.

that jack should be ok for lifting the front of the car all at once. just make sure your on the frame not its not gonna slide off, you can take out the rad or worse.

the jack stands if you got a harbor freight near by they cost 25 bucks for 3 ton stands. no delivery charge of course.

not sure what part of earth your from lol

i just picked up the ones HF sells, had a full size work van on them to change the starter. held like a champ.


http://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-s...nds-61196.html check the store locator see if they are in your area. if they are you can hate me for turning you on to this place lol its the land of cheap tools of all kinds.

I was just looking at those lol. I noticed some negative reviews though. http://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-h...nds-38846.html

but you used them for your van. My pontiac only weighs around 3,743 lbs. I'm sure they will hold up.

the negative reviews are from user error. aka morons. im sure the guy with a bent foot had the car sliding off it.(making the stand lean hard) you want to set the lips on the stands to the edges of your frame for stability. locking them under the frame.

Where the ass in glass is, directly under that is the metal subframe, you can see the little bit of rust color on the edge. It's pretty much a square metal frame.

keep is simple. try a pair of ramps

Originally Posted by Madness

keep is simple. try a pair of ramps

Ramps are really not simple. I have also NEVER been a fan of ramps. I would bet more people are hurt using ramps than using jack/jack stands.

Ramps are from my experience not fun, you gotta line it up right and not to try to scrape the bumper or fly off the end. On my car and my moms I had to used wood so it wouldn't scrape. My moms car was worse because the trans slips and im afraid of it catching 1st and making a big problem.

Jack and stands is literally 2 min, chok thenrear wheels, jack up from front of the sub frame, slide two jack stands on either side in the middle of the sub frame roughly. Lower car on stands done, I like to move the jack out of the way but still keep it supporting some weight of the car.

Sent from the Milky Way

ramps are fine, you need to use common sense like anything else. like dont use them on dirt or grass with out a board under them. or they sink and kill you.

dont use them on your driveway on a hot ass day as they will sink into the driveway and leave nice scars. always use a board under them on a drive way. cement is fine. asphalt will get f ed up

once they are bent, toss em out, buy a new pair.

the big one, always set the e brake while in gear, then put the car in neutral. let of the pedal brake let the car settle, then into park.

when its time to come off the ramps, put it in gear first, then take the e brake off. doing this will keep it from doing that god awe full clunk.

this is how you should also park on hill to keep from the park pawl getting hung on. provided your e brake works.