Best Spot for Floor Jack and Jack Stand for oil change?

yankeesfan81 · June 29, 2020

On 6/23/2020 at 10:18 PM, AlaskaErik said:

I just drive up on ramps to change my oil and filter. If you plan on doing your own oil changes you should consider installing a Fumoto oil drain valve. The model you want is the F107N. Attach 12-18 inches of 3/8" ID clear vinyl tubing and it makes for a very clean oil change.

I had a Fumoto on an old Eclipse that I had but with ground clearance concerns, I never left it on. How far does this Fumoto hang down on the 6.2L and do you have any concerns with branches or anything catching the handle and opening the valve accidentally and dumping the oil?

UGADawgs · June 29, 2020

4 hours ago, yankeesfan81 said:

I had a Fumoto on an old Eclipse that I had but with ground clearance concerns, I never left it on. How far does this Fumoto hang down on the 6.2L and do you have any concerns with branches or anything catching the handle and opening the valve accidentally and dumping the oil?

Can't speak for the 6.2, but this is the 5.3. It looks like it just hangs there, but there are other bars and things that are lower than it. It would take a seriously branch to push the lever to the side and then pull it down. If you're over branches that strong, then you're muffing up other things too. At that point, I'd be more worried about a filter puncture.

Philipgonzales3 · June 29, 2020

On 6/23/2020 at 9:18 PM, AlaskaErik said:

I just drive up on ramps to change my oil and filter. If you plan on doing your own oil changes you should consider installing a Fumoto oil drain valve. The model you want is the F107N. Attach 12-18 inches of 3/8" ID clear vinyl tubing and it makes for a very clean oil change.

I just put in an order for a Fumoto valve. According to this site the F137 is the one for the truck. I think it is just the newer model with larger body for faster changes. Thread size seems to be the same as F107. I went with F137S, the one with the short nipple valve. Guess we'll see on my next oil change which is still close to 6 months away (won't hit the mileage due to working from home because of the coronavirus).

AlaskaErik · June 29, 2020

9 hours ago, yankeesfan81 said:

I had a Fumoto on an old Eclipse that I had but with ground clearance concerns, I never left it on. How far does this Fumoto hang down on the 6.2L and do you have any concerns with branches or anything catching the handle and opening the valve accidentally and dumping the oil?

It hangs down, but it's protected by lots of metal in front of it. You'd have to work really hard at running over something that would push and then twist the valve open. We're talking odds in the trillions. If you're running in a really hazardous environment, you should be running skid plates. I have a Fumoto on my Jeep Wrangler, but it's skid plate protected, so no problems.

UGADawgs · June 29, 2020

7 hours ago, Philipgonzales3 said:

I just put in an order for a Fumoto valve. According to this site the F137 is the one for the truck. I think it is just the newer model with larger body for faster changes. Thread size seems to be the same as F107. I went with F137S, the one with the short nipple valve. Guess we'll see on my next oil change which is still close to 6 months away (won't hit the mileage due to working from home because of the coronavirus).

Interesting. Very cool they made a bigger one.

Philipgonzales3 · June 29, 2020

23 minutes ago, UGADawgs said:

Interesting. Very cool they made a bigger one.

Meant to put the link in my previous post.

https://www.fumotooildrainvalve.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoub3BRC6ARIsABGhnyYt1cKHEynI5WJISxD6ICR5gCuovFlYgmL1kSSxpZ9mkuOB1s3TULgaArEtEALw_wcB

Gives you the option to select 2019, whereas futomoto USA site doesn't. I ordered from Amazon just to be safe. Not sure if both sites are legit but I assume they are lol.

UGADawgs · June 29, 2020

39 minutes ago, Philipgonzales3 said:

Meant to put the link in my previous post.

https://www.fumotooildrainvalve.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoub3BRC6ARIsABGhnyYt1cKHEynI5WJISxD6ICR5gCuovFlYgmL1kSSxpZ9mkuOB1s3TULgaArEtEALw_wcB

Gives you the option to select 2019, whereas futomoto USA site doesn't. I ordered from Amazon just to be safe. Not sure if both sites are legit but I assume they are lol.

yeah, they are all the same. I've ordered from both. 5% back with Amazon card though.

Coastie · June 29, 2020

ramps and I went with https://www.valvomax.com/

UGADawgs · June 29, 2020

8 minutes ago, Coastie said:

ramps and I went with https://www.valvomax.com/

nice, never seen that before.

Philipgonzales3 · June 29, 2020

3 hours ago, UGADawgs said:

yeah, they are all the same. I've ordered from both. 5% back with Amazon card though.

Yep I actually have about $80 worth of points on my card right now. Going to see if Amazon carries any ramps. Lol

Philipgonzales3 · June 30, 2020

6 hours ago, UGADawgs said:

yeah, they are all the same. I've ordered from both. 5% back with Amazon card though.

I chickend out and cancelled my order. Read a few 1 star reviews about the valve slowly leaking oil (defective probably) and a couple more about debris or somethint causing the valve to open. I know probably super unlikely but after seeing those reviews and what not, there's no way I can run this without thinking about the worst case scenario all the time. I have generalized anxiety disorder/panic attacks, so kind of why I ask for step by step of everything so I can plot out everything that could go wrong to try and avoid it. Lol guess I'll just have to deal with potentially making a mess. No biggie.

Chebby · July 3, 2020

OP, whenever getting under your truck, redundancy is the name of the game. I always use a combination of a garage jack and jack stands. Let the weight settle on the stands, but keep the jack firmly under the center of the frame cross member—not enough to lift the frame off the stands but enough that, in the extremely rare event you have a problem with the stands, the truck doesn’t have to fall any distance at all to be caught by the jack.

And yes, jack stands do fail. Harbor Freight just recalled a substantial number of 6-ton stands because they were collapsing. Word to the wise, that is the last place I would go for a jack or stands. I say this as someone who owned the recalled 6-ton stands.

As others have pointed out, if the wheels aren’t coming off, homemade wooden ramps are best (zero chance of collapse). There are probably several videos on YouTube for making your own (and for showing you the best jack points on your truck).

Edited July 3, 2020 by Chebby

MobileMatt · July 7, 2020

On 7/3/2020 at 7:10 AM, Chebby said:

Harbor Freight just recalled a substantial number of 6-ton stands because they were collapsing.

Just got that email this morning.....after I spent Sunday under and around my wife's super husky Landy LR4 doing brake pads and bleeding fluid. My son was helping out and I told him a few times not to get under the vehicle. The "6 ton" stands I was using were HF and on the "eligible for refund" list. Felt a lil upset after seeing that. I cheaped out when buying those because I was cash strapped at the time and have used them for years without issue. Now, I want to return them and get new ones.

SO, my apologies for the thread hijack - but which Jack Stands are y'all using that you would recommend? I would prefer to stay away from anything made in China at this point. Thanks!