Safest way to get under a lowered car?

[viperx]

Use stands.
Also get a couple of heavyweights musclemen from the nearby gym to hold the car up while its on stands... pays to be extra careful.
Helmet... always a must.
Googles.. in case the oil gets into your eyes.
Flame-retardant suit... freak fires.

ok, back to reality.. do you guys think bricks will do the job too?

Bricks may crack...

I use two stands plus a hydraulic jack

[Chi]

I use jack stands, and I got lots of steelie wheels and i place about 1 or 2 on each side underneath for safe measure.

[EG5[KRT]]

why not use a jack with a piece of wood on top.

then put jack stand underneath

then over to the other side and do the same.

if jacking front pull up hand brake reallly high

if jacking up bak put gear in reverse to stop from moving.

[Nav2k]

i use a scissorjack to get under the side skirts of the car cos the trolley jack wont fit underneath...so use scissorjack a bit then slide in trolley jack under the kframe at the front.or diff at the rear..jack it up using the hydraulic trolley jack, then lower it on some stands where the jackpoints are on each side..

lowering it back down is quite annoying...put in trolley jack at kframe or diff, raise it a bit, remove stands, lower it slowly onto a scissor jack thats not too high, then bring the trolley jack out, undo scissor jack.

all this is done without me getting under the car..just my arms reaching for the trolley handle..until the stands r up.

while doing all this i just have bricks or a rock at the rear wheels if jacking fronts, or other way round with handbrake tightly up.

[DomenEK]

Ok, since I'm changing the oil + filter, is it going to make my job more difficult if I only put the front end up on stands? i.e. does the car need to be level to change the oil?

[viperx]

no- you're not gonna create such a huge angle its gonna change the drainage (it's never complete anyway

[syphex]

changing oil etc. is always dont best if u can just get under the car on a steep bit and get a spanner to the sump bolt.
or use as little jacking up as possible.

[gnx1987]

Jacking the car at the back by putting the jack under the dif would be a bit hard if you've got a front wheeler. And if and when you do jack up the back put some blocks of wood or whatever in front of the wheels don't just rely on the reverse gear. Also when you but the jack stands under the car make sure they're on the designated lift points. The angle of the car shouldn't matter when the oil comes out because the sump plug is likely to be at the back (or really the side of the engine that faces the back) of the engine (it is on mine). You should be able to reach the oil filter from under the car. Don't forget to wipe a bit of oil on the rubber ring on the oil filter before you put the new filter back on.

[vividjazz]

Don't work under a car while its held up by just a jack or jacks. Put it on 4 stands after jacking.

If the jack gets knocked or just releases its not pretty. Its hard to bench press a car.