That's how I do it -- I keep all four on the ground unless I absolutely must lift it, and then I prefer stout ramps to jack stands.

I learned well from my father... the day the rear of the family's '64 Impala coupe pinned him to the driveway with the jack stands dutifully holding up the sky from their place about two feet outboard of the rear tire. After I retrieved the jack from underneath and got the car lifted off of him it turned out that he was bruised a bit but not seriously hurt, but right up until I got him loose I figured surely he must have been dying under there... what with all of his screaming like a little girl and all.

 

+1 to the sloping driveway technique, i never put a lot of thought into it until one day i realized that only 3.5-4 quarts were coming out of the pan even though i just checked the oil levels and it said it was full.

Also, I have seen Jack stands fail and it was not pretty. Luckily there was no one underneath the car when it happened! Ramps all the way.

 

Filter is after the pump. Filling the filter partially IS a good idea though, as there is less "dry time" on first startup after changing it.

 

Maybe this thread could be retitled, "The be-all, end-all oil change thread," then sticky it.

And then lock it down before everybody starts bickering about the best brand of motor oil, oil filter, and sex lube to use.

 

I've seen cheesy chineezy ramps fail, too -- that's not xenophobia, just recognition that the folks in China deliver the product as specified by the contracts awarded by their North American distributors.

I swear if I ever get rich my garage is going to have both a lube pit and a stout SOB of a hydraulic lift with the meatiest lock pins you ever saw... and try to avoid this kind of thing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjw2gQEBSc0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIEHbD2mWIA

 

That is crazy.

 

Definitely agree with you about the lack of quality regarding china products.
The first video, the tech didn't set the lift properly. I watched a tv program where they explained what happened.

 

I too pre-fill the oil filter maybe 3/4 of the way before installing it. Results in a noticeable decrease of "dry start-up chatter" after the change.

Does it really make a difference? Probably not, but I've already got the opened bottle of oil under there with me to get clean oil for the filter gasket, so I might as well pour some into the filter.

 

+1.... That's why I didn't mention what brands I use.

 

Actually, yes, it does indeed make a difference. 80+ % of engine wear occurs at startup, when there is no oil pressure. Starting with an empty filter prolongs that time. Anything you can do to make it shorter should be considered a Good Thing™.