ok heres the deal, 5k oil change came up...
2nd time changing my oil

go up the ramp and BOOM the f******g ramp slides underneath my car, causing the side skirts to be pushed in...no way in hell would i have thought the slides would ahve gone underneath the car...i would have expected the ramps to slide out instead

thats ONE ramp then when i try to move the car again BOOM the second one...

so both of my side skirts are bent up pretty good...you cant really tell unless you look underneath my car...

but i am a freak about this kind of stuff, the fact that I know its there

on the passenger side, you can tell because you can see wrinkles in the paint

so heres my dilemna:
i just got enough money to get my audio stuff (interior speakers, amps etc) and the mediagate doms NAV and all the other goodies

so should i just wait to fix this cosmetic problem or get my equipment?
also if i fix this how much do you think it would cost? would it even be worth it? because I will be getting the a-spec kit sooner or later...sooner now probably

-Kevin

P.s. my family thought it was funny as sh!t...but im sure my fellow Tl'ers can understand my pain right now...

on the same note, better when i was in the drive and not underneath the car...

 

Can we get a side view from a normal point?

 

Is this a skirted way of saying that you drove OVER the ramp and it therefore ended up UNDER your car? Not sure how else this could have happened....(and why my buddy wont EVER use ramps on his car anymore...he did the same thing). You mention...slid...but the only way it can slide behind your wheels is if your drove over them completely and overshot the top.

My opinion would be....fix the damage now. I couldnt take it. Sorry this happened man....it does suck!

 

I'd fix it now if it bothers you. Seems like there is more than just minor cosmetic damage, probably more than you would want to live with.

In the future, jackstands and a floor jack

 

I didnt drive over it, it has to be when i hit the gas, the ramp was not "solid" on the ground (ie the rubber was not sticking on the ground) which caused it to rip underneath me

 

DRIVER'S side (not too concerned here)





PASSENGER SIDE (this side is f-up)










-also any idea aprox. how much to get something like this fixed?

-will this cause a problem when installing the a-spec kit?

 

Better yet, build your own ramps out of 2x10x8 boards. I did this 6 years ago. I do NOT use Rhino ramps for my TLs or my truck since they will slide in my driveway and my garage. I use my home built wooden ramps with stops at the end.

I just changed the oil in my '04 manual TL this morning.. using, of course, my wooden ramps. I gave away both sets of my Rhino ramps a while back.

 

see damn thats why i love this board because everyone knows how i am feeling..i think i might have to get the a-spec...

a-spec sides would replace the whole thing correcT?

 

doesnt aspec body kit get a completely new side skirt? If so i wouldnt get that fixed and just get the sound system you want. Its really not that noticable. my

 

Thats a pretty good idea. I dont actually change the oil in my driveway, I just go down to the shop where I used to work and use the lift but I do use my jackstands for other work. Those ramps are something I would consider making though just for ease of things when I cant put the car up in the air.


And as to the pics, doesnt look that bad, I'd say the call is on you as to whether or not you want to replace the sides.

 

If you get the a-spec kit, it comes with new side skirts.

Think about it, you had to drive onto the ramp and over the front of it for it to slide under the car. No matter what caused it, eitrher not knowing you were all the way on the ramp and you went too far, or you were on the ramp and hit the gas too hard, you still drove over the front of the ramp.

I did this on my 1G TL, but it was high enough that it didn't touch anything and I could jack up the car and get the ramp out. I gave them to my neighbor for his shop and never looked back. It's a jack and 4 jack stands for me every time.

edit: I write up a post as soon as I saw the question about the side skirts and the a-spec kit and submit it and there's 4 posts before mine now. This is a hot topic.

 

yes you are correct, I had to have drive over the ramp...

I am not denying it...just wondering what fellow tl'ers in my shoes would do right now...

 

Ah...I didnt look to see...just assumed you had A-Spec kit. Just get the kit...it will replace all that stuff anyway!

 

I forgot about the main question. If they don't look any worse in person than they do in the pictures, I would learn to live with it (which only you can decide if you can do) and get all the goodies. Then you can get your a-spec kit later on and replace the damaged side skirts.

 

 

Yeah, but Ron.. he's right. He KNOWS the damage is there whether or not it's that visible to others. I know how that can feel.

A few months ago, I installed 2"x10"x12" stops at the "high" end of my wooden ramps, using 4 strong "L" brackets on each ramp to secure the stops. While I have never over-driven these wooden ramps (or the Rhinos when I did use them with other cars), it's something I have always been very leary of. So on went the stops to my wooden ramps. This morning when I drove the car up onto the ramps, I saw and felt the tires contact the stops. I doubt if I would have driven over the ramps, but it's nice to know the stops did their job, I even have smooth metal handle on the ramps for easy carrying (though they ain't all that light). They raise my TLs perfectly and also working idealy for my Ranger pickup. I built them when I had my 2000 SVT Contour because due to its low front valance, it would not clear the Rhino ramps.. it just pushed them along the driveway.

 

Or, use the money you saved up for your stereo and buy the A-Spec kit!

SouthernBoy: Any pics of your custom ramps?

 

i've put hundreds of hours of use on the scisor jack that came with my 03TL-S.
The 3rd time I use the one on my 06, I hear a strange sound like metal bending slowly as I watch my car slam the pavement while the lip & bumper on that side break away. i needed 2 other jacks to lift the car & i noticed the platform on those are much larger. I'm not too pissed because i could've been squashed or mangled. I kinda blame myself, but only for using a scisor jack in the 1st place, not for using it incorrectly, because i didn't. this happened 4 months ago & i haven't done anything about it. I was going to at least post about it ( which I'm finally doing now ) and/or write a letter to the manufacturer, which my mom suggested I do. But i just put it behind me

the damage on yours doesn't look bad from the pics. I would live with it & put the money into enhancements rather than repairs. maybe get the underbody spoiler

 

^

This happened to me in my 92' Integra. I still use Rhino ramps I just put 2x4's before and after the ramp to secure it....

 

On straight pavement with E-brake on. Before you put an investment in the air like that take 5 extra mins and look where the correct lift points are. You only need just enough off the ground, your not doing a transmission swap.

 

I always make sure i have level ground, and I use the lift points...for oil changes, I use the jack, because I am in and out within 10 minutes. Other jobs I use jack stands never ramps...ramps take up too much room in the garage. Don't forget the parking brake.

 

WOW! That sux man...so sorry about that! I bet the MFG will say that the jack was only for emergency use and will get out of it that way though....kudos for you exercising patience though...I would be mad as heck and couldnt resist!

 

No sir. But picture this is you will.

The bottom 2"x10" board is around 32" long (don't know why I didn't make it 36"). The next one up is 26". Then the next one is 20", and the top one is 18" long for a 4-board height. They are screwed together with drywall screws and at the "high" end are the stops I mentioned which are just nearly squared sections of 2"x10" attached to the high end and extending up higher than the 4 boards by 3-4 inches. On the bottom two boards, I have sections of 1"x4"s to reduce smooth the rise up the incline.

 

I would wait a few weeks.. Heat has a way of allowing much of the deformed look to work itself out.. I would also gently apply pressure to that spot to assist in the fix.. Also,, I would def not spend the money to fix if thinking about ASPEC..

 

You get under a jacked up car without jack stands????? Do you mind if I take out an insurance policy on you? Jacks never fail right?

Do your self and your family a favor and use the jack stands. Maybe nothing will ever happen without using them, but maybe something will! It's just not worth the risk. Please use the stands!

 

I weigh 170 lbs, and I leave the tires on, I can basically fit under there without the jack in the first place, I just use the jack so the oil pan can fit. I think I am safe, but please dont try this at home!

 

I change the oil and filter without raising my 3G TL. I have a shallow drain pan and there's plenty of room to change oil and filter in my garage.

 

I'd wait for the a-spec kit you say you are going to install.

For previous cars, I used to use a long piece of 6x6 timbers cut with a long diagonal "ramp" and drive up on them but after hearing about how wood will suddenly fail I no longer use them. Sorry SouthernBoy I just can't sign on to using wood for ramps. I'm sure you built them well but it's just not for me.

I jack the car w/ a floor jack under the center front jacking point and then use jack stands under the side jacking points. Takes about 2 minutes and is safe and has very low risk of damaging the car.

 

There are no "open" areas under each progressively higher section on my wooden ramps. Just solid wood, the weight of the TL is nothing with these ramps. In fact, I would venture to say they are a number of times stronger than Rhino ramps.

 

They sound similar to these that Twigglius found.
http://www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/...amps/index.htm

 

Almost identical, though not as long as the ones in the picture. But the idea is the same, except for the stopper at the high end.

 

HEY.... NEVER use ramps.. geez. Just buy an SUV jack and some jackstands and you'll not have to worry about this.

 

Werd! A good low profile heavy duty jack like the Norco I use will run you around $180. Jack stands from wal-mart are around $10-15 (mack brand like the truck). I never crawl under a car not supported by jack stands. That's just suicide kinda like russian roulette.

 

I've been using my Rhino ramps for a good 10 years without an issue. When I went to do my first oil change on the my TL, the exact same thing happened to me. I've never had an issue with them, but both ramps shot underneath my car and missed up my side skirts just like yours. I completed my oil change with my floor jack and jack stands. I'm gonna have to look into some new ramps.

 

I guess I was lucky using my ultra-ramps with extensions. I didn't even bother having my wife guide me up the ramp. I just went up by "feel", as I could feel the bump stop at the end of the ramp...

In the end, I decided it took to long to take down and setup the ramps. Likewise with the floorjack and stands...

So if you're a lazy bum like me, you'll buy an air-assisted hydraulic floor jack...
I just got mine a few days ago... When I changed the oil... I rolled the jack under the car, connected jack to my compressor. Hit the valve. Pft, pft, pft, and 5 seconds later, my TL was 19" in the air, and I slid the stands under the car. Total time to setup jack, raise car, and set car on jack stands.... about 15 seconds

 

How much did the hydraulic run you?

 

Where do you guys think i can buy that hook like thing that you use on the scissor jacks that came stock with our cars? I am not sure where i lost it or if some one jacked it but i just noticed it a couple of days ago. Anyone know a place where i can buy just the hook like extension which rotates to lift the jack ?

 

It was like $252 with $93 shipping, because the jack weighs 100 pounds But's it's a heavy duty 3 ton jack. 5"-19" lift, which is pretty good.

If cost is an issue, you can go to costco online, and for $149 you can get a non-hydraulic air-jack. I was going to get that, but it's minimum clearance was 6.5" which was too tall to clear my other car.

However, the air-hydralic wasn't much better, because the saddle is 5" high, but the chassis is 7" towards the back. I'm still quite happy with my purchase tho. Saves me mucho time and energy.

The costco 3-bag air jack is much lighter. It's made out of the same stuff that the air-suspension on mack trucks rae made out of, so it should be durable/safe. If I had to do it over again, I would've probably have gotten that jack. It's lift range was something like 6.5" to 17" or something like that.

 

The same thing happened to me the first and last time I tried Rhino ramps with my TL. The one on the right slipped on the smooth garage floor and the right side of the car dropped onto it. Luckily, there was no damage to my car, but now I only use my four-ton floor jack and stands. The jack fits just fine under the car and can lift the entire front or rear high enough to put the stands on both sides.

 

I don't see any big deal second time around when you post those pictures. I'd get the stereo equipment rather than get "new" side skirts................