Never for so much as two seconds put your head under a car that is supported only on a jack. At the very least, shove the wheel you have just removed under the cill or lowest sturdy looking point. Axle stands are fine if the ground is flat and secure – eg concrete.

Hydraulic jacks are often used to lift elevators in low and medium rise buildings. A hydraulic jack uses a liquid, which is incompressible, that is forced into a cylinder by a pump plunger. Oil is used since it is self lubricating and stable.

Hydraulic jacks are extremely useful mechanical devices which are employed to lift heavy loads up. Using hydraulics, these jacks are able to afford greater lift over larger distances. Floor jacks have wheels or castors and are often found in garages. These jacks are able to lift a heavier load than bottle jacks.

Leaving a jack up overnight is dangerous to the car and its surroundings. Not so much to the jack per se, but even the slightest leak can cause it to collapse over time. Also the jack, like a torque wrench, should be stored with the valve open and the jack dropped, to reduce issues with the spring.

But without a jack, it’s best to do the work somewhere pliable and soft. Turn your car off and engage your emergency brake fully. First, find something you can use as a blocking tool to slide under the side of the axle closest to the flat tire. With enough room to work, remove the nuts on the tire with a tire iron.

It is not necessary to remove any of the engine under covers to access the filter. The filter is in front of a semi-circular indentation in the oil pan and hangs down (not sideways mounted.) You will need to use a cap oil filter wrench; bring a replacement filter with you when shopping for the oil filter wrench.

A floor jack is not safe to support a car by itself. The hydraulic pressure inside the jack’s slave cylinder is what’s holding up that car. A good floor jack makes it easy to lift a car high enough to work on it. Block the other wheels to keep the car from rolling off either the jack or those stands.

Jack stands: Jack stands may be the most overlooked safety equipment items in a DIY garage. Jack stands do not lift vehicles. Instead, they provide a safe, fixed support for a raised vehicle.

The easy solution is to keep a few thick plates of steel laying around (I prefer 12″X12″ at minimum) to set underneath of the jack stands. This spreads the weight/force of the jack stands across the entire plate. This way you’re less likely to damage your driveway and your jack stands won’t sink and start to tilt.