Curious, because today I hit an HARD object on the road (managed to hit dead center) that tore up the plastic underneath (one of the "ears" with the bolt hole in it ripped from the main plastic, which I "fixed" with a mending strap cantilevered to hold the main plastic up and from flapping), as well as the leading edge of a peice of tin that is between the exhaust pipe and the body about halfway back. The car literally jumped. That car is so low it's hard to see under, much less GET under enough to see up into the center area. It's hard to imagine ramps that would even work, unless they were very long and gradual. I couldn't see any damage to anything important.

BTW, just a couple of hours earlier, I passed the 10,000 mile mark, about 7 weeks after I rolled it off the dealer's lot

 

I use wheel ramps to get under the car. This gives me plenty of room to remove the front belly pan.

Here is a picture from when I installed the fog lamps.

 

If you have never done this before, I don't recommend that you do it without help from someone who has. A very bad thing can happen if you make a mistake.

 

Done what before? Drive a car onto ramps? Yes, starting 35 years ago. I just didn't think the car would accept regular ramps because it might hit the bumper before the wheel started going up. Guess I need to get a set of ramps again

 

Good to hear it. Just concerned. I'm generally a do-it-yourselfer too, but I worry about others who try to go off advice on the web or for home projects, home improvement t.v. shows, and find themselves in trouble. Good luck on that inspection. Hopefully it won't reveal anything expensive.

 

how hard is it to remove the front bumper? if it's a clearance problem can you do that, and then use standard ramps?

 

Just place a ramp in front of each wheel, and drive straight up onto the ramps, stop when the tire hits the ramp stop, put the car in park, and set the parking brake.

It is really just that easy.

To remove the bumper, first remove the center chrome grille, then pull the fasteners from under the bumper, and pop off the bumper side clips. Be sure to put a blanket under the bumper so when it comes off, it won't get scratched on the floor. The fog lamp instructions come with a diagram of where all the fasteners are.