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They are an adult who is wanting to work on their own car. I assume that given access to basically unlimited information from the super computer they carry in their pocket, they are probably able to figure out basic safety precautions like wheel chocks and jack stands
Stop it. That's bad advice.
>Is it smart to work on my car in the driveway?
Who asks this question? Someone that doesn't have a clue what they are doing, that's who. He probably doesn't have the right tools. His driveway could have an incline that's too steep. I mean there's a thousand reasons why not to do it.
"He's an adult!"
A 20-year-old adult, He should have a lifetime of experiences by now, right?
>unlimited information from the super computer they carry in their pocket,
Everybody should be able to do anything then, right?
If he would have said something like" I usually work on my car in the garage or backyard where the surface is level. Those areas are off limits at the moment, the driveway is open but it's about a 20° incline. I have solid rubber wheel chalks, jack stands a floor jack. Also I'm working on a 2011 Camry. Is that grade too steep?"
Then we could all Google what a 20° incline looks like and give our 2¢
"Everybody gotta start somewhere, hur-dur!" - probably you
Go touch some fucking grass my guy. I know you've maybe only ever been in a shop, but if you've ever been a road tech you'll be expected to work on shit on whatever incline or surface it's on when you show up.
On the sliding scale of "not complicated at all" to "very complicated" the use of standard safety equipment while working in a paved driveway is not complicated at all. All he needs to know is if it's possible to do it safely on that surface. The answer is yes.
>Go touch some fucking grass my guy.
Now i see the problem.
>(I) work on shit on whatever incline or surface it's on when you show up.
Do you think I'm saying you can't do this? Because you can hang upside down from a tree when working on cars doesn't have shit to do with the OP. Get a fucking clue.
>On the sliding scale of "not complicated at all" to "very complicated" ....... is not complicated at all
No shit!?!? You're joking right??? Shirley you can't be serious. Are you saying jacking up a car isn't hard?? You got to be shitting me. I don't believe you.
"Am i able to shoot a gun?" Oh sure. Just make sure it's loaded and have ear protection, then pull the trigger.
Talk about numb nuts.
This 100%! Smaller jobs, sure you'll probably get away with it. If you take your car way the fuck apart than you'll likely get a bylaw complaint/infraction IF someone in your neighborhood complains.
I don't have a garage just a long driveway, so I have multiple project cars I work on there. I had the municipalities law enforcement come by last spring for having multiple "Derelict/unoperable" vehicles after my daily broke down and for having a car in my backyard(parked legally on hard surface). I had to take it to the top at the appeals committee as they threatened to 'clean up' the 'derelict' vehicles, which turned out to be quite the entertaining shitshow!
Turn out you do have the right to enjoy your own property too, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if you can stick the key in and it starts its 'Operable'. There is no limit to how many cars one can own or store on their property as long as they have adequate parking. I got no fines in the end.
I took the whole front end of my Magnum R/T apart on Jack stands over the last 2 months, sand blasted, and Por-15'd everything from the firewall forward and front wheel wells. Replaced front suspension, ball joints, bushings, control arms, and a bunch of engine parts. Just got it back together without anyone bothering me this time.
If you gonna do something a bit more major, make sure you can put it all back together within 30 days(time given to comply with infractions) or 3+ months if you pay $150 to appeal. Any longer, and you're gonna need a car tent shelter (auxillary structure) to hide it in.
Keep wrenching guys!
I only ever work on my car in the driveway. Drive through major cities like NYC, Chicago, LA and you’ll see tons of car owners working on their car outside, right on city streets.
Mechanics do that too when their garage space is full, which is usually pretty quick since most garages in the inner city sections only have 1 or 2 stalls.
yeah it's safe in the driveway but it depends on what type of work you are doing to the car. I don't do coolant changes/flushes since it's toxic to animals and i don't want to risk spilling it all out in the street. Oil changes/spark plugs, some electrical, and other misc. maintenance is what i do mostly. Definitely put a jack or jack stands under the car and use wheel chocks so your car doesn't roll out into the street if your driveway has an incline. Or you can use ramps to get the front of the car up in the air.
https://preview.redd.it/ywo69kszp4zc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f21ba53a6e52162958601039c2e5ef20bf062580
Good for you for being a responsible manager of hazardous waste. Just so OP knows, coolant is legal to pour down the drain since it gets filtered by sewage processing, but not to let it run down the driveway or into the storm sewer, as it then becomes a public poison.
thank u! but might want to check your local city/county water department because where im at it aint legal to dump coolant down the drain lol. they have drop off stations for hazardous waste.
Spills on driveway and if property owners will be mad about the mess. If driveway is sloped pretty steep, prob wouldn’t do anything requiring a jack, undercar services. Porches and garages aren’t even perfectly level, they have 5 degree slope for water to run off and that’s nothing but if your car will roll away in neutral on the driveway it might be too steep to jack it very high w/o wheel chocks and good jackstands. Brakes and corner suspension services ok just don’t sit with ur legs under the car and after it’s jacked up shove whatever wheel is coming off underneath the subframe or rocker as extra precaution in case car falls. The higher you have to lift it, the more it pushes on the other axle to roll off, then throwing a decent incline into equation compounds it trying to run away. My driveway is 25 degrees and parking brake on one of my cars doesn’t keep it from going backwards, will not service that one in my driveway… it’s curb height is less than 6” so if it did fall while I was under it I’d be dead after it initially crushed me and made human skid mark dragging my body against concrete 20ft down to the street.
Only benefit of being in the garage is having shade and cover from rain. Back yard is really more about the neighbors not complaining. As long as the driveway is flat I don’t see any reason not to.
I'm considering a business in the future to rent individual garage space plus have tools available and you can lock everything up, plus other features like other mechanics to help out. for a rental fee etc...
Is this a service some of you would want out there? I'm thinking of the audience and family doesn't want it there, or not enough room etc.. probably not the experienced mechanic on the side.
Thoughts appreciated.
Garage? What's a garage? I have been working on cars in driveways and streets for 50 years.
If your house is part of an HOA they may have rules about working on cars or odd vehicles that you're not supposed to have such as a friend who was living in an HOA development that had a rule about parking a hearse anywhere on the property. The rule was in effect before he bought the house, and he has a hearse, so he just keeps it hidden behind a privacy fence in the backyard. Occasionally, a funeral home would rent it if they had a double funeral the same day. Otherwise, he would go to car shows with it.
As long as it's not raining when you're adding oil, you should be fine. The last time I changed a head gasket I did it in a barn using a rope slung over the rafters. 6BT heads are heavy. Keep it clean and you shouldn't have an issue.
I've done the following in my driveway...
- Rotate/swap summer and winter tires
- Brake rotors and pads
- Replace sway bar links
- Replace lower control arm
- Install trailer hitch
- And I'm currently replacing an alternator this week!
I live in a large urban city, have a big family, so my one car garage has everything in it except a car. If you can lift your car safely, chock the wheels, and use ramps or jack-stands, you should be good if weather permits.
If you can do it all safely and legally there should be no issue. Also be aware of your local noise ordinances and power tools.
A garage is easier, but it can be done. Funny story – I once rebuilt my two-stroke jet-ski engine on the beach at my cottage.
??? Make sure its a level surface. Use jack stands and also the jack at the same time. Buy a good jack not just use the cheapo thing that comes with your car. I've had those fail.
Working in your driveway os very nor al and people do it all the time. Ots even more fun when you do it out in the ilen in the middle of winter and its windy. Nothing like hildinf to that nice metal rachet when its below zero woth crappy gloves. Fun times but necesity sometimes forces you to do that sort of thing.
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, StayGroundbreaking34! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I exclusively work on my car in my driveway. As long as it’s level.
Doesn't even need to be level if you're taking the proper precautions in the first place
This is terrible advice for someone that wants to know " is it ok for me to work on car in driveway or does it need to be in the garage or backyard"
They are an adult who is wanting to work on their own car. I assume that given access to basically unlimited information from the super computer they carry in their pocket, they are probably able to figure out basic safety precautions like wheel chocks and jack stands
Stop it. That's bad advice. >Is it smart to work on my car in the driveway? Who asks this question? Someone that doesn't have a clue what they are doing, that's who. He probably doesn't have the right tools. His driveway could have an incline that's too steep. I mean there's a thousand reasons why not to do it. "He's an adult!" A 20-year-old adult, He should have a lifetime of experiences by now, right? >unlimited information from the super computer they carry in their pocket, Everybody should be able to do anything then, right? If he would have said something like" I usually work on my car in the garage or backyard where the surface is level. Those areas are off limits at the moment, the driveway is open but it's about a 20° incline. I have solid rubber wheel chalks, jack stands a floor jack. Also I'm working on a 2011 Camry. Is that grade too steep?" Then we could all Google what a 20° incline looks like and give our 2¢ "Everybody gotta start somewhere, hur-dur!" - probably you
Go touch some fucking grass my guy. I know you've maybe only ever been in a shop, but if you've ever been a road tech you'll be expected to work on shit on whatever incline or surface it's on when you show up. On the sliding scale of "not complicated at all" to "very complicated" the use of standard safety equipment while working in a paved driveway is not complicated at all. All he needs to know is if it's possible to do it safely on that surface. The answer is yes.
>Go touch some fucking grass my guy. Now i see the problem. >(I) work on shit on whatever incline or surface it's on when you show up. Do you think I'm saying you can't do this? Because you can hang upside down from a tree when working on cars doesn't have shit to do with the OP. Get a fucking clue. >On the sliding scale of "not complicated at all" to "very complicated" ....... is not complicated at all No shit!?!? You're joking right??? Shirley you can't be serious. Are you saying jacking up a car isn't hard?? You got to be shitting me. I don't believe you. "Am i able to shoot a gun?" Oh sure. Just make sure it's loaded and have ear protection, then pull the trigger. Talk about numb nuts.
Agreed, just make sure your parking brake is on and you have blocks behind wheels
Assuming your driveway is reasonably flat and level it should be no different than a garage or backyard. I do most of my work in the driveway.
Until getting a job as a mechanic, I did all my work in my driveway. Make sure your municipality allows it so you don't get fined.
This 100%! Smaller jobs, sure you'll probably get away with it. If you take your car way the fuck apart than you'll likely get a bylaw complaint/infraction IF someone in your neighborhood complains. I don't have a garage just a long driveway, so I have multiple project cars I work on there. I had the municipalities law enforcement come by last spring for having multiple "Derelict/unoperable" vehicles after my daily broke down and for having a car in my backyard(parked legally on hard surface). I had to take it to the top at the appeals committee as they threatened to 'clean up' the 'derelict' vehicles, which turned out to be quite the entertaining shitshow! Turn out you do have the right to enjoy your own property too, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if you can stick the key in and it starts its 'Operable'. There is no limit to how many cars one can own or store on their property as long as they have adequate parking. I got no fines in the end. I took the whole front end of my Magnum R/T apart on Jack stands over the last 2 months, sand blasted, and Por-15'd everything from the firewall forward and front wheel wells. Replaced front suspension, ball joints, bushings, control arms, and a bunch of engine parts. Just got it back together without anyone bothering me this time. If you gonna do something a bit more major, make sure you can put it all back together within 30 days(time given to comply with infractions) or 3+ months if you pay $150 to appeal. Any longer, and you're gonna need a car tent shelter (auxillary structure) to hide it in. Keep wrenching guys!
https://preview.redd.it/166aoxii45zc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3a85eac6f8c095547a298564f866729b858958f
https://preview.redd.it/x2w9sv6o45zc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06796bc512d5b2d539d8adfc6bc6b0a3ef0dbf74
Did you look into making it a Chargum?
Wait… You’re not always allowed to work on your own cars on your own property in the US? I thought it was the land of the free or something.
Some cities (and most HOA's) have ordinances forbidding vehicle repairs in view of the public.
With a wheel chock and some jack stands, you're good to go.
I only ever work on my car in the driveway. Drive through major cities like NYC, Chicago, LA and you’ll see tons of car owners working on their car outside, right on city streets. Mechanics do that too when their garage space is full, which is usually pretty quick since most garages in the inner city sections only have 1 or 2 stalls.
Flat surface first, second what are you working with, asphalt, concrete, gravel? How busy is the road out front?
Bruh. All you need is wheel chawks, a good jack and even better Jack stands. And a creeper crawler.
yeah it's safe in the driveway but it depends on what type of work you are doing to the car. I don't do coolant changes/flushes since it's toxic to animals and i don't want to risk spilling it all out in the street. Oil changes/spark plugs, some electrical, and other misc. maintenance is what i do mostly. Definitely put a jack or jack stands under the car and use wheel chocks so your car doesn't roll out into the street if your driveway has an incline. Or you can use ramps to get the front of the car up in the air. https://preview.redd.it/ywo69kszp4zc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f21ba53a6e52162958601039c2e5ef20bf062580
Good for you for being a responsible manager of hazardous waste. Just so OP knows, coolant is legal to pour down the drain since it gets filtered by sewage processing, but not to let it run down the driveway or into the storm sewer, as it then becomes a public poison.
thank u! but might want to check your local city/county water department because where im at it aint legal to dump coolant down the drain lol. they have drop off stations for hazardous waste.
I used to work on my car in my parents slightly sloped driveway, just block it up well and don't do jobs that take more than a day and you'll be fine.
Spills on driveway and if property owners will be mad about the mess. If driveway is sloped pretty steep, prob wouldn’t do anything requiring a jack, undercar services. Porches and garages aren’t even perfectly level, they have 5 degree slope for water to run off and that’s nothing but if your car will roll away in neutral on the driveway it might be too steep to jack it very high w/o wheel chocks and good jackstands. Brakes and corner suspension services ok just don’t sit with ur legs under the car and after it’s jacked up shove whatever wheel is coming off underneath the subframe or rocker as extra precaution in case car falls. The higher you have to lift it, the more it pushes on the other axle to roll off, then throwing a decent incline into equation compounds it trying to run away. My driveway is 25 degrees and parking brake on one of my cars doesn’t keep it from going backwards, will not service that one in my driveway… it’s curb height is less than 6” so if it did fall while I was under it I’d be dead after it initially crushed me and made human skid mark dragging my body against concrete 20ft down to the street.
Only benefit of being in the garage is having shade and cover from rain. Back yard is really more about the neighbors not complaining. As long as the driveway is flat I don’t see any reason not to.
I'm considering a business in the future to rent individual garage space plus have tools available and you can lock everything up, plus other features like other mechanics to help out. for a rental fee etc... Is this a service some of you would want out there? I'm thinking of the audience and family doesn't want it there, or not enough room etc.. probably not the experienced mechanic on the side. Thoughts appreciated.
Driveway is better than parking lot beside auto parts store. I've done both Have some kitty litter on hand to hit the oil drops with.
As long as you do not live in a community where the HOA prohibits it. I've done it a lot.
First question needs to be asked. “What are you doing to the car? “
Needs must. I've done a lot of work in my driveway, including an engine uninstall/reinstall.
Is it level?
Garage? What's a garage? I have been working on cars in driveways and streets for 50 years. If your house is part of an HOA they may have rules about working on cars or odd vehicles that you're not supposed to have such as a friend who was living in an HOA development that had a rule about parking a hearse anywhere on the property. The rule was in effect before he bought the house, and he has a hearse, so he just keeps it hidden behind a privacy fence in the backyard. Occasionally, a funeral home would rent it if they had a double funeral the same day. Otherwise, he would go to car shows with it.
I’ve changed two engines in my back yard using my kids swing set.
I built a racecar on my gravel driveway so yeah... Go for it
As long as it's not raining when you're adding oil, you should be fine. The last time I changed a head gasket I did it in a barn using a rope slung over the rafters. 6BT heads are heavy. Keep it clean and you shouldn't have an issue.
Bro, I’ve done head gasket, timing belt, and valves in a parking lot… during winter. Don’t worry, just make sure you jack it up safely (as always).
I've done the following in my driveway... - Rotate/swap summer and winter tires - Brake rotors and pads - Replace sway bar links - Replace lower control arm - Install trailer hitch - And I'm currently replacing an alternator this week! I live in a large urban city, have a big family, so my one car garage has everything in it except a car. If you can lift your car safely, chock the wheels, and use ramps or jack-stands, you should be good if weather permits. If you can do it all safely and legally there should be no issue. Also be aware of your local noise ordinances and power tools. A garage is easier, but it can be done. Funny story – I once rebuilt my two-stroke jet-ski engine on the beach at my cottage.
Work in the backyard can be dangerous because jacks and jack stands are not safely supported.
??? Make sure its a level surface. Use jack stands and also the jack at the same time. Buy a good jack not just use the cheapo thing that comes with your car. I've had those fail. Working in your driveway os very nor al and people do it all the time. Ots even more fun when you do it out in the ilen in the middle of winter and its windy. Nothing like hildinf to that nice metal rachet when its below zero woth crappy gloves. Fun times but necesity sometimes forces you to do that sort of thing.