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Battery removal issue

Well, for the first time in my life I have hit up on a battery terminal bolt that simply will not come loose. It's on the positive side of the battery in a 1995 Pontiac Firebird. There was major corrosion on the bolt and terminal, and I sprayed it first with battery terminal cleaner. I used the appropriate sized socket, and the bolt wouldn't break loose. Next, I sprayed it with Liquid Wrench and tapped it with a small hammer. Still no go. Finally, I decided that I would just try to break it loose with vise grips and replace the damaged bolt. No luck. :-(

I suppose my only hope now is to cut all three of the wires leading to the terminal and splice a new terminal on to the remaining wires. This really sucks! I've replaced lots of batteries over the years with no hassles whatsover. The car was just purchased recently, and I believe that the previous owner had never cleaned their battery terminals. Is there any other way possible to get this terminal off without cutting the wires?

S.T. (Very Frustrated!!!)

Reply to
S.T.
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Soak it with penetrating oil for a few days,

Get a good grip on the bolt shank with a clean pair of vise grips & turn in unison with the cable. (making sure that the other cable is disconnected. (potential for sparks if you ground)

It is quite likely that at this juncture you will rip the internal connections free from the plate destroying the battery internally.

Do NOT try and heat the bolt (think hydrogen gas).

If you have any bottled liquid nitrogen you can "try" applying that, but be careful you don't damage the battery case resulting in a small acid leak destroy the body below the box.

I'd say, take a sawsall, cut the cable at the bolt, remove the battery & replace with a "new" battery & connector. You'll be doing that one of these winters in a parking lot if you don't, might as well now while the weather is nice.

PS hitting the battery with a hammer may damage the battery, think sulphuric acid in a plastic case with a semipermanent lead seal. Local wreckers sell used batteries tested for $20.00 with a warranty, Just a thought.

Reply to
Full_Name

I had something like that once. Baking soda solution cleans it up pretty good too. Finally the battery terminal broke off and then was able to get the cable loose from it. . Ended up the connector was so badly corroded I decided to replace the whole cable. If you can get it loose you might get away with just replacing the bolt in the connector.

Reply to
HRL

try pouring some coke over wher ethe corrosion was/is, the get a wash cloth soaked in coke and wipe it down, then get a damp cloth to clean off the coke.

Reply to
urb's91

Can't you just take a small cutoff wheel and cut the bolt?

Reply to
eddy eagle

I assume we're dealing with a side terminal battery since its a GM product. The bolts are replacable in the cable so no need to cut the wires. You can get the bolts at any auto parts place.

Try to break the bolt off by over tightening it. This is going to mean you'll need a new battery but if you think its the original 1995 battery, thats not a bad thing.

Reply to
Dennis Smith

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. But I had some luck today. After soaking the bolt down really good with more Liquid Wrench after getting fed up with dealing with it on Tues. evening, the thing came right off this afternoon with vise grips. Same technique as before that had failed me. The bolt was worthless though, so I picked up a new one at an Advance Auto Parts store. They come in pairs. Only cost me $2.12 with tax--and the new battery is now installed. Car starts right up and all is well for now. YAHHHOOOOOO!!!!!!

S.T.

Reply to
S.T.

FWIW, You can use a regular bolt in there, but you need to be easy on the torque... they use small heads so you'll strip the bolt before wrecking the battery, but if you're stuck I think it's a 3/8 or 5/16" bolt. When I've had to use that method I use a stubby wrench and go easy on it...

Ray

Reply to
ray

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