The battery on the 205 has been showing signs of age since we got it, and getting a phone call from 'erself the other day muttering about how it wouldn't start was the final straw.
One new battery, delivered. Easy enough to change, eh?
Would I be writing this if it was?
It's the usual little clamp holding one side of the bottom lip down, whilst the opposite side snugs into a lip on the tray. Except the last numpty to have the battery out forgot the washer under the bolt head. Which meant that the bolt head sat a bit too flush into the bracket. And had been rounded in the past. It's not the easiest to reach, either...
So - time to get medieval on it's donkey. The head of the bolt drilled off easily enough, releasing the clamp and battery. Great. A bit more space to play with.
Except that the lack of space (with battery in) meant I'd drilled the head off-centre. Time to grind the stub flat, punch it central, and drill it again. Fortunately, it went a bit more central (although still not as much as I'd have liked), and gently increasing the drill bit size saw the heat suddenly break the thread loose and the stub wind out of the perfectly re-usable threads.
'course, it wouldn't have been a problem if the numpty who'd been in there last had put a washer and a smear of copaslip on, would it? And, yes, this car DID have a full service history. Must've been the same "professional" that put the sump back on without any (