Battery Calamity!
Discussion
Hi,
Apologies for the melodrama!
The battery on my '99 4.0L Chim is broken. I've bought a new one from Halfrauds and have attempted to fit it. I consulted my bible and as ever it gave excellent instruction. Unfortunately upon attempting to remove the two bolts under the car it seems that the captive nuts that are bonded into the fibre glass battery case are no longer captive. The the bolts are now a little bit loosened with no means of either tightening them or removing them.
Am I missing something, or is there something I can do or can anyone recommend a good indy in the east midlands to put my pathetic attempts at DIY right?
Many Thanks in advance
Apologies for the melodrama!
The battery on my '99 4.0L Chim is broken. I've bought a new one from Halfrauds and have attempted to fit it. I consulted my bible and as ever it gave excellent instruction. Unfortunately upon attempting to remove the two bolts under the car it seems that the captive nuts that are bonded into the fibre glass battery case are no longer captive. The the bolts are now a little bit loosened with no means of either tightening them or removing them.
Am I missing something, or is there something I can do or can anyone recommend a good indy in the east midlands to put my pathetic attempts at DIY right?
Many Thanks in advance
If thay have indeed loosened (which I must admit I am very suprised at!) your best bet is going to be swiftly skimming the heads off the bolts underneath with a grinder to get the battery box out, then assess what you have.
(Grinders are about £10-£15 from B&Q if you're without one (get discs too))
Cheers
Matt.
(Grinders are about £10-£15 from B&Q if you're without one (get discs too))
Cheers
Matt.
Edited by M@H on Thursday 29th June 22:01
Angle grinder time. Same happened to me, fortunately only on one bolt. Next time I needed to remove the battery, I could feel the remaining bolt starting to break its captive nut free, so I started hacking at the bolt head with a pneumatic hacksaw, and the vibration was enough to loosen the bolt in the nut ... so a new bolt and a big dollop of copperslip later and I was back in business.
I haven't bothered (but ought to). One side is still bolting in fine, and the other is acting like a stud, so it at least positions the battery OK, even if it doesn't contribute to stopping the battery from lifting. If I was going to do a proper job, I'd just mix up some fibre glass resin from my trusty halfords kit and reset the nut (probably with the bolt in place to keep the resin out of the thread).
Mine did the same - resin set nuts lovely - now solidATG said:
I haven't bothered (but ought to). One side is still bolting in fine, and the other is acting like a stud, so it at least positions the battery OK, even if it doesn't contribute to stopping the battery from lifting. If I was going to do a proper job, I'd just mix up some fibre glass resin from my trusty halfords kit and reset the nut (probably with the bolt in place to keep the resin out of the thread).
Another obscure option is to buy some surfboard 'ding' repair kit. It's a type of fibreglass gel that comes in a tube. You use it out of sunlight and soon as the reapired area is put into direct sunlight, it sets rock hard within a few minutes. Much quicker and easier than pouring fibreglass resin etc. Costs about £6.
SwanJack said:
ATG said:
I haven't bothered (but ought to). One side is still bolting in fine, and the other is acting like a stud, so it at least positions the battery OK, even if it doesn't contribute to stopping the battery from lifting. If I was going to do a proper job, I'd just mix up some fibre glass resin from my trusty halfords kit and reset the nut (probably with the bolt in place to keep the resin out of the thread).
Another obscure option is to buy some surfboard 'ding' repair kit. It's a type of fibreglass gel that comes in a tube. You use it out of sunlight and soon as the repaired area is put into direct sunlight, it sets rock hard within a few minutes. Much quicker and easier than pouring fibreglass resin etc. Costs about £6.
Although turning the car upside down to get sunlight on the repair is a bit of a struggle.
zumbruk said:
SwanJack said:
ATG said:
I haven't bothered (but ought to). One side is still bolting in fine, and the other is acting like a stud, so it at least positions the battery OK, even if it doesn't contribute to stopping the battery from lifting. If I was going to do a proper job, I'd just mix up some fibre glass resin from my trusty halfords kit and reset the nut (probably with the bolt in place to keep the resin out of the thread).
Another obscure option is to buy some surfboard 'ding' repair kit. It's a type of fibreglass gel that comes in a tube. You use it out of sunlight and soon as the repaired area is put into direct sunlight, it sets rock hard within a few minutes. Much quicker and easier than pouring fibreglass resin etc. Costs about £6.
Although turning the car upside down to get sunlight on the repair is a bit of a struggle.
The battery case comes out of the car. Are we not taking about resetting its captive nuts
. Edited by SwanJack on Friday 30th June 10:34
ATG said:
I like the surfboard stuff idea too. But its summer and I live in England. Where can I get the sunlight?
www.boardshop.co.uk/product/detail
Thats the basic stuff but if you look in accessories, there bigger sizes etc. there.
Edited by SwanJack on Friday 30th June 13:30
Edited by SwanJack on Friday 30th June 13:30
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