cheap fixes for stripped battery side post?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 15, 2003
Messages
40,390
Location
ME
I have a year-old Die Hard Gold side post battery in a $300 car I just got... the battery is worth 1/3 that!
lol.gif


Anyhow some moron half-stripped the negative terminal. It's hanging in there for now.

I have an english thread tap & die set I've never used. Anyone have success retapping lead or is it too soft? Should I go oversize? (Backup plan, I guess)

I have one other plan in the works... I got a 1" long 3/8" bolt at the hardware store, which I'll stick a nut on and use like a stud. I'm hoping the battery has threading deeper than the three threads on the OE bolt. Stick that in there until it gently bottoms out, then sock down the nut on the cable end.

Any other creative fixes? This is a very nice looking JC battery. There's no receipt from sears, so even if they were the morons that did the dirty deed I can't get them to fix it. Or do they have the car in their computer? I never shop there...
 
I never tried it but i cant see why you couldn't carefully drill the hole through the terminal and also into the battery post for next size bigger threads with the corresponding drill and tap size. As long as you don't go too deep it shouldn't leak and seems like threads should be strong enough to tighten the battery terminal back on. Maybe a heli-coil kit would work and then you could use the original size terminal bolts.
 
Last edited:
I do have a junk battery laying around where I can see how much deeper it can go. I'll wear my goggles.
lol.gif
 
I did the stud and nut trick for the same problem several years ago and all is still well. My next plan of action was a helicoil kit, but the stud and nut has worked fine. Just don't overtighten.
 
I would try a self-taping bolt of the next size up. Or tap it out with your die set. Maybee buy one of the short adaptor type connectors so you don't have to do any mods to your battery cable.

A battery shop that knows what they are doing can "burn" on a new terminal, but they are going to charge for their time.

I've never done this, but you may be able to pour molten lead into the stripped hole and then tap it out to the correct thread size...
 
Last edited:
Eljefino, you remind me of me. That is not necessarily a complement. The next size up from 3/8 is 10mm . Set it up like a stud with a couple of nuts. Another potential fix would be a small piece of lead flashing rolled into a cylinder and pushed into the threads.
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream

I've never done this, but you may be able to pour molten lead into the stripped hole and then tap it out to the correct thread size...


There's an idea... if I had a "real" stud (can cut the head off this bolt no prob) I could stick it mostly in then get a little solder in a thread and tighten it a little more... goober a little solder around the connection to keep it from working loose. Would have to get it pretty hot to keep it from being a cold solder joint.
 
I thought of that, but not sure it would work doing a little lead at a time. (Remember, solder is not pure lead, it has tin in it.) I would cut off part of a bad battery terminal and melt it in a tin cup or something. Pour in the lead and let it sit. When hard, drill a hole in, then tap out the hole. Should be good as new. Don't breath in any fumes from the lead.

May be a simple fix that would work; I like the self tapping bolt myself.

My friend owned a battery shop, and they would burn new terminals on batteries all the time. I remember seeing lead bars in his shop that they would melt. They would buy 100's of a certain battery from companies like Excide that had specails on. The more they bought the cheaper they paid, Sometime they paid as little as $6 for new batteries. They could cut off the terminals if needed, and burn on new ones to make a battery that they needed.
 
Last edited:
That's wild. I do have old wheel weights if I need lead. (And a box of .22LR bullets... but let's not go there)
 
I'm not familiar with drilling out holes, but what I do remember is that sparks and batteries don't mix, so whatever you do, please don't put yourself in a dangerous situation.
 
I would try a regular 3/8-16 bolt first. The extra bolt threads my engage enough to get you by. Use flat washers as spacers so the bolt doesn't bottom out and wreck the battery or not tighten up. As a side note, when buying new, I always try to get a dual terminal battery. If one of the terminals bites the dust on you, just move to the other. They also work great if you are adding battery powered accessories.
 
Originally Posted By: Dieselbob
I would try a regular 3/8-16 bolt first. The extra bolt threads my engage enough to get you by. Use flat washers as spacers so the bolt doesn't bottom out and wreck the battery or not tighten up. As a side note, when buying new, I always try to get a dual terminal battery. If one of the terminals bites the dust on you, just move to the other. They also work great if you are adding battery powered accessories.


I just used a longer threaded bolt just like you mentioned.
 
Originally Posted By: Dieselbob
I would try a regular 3/8-16 bolt first. The extra bolt threads my engage enough to get you by. Use flat washers as spacers so the bolt doesn't bottom out and wreck the battery or not tighten up. As a side note, when buying new, I always try to get a dual terminal battery. If one of the terminals bites the dust on you, just move to the other. They also work great if you are adding battery powered accessories.


Yes on every point. Couldn't say it any better myself.
 
Wouldn't it be more stable to let the bolt gently bottom out then tighten a nut down on the cable lead... while keeping the bolt from spinning & trashing the threads?

Kind of like the ARP head studs vs head bolts argument?

I like the dual posts if for no other reason than if I crack car "A" up I don't know what brand car "B" will be...

This saturn has a nasty hold down strap that would short out top posts, regrettably. However if I had a good battery with top posts I could replace the strap...
wink.gif
 
A co-worker had a stripped lug on his Chevy truck and just used a longer bolt as was already mentioned. I never did like that design for batteries myself.
 
I would try this first, insert a piece or two of small diameter lead wire (stranded copper would also work) and insert bolt and tighten.
 
Originally Posted By: Dieselbob
I would try a regular 3/8-16 bolt first. The extra bolt threads my engage enough to get you by. Use flat washers as spacers so the bolt doesn't bottom out and wreck the battery or not tighten up. As a side note, when buying new, I always try to get a dual terminal battery. If one of the terminals bites the dust on you, just move to the other. They also work great if you are adding battery powered accessories.


This is a side terminal battery, so how would that work?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top