royinidaho
Well-Known Member
Today's RANT.......D'm'n anyway!!!!.
All I needed was a simple replacement for the negative side of the batter connector. Went to Cal Store. For a buck 49 I purchased a "Lead Free" terminal which was all that they had......Figured the EPA or some such college educated bureaucrat who spent years in college so he/she could get a J.O.B and the easiest place was the gov't......
Brought the thing home. Chopped off the old useless one. Actually with vise grips and a craftman pliers I 'twisted it off. Scrounged up a 1/16 and a 1/2 in wrench, only took a little searching as some one kicked the tool box over last winter........
Installed the new device.....No lead means harder than hades and pretty brittle. By the time the 1/2" wrench bouggered the nut I was a little warm around the collar. Back to the trusty vise grips. By now the nut is very tight and a piece of the gizmo broke off under the nut. What' with this??????
The **** thing was still not tight on the battery terminal. Must mean more squeezing. By now the bolt couldn't be removed. Break out the trusty Dremel tool with the 10,000 rpm cutter blade. Start grinding. Halfway through something goes wrong, the Dremel jumps and the blade fragments..... Darn..... only one left. Go to the work bench, change the blade. Then return to the Red Zuki and more carefully finish cutting the bolt free.
Things aren't looking right. Hmmmmm, The terminal bent at the nut instead of remaining parallel then could not be tightened further. Well that's dumb. Who designed this thing anyway??? So back to the trusty vise grips to put the squeeze on the bolt end to more appropriately get things aligned.
POP!!!! one side of the yoke shaped thing falls off. Now I'm torqued!!!!! I get the receipt and the hand full of busted parts and work up a good lather on the to return this piece of junk.
I talk to the manager. A red neck that has bounced around the country doing different things, probably less than average performance at any of them. Should have retired years ago but was just too happy huntin', fishin' and generally being lazy....so he works @ Cal Store during his golden years......
He says Hmmm....let's look.... so we look. He opens a new one. I mentioned that its lead free and ask why's that? I swear it looked like he was going to chomp on it to see if it really wasn't lead.......DUH!
So over to the new batteries we go. He breaks out his pocket tool pouch (Leatherman - cheap version) and starts cranking the Lead Free Battery terminal onto the negative post of a NEW battery. He doesn't even get close when the ol' pocket tool doesn't have the umph!. Yep, he goes for the vise grips and FINALLY gets things snug. Note: the nut is carffed up.........
So I very kindly point out that this is a replacement battery terminal because the original one failed. Why did the old one fail. Corrosion.....that's why!!!
Thus the battery post, having contributed to the corrosion process has lost size also. I don't get very far into this conversation when it becomes apparent that "all this fella's dogs aren't barkin!"
THIS PRODUCT WILL NEVER WORK FOR THE INTENDED USE!!!!!!!!
So, It's off to Checker Auto......across the parking lot/storage area.........and get a LEADed one...... For about 2 bucks........
Back to the Red Zuki, 5 minutes installation time on the "old school" battery terminal and we're back on the road.
What's gonna happen when all of us old farts are dead and gone and all that is left are those who have to take their machines to the 'canic. Guess what will happen then. Obama or some other liberal BH will instigate Auto Care and we'll all be screwed"
Rant complete~
All I needed was a simple replacement for the negative side of the batter connector. Went to Cal Store. For a buck 49 I purchased a "Lead Free" terminal which was all that they had......Figured the EPA or some such college educated bureaucrat who spent years in college so he/she could get a J.O.B and the easiest place was the gov't......
Brought the thing home. Chopped off the old useless one. Actually with vise grips and a craftman pliers I 'twisted it off. Scrounged up a 1/16 and a 1/2 in wrench, only took a little searching as some one kicked the tool box over last winter........
Installed the new device.....No lead means harder than hades and pretty brittle. By the time the 1/2" wrench bouggered the nut I was a little warm around the collar. Back to the trusty vise grips. By now the nut is very tight and a piece of the gizmo broke off under the nut. What' with this??????
The **** thing was still not tight on the battery terminal. Must mean more squeezing. By now the bolt couldn't be removed. Break out the trusty Dremel tool with the 10,000 rpm cutter blade. Start grinding. Halfway through something goes wrong, the Dremel jumps and the blade fragments..... Darn..... only one left. Go to the work bench, change the blade. Then return to the Red Zuki and more carefully finish cutting the bolt free.
Things aren't looking right. Hmmmmm, The terminal bent at the nut instead of remaining parallel then could not be tightened further. Well that's dumb. Who designed this thing anyway??? So back to the trusty vise grips to put the squeeze on the bolt end to more appropriately get things aligned.
POP!!!! one side of the yoke shaped thing falls off. Now I'm torqued!!!!! I get the receipt and the hand full of busted parts and work up a good lather on the to return this piece of junk.
I talk to the manager. A red neck that has bounced around the country doing different things, probably less than average performance at any of them. Should have retired years ago but was just too happy huntin', fishin' and generally being lazy....so he works @ Cal Store during his golden years......
He says Hmmm....let's look.... so we look. He opens a new one. I mentioned that its lead free and ask why's that? I swear it looked like he was going to chomp on it to see if it really wasn't lead.......DUH!
So over to the new batteries we go. He breaks out his pocket tool pouch (Leatherman - cheap version) and starts cranking the Lead Free Battery terminal onto the negative post of a NEW battery. He doesn't even get close when the ol' pocket tool doesn't have the umph!. Yep, he goes for the vise grips and FINALLY gets things snug. Note: the nut is carffed up.........
So I very kindly point out that this is a replacement battery terminal because the original one failed. Why did the old one fail. Corrosion.....that's why!!!
Thus the battery post, having contributed to the corrosion process has lost size also. I don't get very far into this conversation when it becomes apparent that "all this fella's dogs aren't barkin!"
THIS PRODUCT WILL NEVER WORK FOR THE INTENDED USE!!!!!!!!
So, It's off to Checker Auto......across the parking lot/storage area.........and get a LEADed one...... For about 2 bucks........
Back to the Red Zuki, 5 minutes installation time on the "old school" battery terminal and we're back on the road.
What's gonna happen when all of us old farts are dead and gone and all that is left are those who have to take their machines to the 'canic. Guess what will happen then. Obama or some other liberal BH will instigate Auto Care and we'll all be screwed"
Rant complete~
