The folks at Canadian Tire tried to pressure me into spending $5 more for a battery with a better guarantee, but for $90 I was able to walk out with more than I needed, one guaranteed for free replacement in the first two years. If I can get two more years of life out of this car I'll be pleased, very pleased.
It was really really hard to remove the old battery. The single bolt holding it in place wasn't exactly seized, but I rarely encounter a bolt stiffer than this one! With almost no clearance for a wrench and without the right socket, I struggled for half an afternoon to just loosen it enough to yank out the battery. (I did this at least a week ago.)
Equipped with Glenn's much more complete socket set, this time I was able to crank it out much easier. I still couldn't quite put the new battery in place yet, so I cranked more, then some more still. I nudged the battery a bit too far forward and knocked the keep and its bolt right out of place. I was sure it was still engaged, but I was wrong enough for it to drop out of site, down between the radiator fan and the radiator. Good grief!
I could just reach my hand in and snag the keep, but the bolt had fallen out and right to the bottom of the
radiator. I had to remove two bolts holding the plastic fan housing in place and tilt it away. Yup, the bolt was
sitting there, clear as day, too far for my not quite thin enough arms to reach. Fortunately I keep a stack of
super magnets around for just such occasions. I stuck one to the end of a 1/2" steel rod I just happened to have,
carefully lowered it into the housing, and snapped the bolt up. In less than two minutes I had the housing re-attached
and I was back in business.
I couldn't resist trying it all out. I opened the door and saw the light come on. That's encouraging! I put the key in the ignition and turned it. Nothing. Fiddled with the gear shift. Still nothing. Rocked the shifter back and forth and got a bit worried when it still didn't start. Finally I found neutral and gave it one last try. The engine turned over and stayed running, no squealing, no smoke. I turned it off just in case all my gaskets have dried out over the winter and I was shooting fluids all over the driveway. I'll check things out more thoroughly another day. It was time to celebrate by finishing the pizza.
Next: The brakes.
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