Replaced my car battery and it took 4 hours because of one hidden bolt

So I got a dead battery in my 2013 Civic parked outside my apartment in Austin. Simple job right. Pop the hood, unscrew the terminals, swap it out. But there was this plastic cover thing over the battery that had a bolt hidden underneath a bracket I couldn't even see. Tried yanking it, nothing. Had to pull out my phone and watch three different videos before I realized you gotta remove the whole air intake box first. That took another 45 minutes because one of the hose clamps was rusted solid. Ended up using a pair of pliers and some WD-40 just to get it loose. Total time from start to finish was almost 4 hours for something YouTube says takes 15 minutes. Has anyone else dealt with a simple job turning into a whole afternoon project like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

avery_foster3114d ago

Oof the rusted hose clamp thing is so real. "Job that takes 15 minutes on YouTube" is basically a trap lol. I've noticed this is how everything works now, like the simpler a thing seems the more hidden BS you find. My buddy tried to swap a light fixture last week and ended up having to patch a hole in his ceiling because the old box was wired so janky the whole thing fell apart. It's like the universe just waits to punish you for trying to do anything yourself.

anna_carter5313d ago

@avery_foster31 yeah the "15 minute job" lie is real. Next time pop the whole air intake tube off first, it's usually just two clamps and saves you fighting that hidden bolt. Also keep a can of PB Blaster on hand instead of WD-40 for rusted stuff, it works way better.