"Taylor Martin" (tjmartin)
10/21/2020 at 15:04 • Filed to: None
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"Taylor Martin" (tjmartin)
10/21/2020 at 15:04 • Filed to: None | 1
| 28 |
My roommate’s girlfriend drives a 2007 Nissan Maxima, and it has a dead battery. She’s sick of the car and wants to junk it, so we’re looking for the cheapest possible battery to slide in. We are heading to WalMart to find something that’ll fit and get the car running so we can sell it for a decent price, rather than junk it for a dismal price.
UPDATE: Battery and Fuel Injector Cleaner has been purchased for 57 bucks. Not bad. Thanks a million. We’ll throw the battery in in about an hour (it’s raining now... batteries + rain = bad probably).
Also, holy moly. The car is a 3.5L V6. That’s what the Special Edition TSX sedan should be (no manual though. If it were, I’d consider buying it off her myself and fixing it up. There are a few kinks. One of the fog lamps fell into the car, it might misfire, she says it stalled a little while driving, and the power steering is iffy. Really we just want to get it running to sell it for 1000 bucks rather than junk it for 500).
Froge
Here’s a small frog hiding under the windshield wipers as tithe for your assistance.
I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 15:22 |
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You guys get $500 for running shitboxes at the junkyard? Damn. $300 for a truck here last I checked.
Walmart’s auto department will have a little kiosk thinky where you can select year make and model and it’ll tell you what batteries fit. Generally I just ignore that and get the cheapest battery that’s the same width and makes enough cold cranking amps to start the car.
I also primarily get newer used or
reconditioned batteries at the junkyard, because they are cheaper and better. Currently have a reconditioned
rural king in my Jetta and a used 2019 Interstate in my Golf.
VincentMalamute-Kim
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 15:29 |
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Is the current battery that completely dead? It’s not chargeable just enough to run the car to the junkyard?
OTOH, the car could serve as a
mechanics course for you. Fix its problems and learn.
If you screw up badly, who cares? You were going to junk it anyway.
ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 15:31 |
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If you have Rural King near you, they usually have cheap batteries.
CobraJoe
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 15:37 |
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I usually buy my batteries from Walmart. Not only do they have a cheap selection, they have a no questions asked return policy. Definitely helpful when my college girlfriend’s battery kept dying and freezing during the winter.
As for the other kinks:
There are a few kinks. One of the fog lamps fell into the car, it might misfire, she says it stalled a little while driving, and the power steering is iffy.
1. Zip ties to hold the fog light in place
2. Some quality fuel injector cleaner into the gas tank might help with the misfire (I usually suspect fuel first on mysterious misfires on older cars), but a fresh battery and clean terminals might help there too.
3. Check the power steering fluid level first. I know, it should be an obvious thing to check, but a low level a very common problem to power steering problems.
Really we just want to get it running to sell it for 1000 bucks rather than junk it for 500).
My suggestion: Get it running enough for someone to test drive, list it for $950 (seems drastically cheaper in an internet listing than $1000), be honest with it’s condition, and then accept $750 when the negotiations start.
Sure, you could get more if everything was working, but how much time do you want to spend solving all the little problems, and how much are you willing to lower the value by not doing all that repair work?
onlytwowheels
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 15:42 |
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$55 at my local Walmart.
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I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> CobraJoe
10/21/2020 at 15:54 |
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I would also recommend injector cleaner, and also a good old fashioned thrashing. For some reason, VQ35s love to be rev banged, it fixes stuff. I dunno. But:
I usually buy my batteries from Walmart. Not only do they have a cheap selection, they have a no questions asked return policy.
I’m fairly sure this isn’t the case anymore. The auto department will do a discharge test on it. This brings me to my favorite boomer anecdote. Something like this, paraphrased from someone else I read long ago:
Walmart will rip you off on their batteries. They suck, and when the acid goes bad in them and they stop holding a charge, you bring them in to exchange and they put a surface charge on it so it’ll pass a discharge test. It’s just a surface charge, so the battery seems to have 12+ volts and make whatever the CCA it’s supposed to make is, but they don’t have enough power in them to actually be used (note: I don’t actually know what this means). So here’s what I do: open up the fill ports on the battery, walk down to the storm drain, and tip the fluid into the drain. Then mix up some salt water, fill the battery, cap it up, and take it to walmart. Because the salt water is conductive, it’ll appear to take a charge, but since there’s no acid, it won’t make any CCAs. So they’ll give you an exchange.
benn454
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/21/2020 at 16:10 |
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Dumping battery acid into the storm drain!?! Where it will flow through the sewer system to the water treatment plant where city water comes from? Fucking WHAT?
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Taylor Martin
> CobraJoe
10/21/2020 at 16:11 |
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Okie doke, we got a 5 dollar bottle of Techron fuel injector cleaner. Not sure how much gas is in the tank, and it recommends to use it on a nearly empty one. Advice?
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Taylor Martin
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/21/2020 at 16:13 |
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The guys at out Walmart seemed okay with returning the battery if the car didn’t start, so long as we didn’t remove the red cap over the positive nub. That being said, I’m surprised the thrashing is an option, though I’m almost certain I wouldn’t be able to convince her to let me try that (and she’d never do it herself)
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I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> benn454
10/21/2020 at 16:14 |
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Exactly! Don’t do this!
Generally though the storm drain doesn’t go to the treatment plant that makes drinking water.
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CobraJoe
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/21/2020 at 16:16 |
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I’m also a believer in the “italian tuneup”, but I’m not usually quick to suggest it to other people unless I know their driving style and maintenance beliefs .
And that’s a solid oof on the storm drain battery acid story. I’ve never heard that one before, but I suppose it’s likely down to the individual store for exchanges. 10 years ago when I was in college, I walked in with a bulging battery that froze when it was dead, and the guy looked at it and said “Looks like it froze, here’s a new one”.
But that was also when the average new battery was $50 at Walmart. I believe prices have gone up since then.
promoted by the color red
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 16:19 |
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Go to Costco, they had the cheapest batteries when I last checked.
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benn454
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/21/2020 at 16:21 |
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I hope whomever posted that got reported and the EPA crawled so far up their ass they used their uvula for a speed bag.
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CobraJoe
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 16:30 |
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I guess I usually dump one bottle of cleaner in for roughly 10 gallons in the tank, but those are cleaners are recommended to be dumped in for a full tank. But it should still help if you only have a few gallons in the tank.
Otherwise, just dump it in and drive around. It only works when the fuel is running through the system and injectors, so it won’t do anything if the car is just sitting in the driveway.
If she drives everywhere very slowly, a couple hard(ish) acceleration runs might help too. That will get the injectors at full flow and might build up some heat in the combustion chambers, but probably is not necessary if she actually accelerates up to speed before the end of an on ramp.
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I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> CobraJoe
10/21/2020 at 16:38 |
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I didn’t know a battery could actually freeze, solid like.
As far as other peoples’ treatment of cars... I’m a firm believer that among non-enthusiasts/tremendous jackasses, all cars are exactly the same amount of fast. A Geo Metro gets wound all the way out just to merge onto the highway, but a F150 doesn’t really see much more than half throttle. Therefore, the smaller stuff, like the Metro, won’t become healthier for the rev bang- a VQ35 Maxima is more likely to have never seen 6000 RPM.
Obviously this isn’t true for EVERY car, but I do think it’s got some truth to it.
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Taylor Martin
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/21/2020 at 16:54 |
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Florida water is already terrible as is, I’m not pouring it down the storm drain by any means.
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CobraJoe
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/21/2020 at 16:54 |
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I’m not sure if it freezes solid or into a slush , but it does have a water based acid that will expand as it freezes, which can damage the plates and case to the point where it will probably never hold the same amount of charge again. It’s pretty obvious to tell if a battery has frozen, it’s sides will be bulging out instead of flat.
Interesting note: a fully charged battery can withstand a lot lower temperatures than a discharged battery. (Found this on cars.com):
“A 100 percent fully charged battery will not freeze until approximately minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit. A fully discharged battery can freeze at or around 32 degrees,” Kimbrough said in a telephone interview.
But that “same amount of fast” is a good theory, but there is a wide variance in individ ual driver s. Granted, I grew up in rural Nebraska, so I have lived with people who used only 30hp of their 200hp engines, and went to school with people who would attempt to push their gas pedal through the floor.
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Taylor Martin
> CobraJoe
10/21/2020 at 16:56 |
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She doesn’t drive all that slow. Average Florid a speed, so I did get her to consider revving it a little. She has a guy from LetGo coming tomorrow to inspect the car, so if we get it running maybe the evaluation will go up.
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Taylor Martin
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/21/2020 at 16:58 |
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Definitely some truth in that. My car revs up to 8,000 but never sees that because the engine isn’t terribly small (and I also shift at like 5,000 at the very latest). Engine wear on her car should, in theory, be minimal, but hopefully the fuel injector cleaner will do the trick.
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Taylor Martin
> VincentMalamute-Kim
10/21/2020 at 17:00 |
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I have a battery tester which turns on when you tap it to the battery... worked on my car just fine, didn’t even light up on hers. That thing is dead as a doornail.
I considered buying it off her and fixing it up myself, maybe I’d be able to turn it into a LeMons car if I got her to let me have it for 500 bucks... though I don’t think I’m at the liberty to own a second car. If it gets up and running and she’s not happy with the price the LetGo guy gives her tomorrow I may one up him... uuuuuggghhh it’s a hard dilema and I shouldn’t even entertain the idea, and I know the community would say do it but I’m a bit iffy on it... oh bother...
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Taylor Martin
> onlytwowheels
10/21/2020 at 17:00 |
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That’s the one we got!
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I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 17:04 |
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I think the K24 in your car only goes up to 7100, doesn’t it?
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CobraJoe
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 17:06 |
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Good Luck!
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onlytwowheels
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 17:12 |
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Pretty much the cheapest new battery you can put in there. The words “new battery” can now be a selling point. Good luck.
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VincentMalamute-Kim
> Taylor Martin
10/21/2020 at 17:19 |
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Modern automatic chargers won’t even attempt charging once the battery voltage gets too low. Which is exactly what you are seeing. If you have or have access to an old school manual charger, those will charge no matter what. They will u sually get it charged sufficiently to start the car and drive to a junkyard. It’s unusual to kill a battery to the level of “dead as a doornail”.
I see there’s an Oppo discussion about Walmart batteries. Consumer Reports: “Most aftermarket car batteries sold in the U.S. are made by three companies that build them for retailers: Johnson Controls, which supplies more than half of the market; Exide; and East Penn. They are sold under various names and built to the specifications of retailers, so performance can vary. “
Chances are Walmart’s Everstart brand was made by Johnson Controls like half of the others. In the most recent CR (May
2019) test, the EverStart 65S ranked 8th out of 79 tested and CR gave it a “Best Buy” label. I know you’re looking for the cheapest and that’s going to be about the cheapest unless you buy used/junkyard.
Paywall but you can ask me if you have any questions:
https://www.consumerreports.org/products/car-batteries-32964/car-battery-32003/view2/
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Taylor Martin
> I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
10/21/2020 at 17:21 |
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7,300, though the tac goes up to 8 (probably just for show).
i86hotdogs
> benn454
10/21/2020 at 17:40 |
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Just wait until the EPA sees the facebook page about dumping batteries in to the ocean
AdverseMartyr
> benn454
10/21/2020 at 23:01 |
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Ok, high school chemistry was a long time ago so I want to ask: shouldn’t water in a drain convert the acid into a neutral? Otherwise, why would it be ok to use Draino to unclog a sink?