c/auto-mechanics

Tried dielectric grease on battery terminals, 2 years later no corrosion at all

Seen guys argue about this stuff forever. My truck battery always got that crusty green mess every 6 months. So I cleaned it real good, slathered dielectric grease on both posts before connecting cables. Checked it today after 2 years of NY winters. Clean as a whistle. No weird resistance or starting issues either. Anyone else use this trick long term or am I just lucky?

2 comments

gavin365•16h ago

Spent 90 minutes chasing a parasitic draw that turned out to be the glove box light

Checked every fuse and module on a 2015 Accord before I noticed the little plunger switch was stuck and the bulb was barely glowing. Anyone else ever get burned by a dumb interior light that's easy to miss?

2 comments

willowg88•4d ago

I thought those fancy digital torque wrenches were overpriced gimmicks until I borrowed my buddy's Snap-on for a head gasket job last Saturday

Had to torque down the bolts on a 4.0L straight six in an old Cherokee and the audible click and digital readout saved me from a stripped thread I definitely would have missed with my old beam style, has anyone else had a tool they were dead wrong about that actually made their job easier?

c/auto-mechanics

Tried dielectric grease on battery terminals, 2 years later no corrosion at all

Spent 90 minutes chasing a parasitic draw that turned out to be the glove box light

I thought those fancy digital torque wrenches were overpriced gimmicks until I borrowed my buddy's Snap-on for a head gasket job last Saturday

That customer who argued with me about synthetic oil still bothers me

Old timer told me to stop fighting the torque wrench

Took me 8 years to realize I was torquing head bolts in the wrong pattern

Piston ring end gap specs from the manual vs. what old heads swear by

Changed my mind about using impact drivers on brake caliper bolts after a chat with an old timer

Had a friday that paid for the whole damn week

Just realized half the guys I work with don't know how to read a spark plug anymore

Picked a cheap torque wrench over a Snap-on. No regrets yet.

Hit 200 engine swaps last Tuesday without even realizing it

I'll take a Harbor Freight scan tool over a Snap-On any day now

Switched to a torque wrench after a shop owner yelled at me

Appreciation post: the day I stopped using a torque wrench by feel on engine bolts

The time a customer insisted their car was haunted

Swapped out my old impact gun for a cordless one and it took me 30 minutes to trust it on lug nuts

That one Tuesday where I fixed three cars before lunch and felt like a wizard

Bought a cheap ultrasonic cleaner on a whim - thought it was junk until it saved a set of injectors

Had to choose between penetrating oil and heat for a rusted bolt on a 98 F-150 in Phoenix

That old diesel mechanic at the Union 76 changed how I think about oil

TIL how much smaller engine bays have gotten over 20 years

Swapped from a 3/8 impact to a 1/2 for lug nuts on my F-150 and it made a huge difference

That one Thursday in March at Johnson's Auto on Route 9

Guy brought in a 2015 Civic with 200k miles, wanted a full engine swap for $800