theres so much rust over the nuts on the battery cables that i cant take off the neg battery cable to get started on the real problems of the car. any suggestions?

 

Should do the trick

 

i have never heard of rust on a battery . corrosion on a battery o.k. . rust happens on ferrous metals (ones with iron content) , corrosion happens on non-ferrous metals . (not all non-ferrous like gold etc.) a paste of baking soda & water , common vinegar , coke (the kind you drink) and a stiff bristle brush should remove most all . rinse , rinse & rinse again with water . when all the crap is gone then soak with wd-40 , or your choice & remove . good luck .

 

If I use some pliers I'm worried I might strip it. And as far as if it's rust or corrosion, I'm sure it's rust cause it's over the metal end of the cable

 

he is talking about the terminals being rusty, the bolt things that attach the cables to the side posts of the battery.

if they are all rusty and you cant get a normal wrench on them, i see no loss trying a pair of vise grips or something. If the head strips, you are no worse off than you are now right?

if the rust isnt as bad, can you use a wire wheel/brush and clean the head od the bolt off a bit so you can get a wrench on it?

 

I got em off! I just squeezed the he'll outta em with pliers. My next question is how should the inside of my battery look? Cause mine is full of liquid, but it has what looks like some oily substance floating around on top

 

As long as it looks mostly full, then don't worry about it. Its battery acid. Its supposed to look like that.

 

Alright. Should I replace those cables?

 

[quote=//<86TA>\\;4012762]he is talking about the terminals being rusty, the bolt things that attach the cables to the side posts of the battery.

i understand how the cables attach to the battery . RUST is reddish/brown in color . CORROSION is a white color some times with a greenish tint . i must say that i have never seen rust on a lead acid battery . oh well , i have only been wrenching a few years so i have not seen it all . good luck .

 

The bolts should be the only part that rusts, but it does happen. Coca Cola clears off the corrosion very good, and penetrating oil for the rust and to loosen it up.

If the cables are that bad, it would be on the safe side to replace them.

Also, as strange as this may sound, after it is all back together try spraying clear-coat on the terminals. It will help prevent corrosion, and isn't really visible.

 

So should I just dip the whole terminal in a glass of coke?

 

Use a steel bristled brush to clean them, they have special ones just for that and they don't cost much. Then put the new cables on if you are getting new ones, and once its all tight, spray the terminals/cables at the battery terminals with some "Fluid Film"... its a penetrating oil, but a very sticky one, so it will stay there. On batt terminals, it all but eliminates corrosion problems on clean terminals/cables.