Remove and Replace Battery - Pontiac Grand Prix

You would think that replacing a car battery would be easy right?  Maybe take 10 minutes max?  Not with my 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix.

How to Replace Car Battery - GM Pontiac Grand Prix

https://youtu.be/4B_T_wo5JMk

And you never have to change your battery in the summer, you always end up having to replace it in the middle of winter.  It happened to me when i realized that it was getting harder and harder to start the car.  I figured that i better change it before i got stranded somewhere.

So i did what i usually do, went on SlickDeals and searched for Advanced Auto Coupon Codes.  They always have big discounts when you buy online from Advanced Auto, the code is usually something like TRT30, TRT41, etc...  

There's several and you have to find the best one for the biggest discount for what you are buying.  Sometimes the 30% off is the best.  This time i got $40 off when you spend over $100.    So the battery was $124 plus a $20 core charge which equaled $144.  So in the end it cost us $90 after tax and returning the old battery.

After picking up the new battery i assumed that it would be a simple matter of loosening 1 bolt and swapping the batteries.  Nope.  

When i first looked at it, i thought, it can't be this difficult.  The car battery was underneath a steel cross bar frame rail and tucked behind one of the main electrical boxes.  So the only way to change the battery was to loosen the bolts which held the frame in place, then take off the nuts on the top of the electrical box.  Then i could use an extension to remove the bolt and battery latch.  Then with one hand lift up on the electrical box and with the other hand turn the battery sideways and lift vertically through the opening.

While i had it out i cleaned all the dirt and stuff in the bottom of the battery box.  Also i used a wire brush to clean the contacts on the positive battery cable.

To install the new battery i had to repeat the same process of lifting the electrical box, turning the battery on its side and lowering it down.  Then replace the electrical box nuts, re-bolt the frame cross-bar into place, re-bolt in the battery locking plate, then connect the + and - wires.

All in all it wasn't super complicated, but a real pain to have to go through every time you need to replace your battery.