e-man

Hey guys. I assume this piece is replaceable, right? I had it off today to clean up some corrosion, and when I went to put it back on, I couldn't tighten it onto the terminal (i.e., it goes over the terminal, but wiggles back and forth pretty easily). I think there's just too much corrosion around the screw that tightens the clamp, and I'd rather just buy a new one.

Has anyone replaced this piece before? Mods, if this belongs in the maintenance section, please feel free to move it. Thanks.

e

veritek

I had to replace mine because of corrosion. Go to a Toyota dealer tho. It's cheaper for the same part.

pwesseler

The quick and easy way would be to purchase a new terminal end from a car parts store, cut the current terminal end and splice in the new one. Might take you five minutes as they are easy to replace in general.

I haven't paid to much attention the terminals on the GS but in some cases you don't need to cut because it could be a lead free connector. I've seen such connectors on Toyota's

CPMD

iTrader: (2)

I had the same problem with our corolla. There is no need to replace the terminal if it is just loose. I went to autozone thinking the same thing. The manager came out to see what type of clamp I needed. I told him I was going to have NTB install them. He laughed and said they rip everyone off.

Instead, he said that there is no need to replace the terminal if it is loose. What he did, for free, was cut a piece of a hose clamp and place the semicircular piece on the inside of the terminal, that way, the diameter of the clamp would decrease. It fit over the terminal so perfect that it wasn't moving. Started up the car immediately, no problems for over a year now. Price: Free- <$1 at Autozone (for the hose clamp).

e-man

That's a fantastic idea. Was the hose clamp solid or did it have slots/holes in it?

In terms of replacing the clamp itself, I called Lexus and the part is around $30. I looked online at a few autoparts stores and you can get a generic one for around $5. The Lexus one looks a little different, though, in that it has a black plastic cover on the bottom. Not sure if that makes a difference. I'm guessing it doesn't.

CPMD

iTrader: (2)

It had holes/slots in it. Don't get a too thick one either. Get one that will fit, is somewhat easily bendable. Don't even bother changing the clamp. If your describing the connection as being loose, then just go to autozone and get a clamp. If you find a really helpful person who knows what I'm describing, they will even put it on for you. You will need to cut it to size. If you don't have the tools, just have autozone cut it for you. Total time for everything took a few mins to do.

Then, just make sure the connections are clean, and put some anti-corrosion on the terminals. I have that on most of my cars, and I don't get corrosion on the terminals.

I also saw your previous post on here regarding the battery won't hold a charge. I'm not sure if a loose connection would be a reason for that, but who knows. It is a possibility. While your at autozone fixing the connection with a hose clamp, just get the battery and alternator checked out for free Let us know what happens.

Here is what the hose clamp looked like:

jcat_350

that is a hack way to do it. Just buy the freakin 5 dollar terminal end, cut the end of the cable clean, strip it, twist the wire and in 5 minutes you have a brand new terminal end. use some of the red anti-corrosion stuff too. Don't cheap out on such a simple thing, it'll come back to bite you in the ***.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Multiple cars in my family had this problem, including mine. All I did was bent the terminal a bit and it was tight again.

NemeGuero

iTrader: (15)

Kragen's auto parts. $5 for a pair of terminals.

NIXmx

I agree, that's pretty ghetto. Buy a new terminal end from a parts store and bolt your wire to the new one. You don't need to cut anything. I got this from the AutoZone web site:


$4.99
p/n: 01045

And don't worry about those little felt pads, it's a bunch of bs.


Or just do what I did and buy new OEM cables and terminal covers. I'm **** about using OEM parts.

chuckb

what's up EEEEEEEEE?

just buy an oem end and one of those post/termial brushes and clean it up good. get some of that electrical grease for posts too.

CPMD

iTrader: (2)

I'm not sure how you can call that method ghetto It's a simple solution and it looks flush.

NemeGuero

iTrader: (15)

He said that buying the little worm hose clamps to "fix" the terminal is ghetto..

and it is.

Why rig up some bullspit fix when the terminals are so cheap to just replace?
Even OEM terminals from the stealership are only $18.00

CPMD

iTrader: (2)

Actually, it's not a "bullspit" fix as you claim it is It has worked previously for me, you can't tell that it's on there, so i'm not sure how you're calling it "ghetto". It's a simple alternative solution to a problem. Some people may not feel comfortable splicing wires or spending $50 for an OEM battery terminal from Lexus. Do you have any other alternative solutions to this problem? If so, you should post it here.

PHML

iTrader: (33)

i replaced my positive terminal last year...it was all bent out of shape. I just found a generic one from walmart.