The nut in your battery.

[Fourstring]

I was adding heated gear hookups to the ZX and stewed about this a bit while fumbling with my battery.

You know the one I'm talking about.  That little square/rectangular nut that sits underneath the posts on your battery.  Your bolt is just a liiiiittttle too short to just put on the post and turn; it doesn't thread.  If you look at it wrong, it gets sad and jumps into your engine's nether regions.

So, you have to raise up that nut just enough to get the bolt to thread, but it's a tight space.  What do you do to hook up a battery?

[Sport-Touring]

[Mr. Whippy]

small flat washers and bits of cardboard (thin cardboard) used to shim up the nut has worked for me.

[scubadoguk]

tissue paper ? works for me

[Fourstring]

They should make a tool or something, I'd buy it.  

Like everything else in my garage, I use zipties.  The head of it is usually enough to wedge in there.  I was mostly curious if there was a down and dirty way all the seasoned mechanics did it.

[SLK50]

  Cut a small bloke of foam, like from an old sponge, and press into space beneath nut.

[Mac]

Use a small flat blade screwdriver to raise the nut

[thatguy]

Ah one of the great secrets of being a mechanic.Cut small bits of the overflow tube and stuff them under the nutz.

[JimWilliamson]

Use a small flat blade screwdriver to raise the nut

+1

Either find a small flat blade or just grab the Swiss Army Knife from my pocket and use the blade tip from it

[bomber]

my first attempt at this procedure, long ago and far away, was to use the end of a small flat-bladed srewdriver -- worked like gangbusters . . . . after a lil while, thinking like Mr Bassman, I decided to make a dedicated tool for this job -- a BENT lil flatbladed screw driver

seasoned wrenches out that already know that I managed to create a late-60s dance-club light show and arc weld the screwdriver to the frame

another failed method would be to hold the battery upside down, to let gravity position the nut -- non-sealed batteries and acrobatic manuevers are contra-indicated, btw

these days, I usually grab a zip tie ;-}

[vulcanbill]

The new battery I just put in the FJ had threads built into the posts.  About _____ time.  No more stupid little nut.  

[HipGnosis]

Cardboard

[photomd]

Lots of times those lil' suckers will fit in a closed end wrench or an open end with a little grease to hold it. I've done that on the ones that kinda "float" above anything to lever it up.

[Bjorn Toulouse]

Ah one of the great secrets of being a mechanic.Cut small bits of the overflow tube and stuff them under the nutz.

Been usin' that technique for years. The cool thing is being able to leave the bits of hose in place.


Rex

[Ant]

Longer bolt
And a blob of grease that holds it in place when I take the bolt out to add new farkles

[tjhess74]

damn it, ant beat me to it!  i use the red anti corrosion grease that you put on battery posts.  holds it in place nicely, and protects your posts (not so much an issue on bikes, but same theory).

[black hills]

a 1/4" slice from a McDonalds straw.

[STalker]

Add a longer bolt...

That's what I did. If your adding another connection to the battery ( battery tender, power strip) the original bolt is too short.

[r2t2]

I put a second nut (from an old battery) under the new one. Works like a charm.

[hazra]

Longer bolt... and a long pair of needle nose pliers always works for me.

[Shane]

Been usin' that technique for years. The cool thing is being able to leave the bits of hose in place.


Rex

Yep, this is the hot setup.

Shane