Well, the battery tray in my '86 GT from Rhode Island rusted to pieces (imagine that), so I'm building a replacement to bolt in its place. I've been thinking since I started this venture about how best to coat the tray to keep from having to do this again. The answer I believe I've come up with is to shoot it with truck bed liner, unless anyone here has a better idea...? Thanks in advance - Chris
I put mine up front in a fiberglass mounting....Plastic is the only thing that really holds up to battery acid....Why they don't mount all batteries in plastic (Container) trays and then have a drain that hangs away from frames and suspension is beyond me....Even "sealed" batteries leak stuff, and with our batteries exposed to rain in the stock location, any acid residue on the top will wash down onto.....THE METAL FRAME! (Even my CA car)
I put a plastic sheet over the battery when it was in the stock location to keep most of the rain off.....
I know only about an older school approach. I brush on Duro navel jelly, let it sit for a while, re-apply again, rinse off completely, let it dry, then paint the whole battery tray area with Rustoleum and a brush. Please note that I used (and hope they still sell) the kind of Rustoleum primer that has FISH OIL in it. It used to be kind of a reddish brown color. And man, does it take a long time to dry between coats! Another tip is to NOT let the battery sit directly on top of the metal tray. Put a plastic liner or thin piece of plywood on the battery tray first! Thanks, Kit
Originally posted by cvxjet: I put mine up front in a fiberglass mounting....Plastic is the only thing that really holds up to battery acid....Why they don't mount all batteries in plastic (Container) trays and then have a drain that hangs away from frames and suspension is beyond me....Even "sealed" batteries leak stuff, and with our batteries exposed to rain in the stock location, any acid residue on the top will wash down onto.....THE METAL FRAME! (Even my CA car)
None of these things you're proposing helps to sell new cars, therefore it is illogical to include them in the design of the car.
I added an ‘acid neutralizing mat’ under my batterey a few years ago. got off of ebay. Maybe time to go look how well it's holding up but at worst it cannot have hurt any!
------------------ Anything I might say is probably worth what you paid for it, so treat it accordingly!
For anyone that has replaced the tray(s) - how did you attach it to the car as the original was spot welded into place. Did you just screw it in or rivets or???
I bought a new tray several years ago, but the original is still in pretty good shape. It was just something I noted that would have to be taken care of in the future (also the fact that the tray is in 2 pieces).
For anyone that has replaced the tray(s) - how did you attach it to the car as the original was spot welded into place. Did you just screw it in or rivets or???
I bought a new tray several years ago, but the original is still in pretty good shape. It was just something I noted that would have to be taken care of in the future (also the fact that the tray is in 2 pieces).
I (mostly) replaced the rows of spot welds with rows of rivnuts. I wanted my battery tray to be removable.
Rivnuts install just like pop-rivets, but they leave a female thread in which a bolt can be threaded.
Thanks to all for the ideas. At this point, the factory tray is beyond salvaging - the little that remains after I cut away the rusted bits wouldn't hold a battery to save its life. The replacement tray is in the works, but it's for a lead/acid battery. I like the idea of an Optima battery; maybe when the current unit shoots craps... Toward that end, I'm curious, pmbrunelle - is your riv-nut installation holding up?
I don't know; my Fiero has been undergoing an overhaul for the last 2-1/2 years, with at least another 1/2 year before I'm "done". I'll know for sure when I drive the car.
That said, the rivnuts look and feel quite beefy; I don't have doubts that they'll hold. How strong they are depends on the size and material as well; these are steel M6 rivnuts.
If the rivnuts were a smaller size, or made of aluminium, I'm not sure they would be strong enough (doesn't mean they wouldn't hold though). I don't like aluminium rivnuts, because corrosion is accelerated when dissimilar metals touch each other (i.e. the aluminium rivnut touching the steel body).
The downside of the steel rivnuts is that they're tougher to install; they may require a more expensive rivnut tool, with long handles, that can handle lots of force.
