Battery size?

[JoshT]

What battery to use?

2000 Explorer 5.0L going into 1999 Ranger. Explorer used a Group 65 battery at ~750 CCA. The Ranger calls for and fits a Group 59 at ~590 CCA and I assume that is the size actually in my truck.

When I bought the donor explorer I took the battery from my Ranger along for the ride not knowing what to expect, and planning ot drive it home. Good thing I did because the battery they had installed was laid over at an angle to fit and was leaking. Didn't say anything and after getting down the road a ways we swapped the battery out. It started fine and mde it home. Have used that battery to start it another time or two since, but looking at the specs it is under rated for the engine.

Unfortunately the Group 65 won't fit in the Ranger's battery tray. The Ranger's battery tray appears to be spot welded to the inner fender and core support so not exactly easy to remove (ignoring the cutting option). Even if it was easy to remove the Explorer's tray wouldn;t fit without rearranging everything on that fender, and I think one of the mounting points would be out in empty space.

So my question for all of you running a 5.0 swap is what battery are you using? Explorer's battery? Ranger's battery? Something else, and if so, what?

For those with a 98+ Ranger, maybe 93+ if battery tray is the same, what did you do? Keep what fits in the tray, or swap tray over as well?

I want to hit the easy button and just use the Ranger battery, but I don't want to get bit in the back side by the lack of CCA.

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

If you want to hit the easy button. Just do a red top optima battery. There smaller and come will adaptors so they work with pretty much any size. I have a yellow top in my ranger because I have a winch and there more heavy duty. According to Optimas web site a Red top series 25 fits. 720 CCAs. I've ran Red tops for years and yeah they cost more, but the one in my wifes truck is 7 years old and starts a 5.9 cummins just off the one battery without issues. If you could fit a series 34 in there its 800 CCAs. I have a 34 in my 89 B2 and a 34 yellow top in my ranger.

 

[JoshT]

Not sure that Optima is the easy button I want to use, but will keep it in mind.

Group 34 allegedly fits, but I've also seen this questioned on basis of size. It will fit in the tray, but may not get secured by hold down clamp.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I'd just run the smaller battery, you don't live in a cold climate where you need the CCA, my V8 explorers sit a lot and they don't take a lot to crank... there's a lot of parasitic drains in one of those dang things, my '00 is dead right now for some reason, that's one of tomorrow's things to get that running and the boat moved...

 

[don4331]

I'm betting 99% of those who have done the V-8 conversions just use the Ranger group 59 battery.

Even here in Calgary, which most would consider a cold climate, the smaller battery does just fine (OK, I plug the truck in, which includes a battery blanket, when it get cold out).

 

[SenorNoob]

For a little perspective on batteries, It's common here to see people use lawn mower batteries in their cars.

 

[don4331]

Another perspective - @19Walt93 's Mustang II came with a group 26r battery to start the carb'd 302 (group 26r - 8-3/16" long x 6-11/16" wide x 7-3/4" tall; 540 CCA)

Group 59 - 10" long x 7-5/8" wide x 7-3/4" tall

 

[19Walt93]

Another perspective - @19Walt93 's Mustang II came with a group 26r battery to start the carb'd 302 (group 26r - 8-3/16" long x 6-11/16" wide x 7-3/4" tall; 540 CCA)

Group 59 - 10" long x 7-5/8" wide x 7-3/4" tall

Nope, it was a 22F. I've had my Cobra II since 1990 and I bought a 77 Mustang new. The Cobra II has had a Focus battery in it for years, group 36 I think, it's slightly smaller and lighter and we had one in stock. Being carbureted it starts with a bump of the key, it doesn't need to spin several turns for the computer to decide which cylinder to fire so it doesn't need much cranking power.

 

[19Walt93]

What battery to use?

2000 Explorer 5.0L going into 1999 Ranger. Explorer used a Group 65 battery at ~750 CCA. The Ranger calls for and fits a Group 59 at ~590 CCA and I assume that is the size actually in my truck.

When I bought the donor explorer I took the battery from my Ranger along for the ride not knowing what to expect, and planning ot drive it home. Good thing I did because the battery they had installed was laid over at an angle to fit and was leaking. Didn't say anything and after getting down the road a ways we swapped the battery out. It started fine and mde it home. Have used that battery to start it another time or two since, but looking at the specs it is under rated for the engine.

Unfortunately the Group 65 won't fit in the Ranger's battery tray. The Ranger's battery tray appears to be spot welded to the inner fender and core support so not exactly easy to remove (ignoring the cutting option). Even if it was easy to remove the Explorer's tray wouldn;t fit without rearranging everything on that fender, and I think one of the mounting points would be out in empty space.

So my question for all of you running a 5.0 swap is what battery are you using? Explorer's battery? Ranger's battery? Something else, and if so, what?

For those with a 98+ Ranger, maybe 93+ if battery tray is the same, what did you do? Keep what fits in the tray, or swap tray over as well?

I want to hit the easy button and just use the Ranger battery, but I don't want to get bit in the back side by the lack of CCA.

Your info says you're in Georgia so you don't have to worry about starting in sub zero weather. I'd buy a premium quality Ranger battery, make sure your cables are in good shape and tight, and I'd run it.

 

[Josh P]

I built a battery tray for my 87 ranger and run a group 31 battery. Largest CCA I've used was 1200. If you forgot to turn the headlights off Friday night, it would still start Monday morning. Take a week for the stock alternator to charge the battery doing normal short trips around town.

 

[gw33gp]

I have a Group 34 Red Top Optima in my Ranger. I had to bend one area of the bottom tray a little to get it to fit, but it is in there and secure. I need as much reserve as I can get because I run a refrigerator and my night lights with it when I am on my wilderness adventures. It can still drain if I stay in one place too long, but I also have solar panels for that.

 

[JoshT]

Thought I replied yesterday, but it looks like I never hit submit.

@scotts90ranger & @don4331 Thank you for replying. That makes me feel better about using the Group 59 battery.

Scott & @19Walt93 y'all are correct about my location. As long as I'm around here it will likely never be an issue. One concern was that I want to start traveling more and, unless I'm pulling a heavy trailer, it will most likely be in this truck. I don't want to get off in a really cold area and have issues because of not enough CCA. From the replies above, it doesn't sound like i have much to worry about.

@Josh P sound like one heck of a battery. I don't think I want to go that extreme. Most likely I'll get the best Group 59 that my wallet likes, or possibly fit a Group 34.

@gw33gp did you have to bend to open it up for a bigger battery, or to close it up for a smaller battery?

 

[gw33gp]

I had to bend it out to fit the larger battery base. It wasn't much, but it would not fit in there otherwise. The width was fine, the battery was just a bit too long. I don't know if it would be the same for all 34 batteries though.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So, dad’s 2000 that we did the V-8 swap we ran a 59 series.

My 2000 I had ended up at one point bending the end of the tray on the core support side to fit a longer battery, forget what it was that I used, but it was a longer and narrower battery at one point and I had a piece of 5/8” heater hose between the battery and the clamp to pinch it in. When I did he V-8 swap, since my tray was pretty rusty, I opted for the plastic Explorer tray. I had to drill a couple holes and move the horn, but the tray fit nicely and now I have a 65 series in there. My goal was to make things as simple as possible on myself, with the exceptions of my tractors, all of my junk now uses 65 series batteries.

 

[JoshT]

That's what I was thinking about doing, with the Explorer tray. My battery tray is solid with minor surface rust so I'll probably run it for now and put the Explorer one on the shelf for future use.