Another Battery Swap/Upgrade Question moving from Stock Size

[RangerJoey]

Hi All,
I have a 99 project Ranger that calls for a Group 59 battery, (4.0 XLT). After checking the forums, it seems there are other options to throw in that allow for a beefier battery, (notably, more CCA). So I went ahead and shot first but now wondering if I have to do some more jiggering than I thought.
I picked up a Group 34. I can see I need to dremel off that little lip towards the front of the car, but before I go into that, does anyone know if the height is an issue? I never measured my old battery since height is the last thing I thought about. Additionally, this one looks a little thinner. Could just be my imagination, but do I need to swap/modify/upgrade the factory battery hold down? On mine at least, it's that wedge type design.

 

[SenorNoob]

Group 59
590 Cold Cranking Amps (CCA)
Length10 1/16 inches
Width 7 3/16 inches
Height 7 5/16 inches

Group 34
700 Cold Cranking Amps (CCA)
Length10 1/4 inches
Width 6 13/16 inches
Height 7 7/8 inches

I doubt 1/4 in more length and height would be a problem. Only way to know for sure is try it., unless someone has done it and posted a how to.

 

[RangerJoey]

Thanks! Going to cut that lip off and see what happens. I really don't want to make a mess of things here, but either way, I'd rather move away from that Group 59. Just hoping I don't have to accommodate the height. I just checked and the Everstart Max I picked up is 8 inches. That seems to be significantly taller than the Group 59 but in all the posts I came across, no one ever mentioned the height. I know the front ends upgraded over the years, but now I'm wondering if the 98-00 Rangers have a sloping hood that would prevent this upgrade.
Simple mods...never really simple

 

[SenorNoob]

Simple mods...never really simple

Amen!

 

[Curious Hound]

With ot being narrower, the traditional Ranger hold-down clamp probably won't work. You will most likely need a different hold-down.

I, personally, would steer clear of a taller battery. There is probably enough room. But not a lot. An easy test is to put a blob of modeling clay on top of the highest point of your stock battery. Then shut the hood. If the hood pushes down on the clay, It will leave the clay at the thickness of the clearance you currently have. Measure that, subtract about 1/2" for safety and you know how much taller your new battery can be.

 

[pentode]

I was on the same project last winter. In the end I just broke down and bought the group 59 as I wasn't going to save more than $20 and end up giving myself multiple headaches in the process. Looking forward to hearing how this turns out. Next time, I'm determined to find a better battery solution. Which will probably this winter as I bought a Canadian Tire battery.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So, with removing (or better yet flattening) the front of the tray you can wedge a 65 series in, but I wasn’t happy with that solution.

The 95-01 Explorers had a plastic tray that fit a 65 series. I removed the factory tray in my green 00 when I did a core support and swapped over to the Explorer tray. I had to bend the 4-wheel ABS bracket over a little and I had to replace the stud for ground wires on the core support with a bolt but otherwise a 65 series fits snugly. All of my current roadworthy trucks use a 65 series so it simplifies things for me

 

[RangerJoey]

Hi All,
Just a little update! First, I wish I read about the flattening. I went in with a dremel and it was relatively straightforward. But now there's another sharp edge to worry about. Saying that, the height clears! Curious Hound, I had a similar idea - though messier. I tossed on one of the plastic post caps that come with the battery, put some toothpaste on it, and slammed the hood a few times. No transfer! Unfortunately, I don't know what the available clearance actually is with this method. And that kind of leads to my biggest concern: securing the thinner batter to the OEM 59 tray.

I apologize upfront for the janky photos, but after cutting the tray, you can see the sharp metal left exposed:

There's a headlight wire that doesn't sit too far from that exposed metal, aka "Battery Tray Katana". But it's pretty loose. I'm thinking I could zip-tie that to the more rigid neighbor that runs horizontal above:

What was pretty helpful was cutting s quick cardboard template to get an idea for how this would play out. And as you can see, (bad angle actually), there's a good amount of gap now with the Size 34 being narrower/thinner:

In that cardboard image above, you can see I accidentally put the cardoard under the lip of the tray, (towards the outer portion of the truck), so the gap isn't as bad, but now you have a battery that's literally not secure on 3 of the 4 sides.
The images below are just a dry run with the wedge back in place. If I shift the battery towards the inner portion of the truck (meaning towards passenger's side), the last image is the gap that remains (think driver's side of the battery tray):

Passenger side view of the battery tray (towards engine)

Driver's side view of the tray (with gap) towards fender:

So yeah, the gap isn't terrible, but .25" gap or 25ft gap, it's not secure. I want to get some sort of J-hook setup, but given the state of the tray, I'm not super excited about adding new holes. Obviously this will get the POR treatment and all that, but even with an overhead clamp style, I still have that opening towards the front of the tray where the lip used to be. I think my best bet would be finding a [plastic] base that literally fits around size 34 batteries to larger size 59 trays. But alas, it doesn't seem like that exists. or at least not without adding height.

Any insight at this stage? One thing: I'm still okay with this mod. This is still a project and even when finished, it's not a daily so the reserve and CCA available in group 34 was ideal. I had a group 59 AGM and it just didn't work. Like I had to replace it within a year and shortly after the 3 year warranty, it wouldn't acknowledge a trickle charge without first hitting it with one of those [probably dangerous] jumper packs. In fairness, the truck sat around in a garage, but the point of the AGM was to offset the drain from non-usage. So i guess at this point, there's no going back!

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I did a janky solution to a narrow battery like that before and wedged a piece of old heater hose between the battery and the holder wedge. Worked just fine.