Rick Carter

My battery is now 7+ years old, when it dies I'll see if i can find an identical replacement; I don't remember the brand but think I bought it at Autozone.

Jerad

I spent some time at the Johnson Controls battery plant in Ft Wayne IN. That plant services Walmart, Costco, Sears, Autozone (DC in Zanesville OH), Interstate Battery, Murray (DC near Detroit), Advance Auto (DC in Delaware OH), Pep Boys (DC in Plainfeild IN), etc in MI, IL, OH, IN, & KY. The batteries are made the same with the only differences being size, application, labeling, and packaging. The same truck delivers a few pallets to Walmart, then may go to Interstate Battery followed by a delivery at Costco. My point is that all the batteries go down the same production line and are delivered by the same truck.

ROG100

Ever since Doc created this thread I have bought WalMart batteries for half the price of any where else.
One had problems and was replaced immidiatly.
So far so good. Same warranty as every where else.

heinrich

My Optima Red Top has lasted about 5 years and still is showing no issues. It wasn't cheap.

heinrich

Can't imagine this to be true.

FlyingDog

I looked at Walmart last year, but they didn't make a size 49 (79-86 size). Their size 48 for the later cars isn't the highest level so the warranty actually isn't as good as Autozone or Advance Auto. Advance will give you 10% off for buying online and picking up in the store which made them the least expensive for 48 or 49.

marton

Ahem, of course, of course, do buy the higher price one

Marton

dr bob

I have over three trouble-free years on the AutoZone version in my car. It had a NAPA battery in it when I bought it, replaced by a NAPA under warranty three years later, and I replaced that one after three years with the AutoZone battery. It looks like the AutoZone version is bettering the results of the other two, and that's about half the price of the battery it replaced.

Of course, I've now re-enabled the Curse on the battery by mentioning it within 100' of wher the car and battery are resting right now. Will it fail in the garage like the last one did? Probably no...


JUne comes up on 4 years of life, and is the scheduled time for the full electrical monty. That includes cleaning and resealing the chassis ground points, the ground jumper between engine and frame rail in the front, the battery terminals and aux wires attached to them, and the connections on the starter motor. All easy to do when I have the belly pan off for the annual lower-side inspection, refresh/renew, and oil change session. At that time the specific gravity of the fluid in the battery is checked and recorded. One cell at less than good is reason to get the battery replaced. Maybe a new one will get dropped in then... Who knows?

85fortheDrive

Here's the new battery. It's clearly about 3" short of the length of the battery compartment. I spoke with Rog this morning and he says there is a battery brace bar that keeps the battery snug. I have never seen this brace bar, but am thinking it will be necessary to prevent battery movement.

I suppose I could wedge something in the extra space, but that would not prevent vertical movement.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

FlyingDog

You bought a 48 for a box designed for a 49. 49 is a snug fit and weighs a ton.

RyanPerrella

The battery brace Roger was referring to is that black shoe horn looking thing thats in the car right now held in with what looks to be a 13mm bolt. On my car its a hex head screw i think 6mm. That has to be pulled to remove and then replaced to keep the battery snug. But I would think a piece of wood or something would be sufficent.

I had no idea the earlier cars used a longer larger battery. Hell I thought the battery in my car was big, i cant imagine what a 49 series looks like.

FlyingDog

Look at the pic above and imagine the battery filling the box all the way to the right. Height and width are the same for 48 and 49. They're both common sizes for Mercedes.

docmirror

I'm not a fan of Wally mart. You should investigate the buying process at Wal-mart. The same crappy stuff is sold in all the stores, only difference is that Wally agrees to buy 3 million at a time. In my very first post I gave the best account I could of the product possible without disassembly.

The difference I could find is that the top cover wasn't green, but was orange/yellow. Knowing what I know about injection molding, this is an easy change. Do they use smaller but more plates in the case? Do they use an acid with a lower specific gravity? Do they sabotage the product before it hits the store? I doubt it, but that's just me. Buy what you like, it's a free country.

Bill Ball

48 fits the later battery box, although 48 is what Autozone lists for earlier 928s as well.

Jim bailey - 928 International

The battery box was made smaller to provide clearance for the dual exhaust where the right side pipe had to cross over behind the differential housing to merge into the final muffler. So the smaller battery was specified for the smaller box... The average for battery life in the U S is about three years according to one study that I read and that I believe is by design...they are in the business of selling