My battery died.
I don't drive the car enough, and when I do the trips are not long enough for the battery to fully charge. It’s my fun/hobby car now so it sits in the garage and I take it out occasionally for a fun drive. When I pulled the dead battery I noticed the bay looks a little grungy and unkept. There was lots of rust on the battery tray, plastics looked dull and dry, and overall lots of dust and grime; project time! It’s a bit of an overkill because all I had to do was put in a new battery and everything would have been fine, but as long as I'm in there I might as well do some housekeeping.

I have been on a cleaning/restoration kick lately since the car sits in the garage. I'm curious if anyone else does these overkill cleaning or maintenance projects that no one else will appreciate because no one will ever see them. With this one, I found a few loose screws, plastic push pins, and leaves on the bottom of the bay so at least I got some weight reduction out of it!


A little dirty


The battery tray could use a vacation. I was going to buy a new one but these things are really expensive for some reason, so I just decided to clean it instead. Those four rusty screws holding it down are overpriced for what they are. I could get them on ebay for $5 each, or auto parts site for around a $1 each with $13 shipping. I opted for a rust remover instead and it worked out perfectly. I treated the tray with 303 cleaner and it looks great.


The negative battery terminal was in ok shape. I looked for a new one but they sell for over $60 new and I already had a used one so I decided to just clean it up.


Good as new.


Battery bracket started to rust. Whoever installed the last battery didn't tie it down, they dropped the screws and J hooks into the bay and didn't bother getting them out. The battery has been just hanging out unsupervised in the bay, I was happy to at least find the bracket and the hooks in there. This is probably how the bracket rusted, sitting down there with some water and battery juices.


Nothing some rust remover can't solve


The positive terminal looks beat up too, luckily this one was cheap. Only about $11 for the oem part.


Much better


Bay looking dirty, I already wiped the walls but the bottom was a little tricky. I couldn't get into the every nook, gotta pick your battles though. Also, I learned there is a second fuse box behind the battery!


All cleaned up with rubbing alcohol and plastics/rubber treated with 303 cleaner.

 

Very nice. I did this work when my IPDM got soaked. Love making things look new again.

 

Use electrical anti-oxidation grease DE-OX or equivalent (not dielectric, that actually is the opposite and is designed to BLOCK the flow of electricity, hence the name) on all electrical fittings, both on the contact points and any exposed metal surfaces. A very thin layer applied with your finger is all that's needed and it will basically never rust again.

Anything like your battery tiedown that's rusty like that it's a good idea to spray it with acid neutralizer just to be sure there's nothing caustic on it that's causing the rust.

I didn't see any pictures with the battery installed but always make sure to use a sealed battery on these vehicles, the cabin air filter is right next to the battery and you do NOT want to be potentially sucking acid vapor into your heater core, it will definitely cause issues later in life.

Since your vehicle is not regularly driven a trickle charger should be installed to prevent electrical problems in the future. It only takes about 15 minutes of road use to charge a battery that's only discharged enough to not start, a FULLY dead battery needs 30 min minimum.

Looks good though, I love 303 cleaner and go through a couple bottles a year minimum. I live in a desert hot environment and most folks have cracked dashboards and I've never had a problem since I started using 303 about 5-6 years ago. That company makes Sta-bil and Heet which are two other excellent products.

 

Just a tip: Drill some small holes in the lowest parts of your battery tray to prevent water from collecting there and rusting the bolts away. Gotta drill at an angle though. If u drill straight down u will go thru the metal underneath.

 

I used the green and red pads with grease on them but I was hesitant to put grease all over because dirt would stick to it

Doh! I got a regular battery. I always had a regular battery in the car for the last 14 years, unless it came with a sealed one. I don't know if I want to spend money on a new one, is this a real concern? I have been on the boards for quite a while and never heard an issue with this before.

Trickle charger, check! I found out the hard way that I needed one and this one seems to tenderize the battery quite well based on some reviews.


Here is the positive hook up for the trickle charger. I decided to go with a permanent hook up instead of the clamps. The car is going to sit most of the week so might as well have something built in.


I had the negative hooked up to the battery terminal, but then I read that there is a minuscule chance that things could explode with that set up so I hooked it up to the body. I tried to go for a stealthy set up, I think it worked out well. I ran the wire under the gray oem tubing and hooked it up to the top screw. The wire over the tubing is the charging harness.


My red cap for the positive terminal broke, another thing to fix. But overall things look good.


I let the battery breathe like fine wine as it ages gracefully while charging


And this is how it sits regularly while charging. Now that the small compartment is clean, the rest of the engine bay bothers me. I think I need to do something about it.

 

This is a good tip for the street urchin Gs. This garage queen is not ever going to see rain again. I spend way to much time cleaning, polishing, and waxing to let rain touch the car. Thats what the DD is for!

 

Here is another item that needed fixing, I somehow lost the spring in my cup holder insert. Sure, it still works just fine but it has never been the same since.
I wanted to buy a new one but they are discontinued and it seems silly to pay ~$30+for a used part just to get the spring.

The flap is looking sad and flaccid.


Only one very old pen was harmed in making of this spring, it was at the end of its life and now serves a higher purpose.


Another angle


In the cup holder


Strong like bull!

 

More stuff, I don't know how I lose these things but I suppose it happens over the course of 14 years. The little rubber nipple fell out of my armrest so it was unbalanced and made a noise. Also, the rubber tore on the spring that pushes the gas lid out. This time I was able to find new oem parts which was a nice change of pace.






Here are the parts with numbers in case anyone is interested. I got the little rubber stopper for the gas tank lid while I was at it, it was only about $2. It goes to the right of the spring and makes sure the lid has tension against the spring, now my lid lines up nicely with the body. You can see in the above picture that it got a little smashed over the years.


Out of baggies for a better look.
Both the old spring and the rubber stopper did not go quietly into the night when I tried pulling them out of the car. They both disintegrated on their exit, but it had to be done.


Of course some clean up while I was messing with this area, rubbing alcohol, 303 cleaner, and some wax.

 

Crap I didnt even know there was supposed to be a rubber cover over the gas lid spring thingie lol.

 

Great idea. I did this after I drove through some high water and my horn wouldn't stop going off when the IPDM got wet. Now it'll drain proper (the lower vertical sections of the battery tray where the bolts go).

Genius! I never had it work as it was supposed to. Going to modify one of the bic pen springs I have around to do this .

Nice work on that. FYI your gas cap lock is broken. Common problem. The little piece of plastic highlighted in red opens and returns with the lock and unlock on your keys! I drilled a small hole in the end and installed a screw into said piece of plastic to bring it back to life. Has worked great for 2.5 years now.

 

It's not broken, it's just retracted like a frightened turtle. Here it is in its full Bobbitt glory. Sir, you are spreading unfounded rumors about my fuel lid actuator!
Now I wonder, did you put a screw through your perfectly good lock? LOL

 

About the vented battery, as long as you don't have a discharging battery it will PROBABLY never be a problem, just be sure to watch the battery and if you ever see wetness around the posts or caps then immediately replace it. The red/green pads for the battery are designed exactly for that, they have a slight chemical neutralizer in them so when the battery starts to leak a little fluid past the posts it will hopefully be immediately neutralized by the pads. However this doesn't do anything for the vent caps, when a battery is overworked either by pulling too much current out too quickly (not likely unless you are using it to jump start other vehicles) or if it's allowed to discharge slowly for a VERY long time like many hours (not likely unless you have a constant battery drain like a faulty stereo or something) then the battery generates a LOT of heat, enough to turn the distilled water inside it into a vapor that escapes past the caps. Normally this wouldn't happen as long as the vehicle is functioning properly.

Keep an eye on it, check it a few times per year, if it ever starts to look we around the vent caps or posts then replace it with a sealed unit.

 

The reason I suggested the sealed battery specifically is because the items in these pictures have both been subjected to sulfuric acid from a battery, that's why they are so heavily corroded. A sealed battery can leak as well, from the terminals, it's just something you need to inspect for semi-regularly and a big reason why you shouldn't use a battery for longer than 5 years. Not only is it not holding as much charge but the plastic casing is likely getting microfractures around the posts.

 

I was on mobile it looked broken lol. Mine was snapped off yours is good .

 

I shouldnt mention this but SEM paints! hahaa... I just painted my window Cowl with black trim, did the whole battery plastic pieces while I had the cowl off the car. Minus well. Next up is resrpraying the inside of the car. Got the black SCOOSCHE double din kit but the black made the car to dark inside. So I got some Titanium Metallic for the center pieces. Just the little bit I sprayed looks freaking hot! And off the assembly line amazing. That paint is so easy to work with. It lays perfectly flat. Anyway, that cup holder you have in your hand is to be painted black so it looks like new. Throw on 2 or 3 coats of SEM and a couple coats of clear coat and it will look like the day you pulled out of the showroom. Can't wait to get it all done.