Battery Recommendations

There are skinnier batteries....

Or you could get a Bricknose tray from LMC. 💡
They don't get destroyed from eating all the salt thrown up by the tire.

Yeah, it's not a big deal to me. You'd mentioned group 65 so before someone goes out and gets one for a Bullnose I wanted to provide how they fit

This chart looks like it'd be useful for this: https://raybuck.com/automotive-battery-dimensions/

Note: "Any hold-down flanges at the bottom of a battery are not included in these measurements."

John - do you know what is in your truck now?

I appreciate you keeping me honest, Scott!  

48 seems to be 5/8 narrower but the same height and length.
Your chart doesn't say anything about terminal configurations...

Though I'm a bit surprised Ford used a such a narrow tray.
I wonder what Ford were using for their winter prepped "Plow Package" and diesels sold to DSO's in Alaska and prairie Canada?

Good question.

Taken from doc:


I know it's not the options you listed but for the diesel we are looking at Motorcraft 27 / 715CCA with a width of 6-27/32.

Raybuck shows 27 at 6-13/16 so close enough
Raybuck shows 65 at 7-1/2

I have a ValuePower, Interstate, and Everstart (all Group 65) on the bench right now hooked up to tenders that I can measure tomorrow to get the with and without feet width measurement. Also have the 85 F250 in the shop without a battery to get the max width between the ridges.

I wouldn't hesitate recommending the 65 even with the Bullnose tray. The 86 would still have a 65 in it if I hadn't needed to get a matched pair.

Well, look at that!
A 27 will fit the under fender battery tray without hitting the hood.  

It seems crazy that there is a battery down at 310 CCA and "Super Heavy Duty" starts at 400.
Never realized that an old rocking pole style starter could function with such tiny draw.

It also shows how far "maintenance free" (aka, acid sealed to avoid lawsuits) batteries have come in 40 years.
I love that cell chemistry is finally taking off.
Volta used lead/acid 400 years ago, and there's some evidence of cells dating back to the Egyptians.
(But I think that was more for lead pigment than 'ancient aliens')

I dropped by the dealer today to get a new battery, and they gave me this huge monstrosity that didn't even fit my battery tray/top clamp. The truck had a group 34 battery in it, so according to my searches the Motorcraft p/n I needed was a BXT-34B, which was not available at any of the Ford dealers around here. They did find a BXT-34A at a dealer about 60 miles away, and they were going to bring it in for me...I guess it is the previous version, although I have no idea what is different about it. As long as it physically fits, I guess I'm happy. The Group 34 battery that was in it was working just fine since I've owned the truck.

As long as it fits!  

I wonder why a group 34 was never offered by Ford (in the chart Scott posted)?

kramttocs wrote

This chart looks like it'd be useful for this: https://raybuck.com/automotive-battery-dimensions/

Note: "Any hold-down flanges at the bottom of a battery are not included in these measurements."

John - do you know what is in your truck now?

Scott, see photo below. Not sure what group it is but as I recall it's the same size as the OEM unit. Battery measures ~ 10.0"x5.5"x7.5". Basically, it's the battery Autozone pulls up as my replacement. Purchase date was 8/2015 so I'm just prepping for a new one.
 

20  2/2"!!!?
That's huge
Sounds like it belongs in a Mercedes!


Edit:. I see '95' on there....

Thanks, Jim. Correction made.....10"x5.5x7.5. That's 7.5" high.  

Looking at Gary's chart of original equipment batteries we see a few at 10" long, but nothing 5 1/2 wide or 7 1/2" high....  

ArdWrknTrk wrote

As long as it fits!  

I wonder why a group 34 was never offered by Ford (in the chart Scott posted)?

Maybe the original was a group 24? I believe it is almost the same as the 34, but 1” taller. I just picked up my new one this afternoon.

Corey, what specific group and size is your newly purchased battery? Any chance I can get a picture of it in you truck?

Am I correct that according to Gary's posted chart the correct group size for my truck is 64A? When I do battery searches for my specific truck on AZ, O'rielly's, etc, I get group size 56.

John - I see 24F, 56, 61, 62, 63, 64, & 64A as optional batteries.  Any one of them will fit, and some have more CCA's than others.

Thanks Gary. Guess I'm not reading into that chart correctly.

I'm looking at the dates, and if it says "80/" the "/" means "to the end of the catalog", which is 1989.  Then I look at Cyl & CID, where with the exception of the IDI I'm finding "6&8" and "all", so they fit everything.

Machspeed wrote

Corey, what specific group and size is your newly purchased battery? Any chance I can get a picture of it in you truck?

Am I correct that according to Gary's posted chart the correct group size for my truck is 64A? When I do battery searches for my specific truck on AZ, O'rielly's, etc, I get group size 56.

John,

Ignore my post on the Ford Motorcraft battery....I returned it this morning, and bought a different one. I know nothing about batteries, and haven't had to purchase a new one in I'm sure 10+ years. The one that was in my '84 was a 34/78DT, and it fit great. I swapped it over to my 1980 truck, and it fit in there great also...the clamp and J-hooks fit it perfectly.

So I went to the Ford dealer, and they sold me the recommended battery for the truck...and I'm sorry but I don't remember what group# it was, but it was a solid inch larger than my 34/78DT in every direction...inch wider, inch taller, and an inch longer (or so it seemed). That one seemed way too big and my hold-down wouldn't fit it or anything, so I returned it and asked for a group 34 battery...which was the BXT-34B (I think?), and I didn't realize until I got it home that the terminals were on opposite sides...lol, so this morning I returned THAT one.

What I learned was that my pre-existing 34/78DT battery is a group 34 "Universal"...the terminal posts are in the middle of the battery, instead of offset to one side or the other. So I tried a couple auto parts shops, and Napa had a few different ones in-stock, and I ended up with another 34/78 Universal fit...see below. The posts are in the middle, and it fits my hold-down bracket properly.

I don't know what is supposed to be in the truck, but this size/power battery seems to have more than enough CCA for my needs, and I now have the same size on both trucks, and they seem to fit well in the tray with the hold-down, etc.

Corey, your battery either sits lower than mine or my AZ battery is taller than the one you purchased. Look at my picture above and note the bracket from the header panel to my battery hold down and compare it to yours? If you don't follow me, I can better illustrate.

Yes sir I know what you mean. I think the Group #24 battery is the same size as mine except it is 1” taller?