hey all i have a 92 f150 with an I-6


and my battery is giving me problems...so it is time for a new one

the one i have now is an "auto zone" brand battery that i have had for about 2 years and i have done some things with it that i probably shouldnt have ......but it is tired now ....


the original reason that i got the autozone brand instead of some more expensive brand is because at the time i was a lil short on money...

right now i want to get something that is decent and dependable that will have the cca that i need and will hold up to the cold

i am not going to say that money is no object ...i am not about to spend no 200 bucks for a battery but i want something dependable...
i have known of family members that have run "duralast "batteries also sold out of autozone in theyre vehicles and have had good luck with them

so right at this point i am debating between a duralast gold from autozone and some form of die hard from sears(they have 2 types listed...the die hard gold and the die hard truck/suv) because of the reputation that they have backing them...

i just want to get something now before this wacky cny weather hits me again...

any suggestions/opinions are appreciated...i just dont want to start a war here

 

The Sears batteries are no longer as great as they used to be 20 years ago. I used nothing but the most expensive DieHards for about 15 years and none of them ever lasted me more than 3 years. Several of them developed dead cells and died prematurely. Yeah, they got a pro rated warranty but so does everybody else. I'd get an Interstate or else whatever the top battery is at Auto Zone or perhaps NAPA.

 

Consider the INTERSTATE brand in a higher capacity that will fit your holder tray and hold down and has the terminals in the right place.

Have the alternator tested to be sure it will keep the battery charged and is not causing any current drain problems.

 

I never have had a problem with diehards.....Get a Battery with at least 750 cold cranking amps and run a lighter oil than 10w30, not sure how light you can go with a 300 six, but a lighter oil will help your engine turn over quicker.

 

I'm thinking an Optimia Battery (red or yellow top) would do the trick very nicely...question is can your truck keep up w/ the battery

Tony

 

Go to Wallmart and pick one thier better batteries. Have you tested the charging system? Pay attention to the CCA but make sure you get a good reserve capacity. If your alternator takes a crap the reserve capacity is what will get you home. Unfortunatly you cannot have both. Tha Optima batteries have about 700-800 CCA but the reverve is a lot better than those high CCA batteries. What makes the Optima different is the gel cell that allows you to mount it in any position. It will not leak when upside down. Well others are now coming out with their own version of the gell cell so you can now pay less for the same technology.

JMC

 

Ditto what "JMC" said and I have to give the Optima a good plug here also.

We were having troubles with standard batteries in our emergency eguipment at our Dept. The rescue sqaud was the biggest problem, it puts a very high load on a battery every time it rolls, over 100 amp continueous loads (with lights and everthing) We were getting about 1 year life out of a set ( 2 ) of a standard top of the line battery.

We switch to yellow top Optima late in 2001 and they are still in there.

On a person note: I found Sams Club offered a spiralcell design battery (about 2 years ago) I believe it was called (or endorsed) nascar series. I put one of these into my truck two years ago.

The sprialcell design doesn't have the problems that wet cell batteries have. Are physically tougher by design and have less internal resistance, meaning quicker refresh rates, more cca.

I know this may sound like a comercial, but I'm just a chief on a volunteer fire dept. / electronic's tech by day, happy spiralcell battery believer.

Gene