Delco Battery
Pro
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 628
Likes: 3
From: Greenville NC
TERMINAL woes...
Every vehicle (GM) that I have owned has had severe corrosion on the terminals of Delco batteries. A 2002 Buick LeSabre we use in our business had a rotten positive terminal on a Delco last year. I will probably replace the battery in my wife's HHR before it gets three years old. Are Advance Auto Parts batteries made by the same people that make Diehards for Sears? Are side terminals more prone to corrosion? 
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 96,443
Likes: 9
From: Fort Knox, KY
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They say the broken side terminals is due to overtightening more than anything else.
I think if you don't overtighten and coat the battery terminals with petroleum jelly, white lithium grease or some other type of corrosion inhibitor, you won't experience this problem.
At least, I have not.
I think if you don't overtighten and coat the battery terminals with petroleum jelly, white lithium grease or some other type of corrosion inhibitor, you won't experience this problem.
At least, I have not.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 671
Likes: 10
2021 C4 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist
Sear's Diehard
Right on the money!!! I cranked an engine for 20 minutes (not continuously of course) at -53F. Eventually the car got started and that batery still had lots of juice. No block heater, no battery blanket just straight up electrons!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 9,715
Likes: 27
From: Kempner Texas
Originally Posted by Buddy2003
The AC Delco battery on my 96 LT4 died today, it was 3yrs 5months old and had 40K miles on it. Replaced it with a AutoZone DuraLast, 3 yr replacement, then 5 yrs of proration.
Had lots of fun changing them out. Took about 45 minutes, most of that time was trying to get the positive battery cable started.
Had lots of fun changing them out. Took about 45 minutes, most of that time was trying to get the positive battery cable started.
I plan to drive up to the Chicago area in a few weeks and may spend the winter helping my niece finish her rec room, etc. so I decided to pull the 500 CC amp battery and put in one with higher cold cranking amps.
Bought a 720 CCA at AutoZone and only had pulled the gill cover to access the hold down and cables. Two 12 mm and four torx head bolts are all it took.
I sat on a five gallon paint bucket while I worked. Really simple too and I didn't have any problem accessing the postive post.
So there must be something different between the LT1 and LT4 setups.
Jake
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 8,700
Likes: 298
From: Ft. Lauderdale Fl
Originally Posted by JAKE
Wonder how ours differs.
I plan to drive up to the Chicago area in a few weeks and may spend the winter helping my niece finish her rec room, etc. so I decided to pull the 500 CC amp battery and put in one with higher cold cranking amps.
Bought a 720 CCA at AutoZone and only had pulled the gill cover to access the hold down and cables. Two 12 mm and four torx head bolts are all it took.
I sat on a five gallon paint bucket while I worked. Really simple too and I didn't have any problem accessing the postive post.
So there must be something different between the LT1 and LT4 setups.
Jake
I plan to drive up to the Chicago area in a few weeks and may spend the winter helping my niece finish her rec room, etc. so I decided to pull the 500 CC amp battery and put in one with higher cold cranking amps.
Bought a 720 CCA at AutoZone and only had pulled the gill cover to access the hold down and cables. Two 12 mm and four torx head bolts are all it took.
I sat on a five gallon paint bucket while I worked. Really simple too and I didn't have any problem accessing the postive post.
So there must be something different between the LT1 and LT4 setups.
Jake
I changed out my battery several weeks ago and also sat on a five gallon jug. BTW I am visiting my daughter in Arlington, Tx. and I found out that we're only about 40 minutes from you.
Large Impressive Member
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 65,811
Likes: 71
From: Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die
St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07
Originally Posted by onedef92
They say the broken side terminals is due to overtightening more than anything else.
I think if you don't overtighten and coat the battery terminals with petroleum jelly, white lithium grease or some other type of corrosion inhibitor, you won't experience this problem.
At least, I have not.
I think if you don't overtighten and coat the battery terminals with petroleum jelly, white lithium grease or some other type of corrosion inhibitor, you won't experience this problem.
At least, I have not.
I agree with the overtightening part. Best to use an anticorrosion product designed for this though, rather than anything oil based. If an oil based product seeps into the contact area, it it not a good conductor. More than 15 years ago I was in the battery business for a couple of years. I saw and learned a lot in that time. On whole, the best batteries I saw were OEM Delcos, Motorcrafts and batteries of various names that came in the Japanese imports. Yes, there will always be some early failures in any brand but it was not unusual for me to replace these batteries that had given 6 or 7 years of good service. That being said, a lot may have changed since then, different sources, etc. I don't know anymore than anyone else now, it's a crap shoot. The best aftermarket batteries I saw then were the Sears, but I know for a fact they've changed their source since then so I'm less confident in them than I once was. The worst big name battery I saw back then was the Interstate. I was constanly changing out their top grade batteries after premature failures. I love Paul Harvey but he doesn't know anymore about batteries than I know about astrophysics!
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