I've searched for threads on replacing a battery in a 2002 and couldn't find anything. My two questions are when taking the nut off the hold down bracket, will that bolt fall down unto the frame or some other part of the car that requires a fishing expedition. 2nd question, can the battery just be pulled up from its tray ( after the terminals are disconncted)? It seems like a pretty snug opening.
This seems like a straight forward but I'm trying to make sure I didn't miss some thing.
Thanks

 

Just changed mine yesterday. There is no nut on the lower side i think the tray has a threaded piece. It did take a little manuevering to lift the battery out. Took me 10 mins to do.

 

No Problem EZ R&R.Replaced my battery with the Optima Red Top..no worries with acid leaks.

 

It takes about 30 seconds to get the battery out. There is no trick to it. The hold down bracket will not fall down into the engine compartment.

 

I replaced mine with an Optima red top this week. No problem with the hold down bracket or bolt dropping into the engine compartment. In fact, my bolt had a retainer under the bracket to keep them together.

You have to lift the battery and angle it a bit to get it out, but there is plenty of wiggle room. The whole project took about 10 minutes. The hardest part - not really hard - was being careful starting the battery cable bolts straight so you do not cross thread them into the new battery.

 

My 3 year delco was found to be leaking while I was traveling. Just started minor corrosion on the hold down bolt. I flooded it with water and all the corrosion washed off. Had to drive another 1000 miles. But tomorrow I plan to replace the battery. Planned to use Red top,, but many bad stories have moved me to other choices. 99 Nassau Blue

 

Soooo... what kind of battery are you going to buy then?

 

I just replaced mine with another delco battery, the one I just replaced was also a delco (not the original delco battery) I figured if it lasts as long as the old one (5 years) I'm doing fine.

 

I had a mess under the bat.. The delco leaked at the + post. I took it back to the dealer and they did not stock delco's anymore due to leakage? So They offered me Store credit to $50 (which was very fair) and they did have the Optima Red Top,, so I took a chance and bought it.

What a clean up job. Fortunately the acid (like a jell) was only on the outside of the wire loom and not through the outer housing to the wires. I had to remove the bat. box. shield and then chip the crud. Then wire brush and finally used a solution of baking soda and water to flush and neutralize. I removed the rubber covers on the cables and they were green and crud also. Baking soda soak cleaned them up, then polished off clean. After all this I had to paint the frame. The paint used was Rustoleum Flat black and brushed on. Ug to trying to mask and spray. I probably would have ended up with speckle coat.

The flat black is almost identical to the gm black on the frame. Now all is cleaned painted and sealed with new red top. First start volts went to 11.1 and slowly came up. I drove it about 20 min after installation and it seems to be ok for now and best of all no warning lights.

Big clean up job though. The only way I knew the delco was leaking was the hold down bolt had corroded. Now to see how the Optima holds up,, fingers crossed.

99 Nassau Blue

 

The Optima Red Top is a jell battery..no worries about leakage.
It is worth the $$.
I was told the reason the Delco battery leak is because GM didn't put a long enough positive cable and virbration works the positive post loose causing acid leakage and if you don't catch it in time can cause some serious damage to electrical and computer. my .02 cent.

 

One should look for an Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) battery as these won't leak. Optima is one but there are other brands out there including Delco. Just do your homework.

 

I wouldn't advise getting the Delco one (if they still make it). GM tried those in the Corvettes for less than a year. They had so many failures they gave up on them.

I'm not sure they are still manufactured.

 

Thanks for all your help and information. I'm going to put another Delco in, the battery ran down very low several times to the point that it took 4-5 cranks to get it started.
I bought a battery tender which works fine so I should be good for another 3-5 years.