Why is my battery hold down different than pictures of other rigs?

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will e
Posts: 5097
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2012 8:21 am

Why is my battery hold down different than pictures of other rigs?

Post by will e »

My battery hold down (83 Cherokee) is the type where it's just a plastic tab that presses against the bottom edge of the battery. You slide the opposite side under a small lip and then use a 3/8" both to hold down the plastic tab against the battery.

I've looked at pictures of various engine compartments and almost all of them have the type of hold down that uses a couple of long J type bolts and a piece that slides over them and the battery and then you tighten that down. It doesn't seem to be year specific, I have seen late model Grand Wagoneers with this type of mount as well as some older rigs.

Anyone know why they used one or the other?

I want a better hold down because I go offroad and bounce the heck out of my truck and the battery mount I have is about the worse one you could if you are wheeling.
81 Waggy 'WILL E' Retired
82 Cherokee WT - SOA/SF/high steer/Alcan springs/agr box/Borgeson steering shaft/AMC 401/performer/holley TA/HEI/BeCool/727/ALTAS (2.0/2.72/5.44)/D60 Snofighter(Yukon Zip,hubs,stubs,4.56)/14 Bolt (FF,BF shave, Discs, ARB,Artec Truss)/MTR 37X12.5/Corbeau XRS Baja & 5 point retractable harness/Hella Aux lights/tuffy console/killer32 sliders/Evil Twin bumpers, rack and roll cage/WARN 8000/TT Fabworks steering brace/dual batts/custom TC skid plate/ARB fridge

letank
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Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:16 pm
Location: SF bay area

Re: Why is my battery hold down different than pictures of other rigs?

Post by letank »

the usual is a metal tab pressing at the battery case base shoulder, should be called a heel. I have this set up on the 85 until the other side which is a lip of the battery tray base rust out which render this set up useless. So you move to the J hooks on the fender and somewhere under the battery tray.
The 74 had 2 J hooks, but front and rear with an angle iron on the engine side of the battery securing the top of the battery, the rear goes under the tray and the front had an elaborate bracket attached to the valence, securing a threaded rod, which was a pain to deal with... more or less same on the 86 civic, which is #@! as the angle iron is pretty close to the battery + post, batteries specs have changed a bit... dremel tool comes in handy to correct bracketry

The bottom attachment is common on newer vehicle... at least in my stable... the newer being 1994... Happy New Year Projects

No pict, but I can take some.
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)
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tgreese
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Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 6:31 am
Location: Medford MA USA

Re: Why is my battery hold down different than pictures of other rigs?

Post by tgreese »

My '75 CJ had J-hooks. In 1976, Jeep changed the CJ to use a heel that traps the battery at its base - no more frame and J-hooks. Both my '77 and '82 J-trucks have this "heel" style of hold down. The parts book confirms this change in 1976.

My impression is the top tray and J-hooks corrode a lot. Because the original was rotted, I converted my '75 CJ-6 to the '76 battery tray. I have not heard of any troubles with this style of hold-down.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
Blockchain the vote.

ArchitectJS
Posts: 293
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2015 5:01 pm

Re: Why is my battery hold down different than pictures of other rigs?

Post by ArchitectJS »

i have the heel on my Cherokee. i recently drove it without the hood and was surprised by how much the battery bounced around. i was considering a J hook hold down. I'll have to see how the heel is or isnt working.
1982 Cherokee, base (Bumppo)
AMC 258 / A727 - AMC 20 / NP208
Holley Sniper with Hyperspark
3" Rough County Lift

letank
Posts: 4010
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:16 pm
Location: SF bay area

Re: Why is my battery hold down different than pictures of other rigs?

Post by letank »

Here are some goodies, the heel tabs can be deformed, here they are upright and need to be slightly bent, visegrip works... I had to do it today

the tabs
MetalHolderBatFSJx.jpg
and the bracket
HeelTabsBatFSJx.jpg
Thank you Tim - I guess giigle keeps the original format

deleted unneeded picts
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by letank on Mon Jan 03, 2022 11:07 am, edited 2 times in total.
Michel
74 wag (349 Kmiles... parked, next step is a rust free body)
85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)
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tgreese
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Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 6:31 am
Location: Medford MA USA

Re: Why is my battery hold down different than pictures of other rigs?

Post by tgreese »

letank wrote: Sun Jan 02, 2022 4:37 pm Here are some goodies, the heel tabs can be deformed, here they are upright and need to be slightly bent, visegrip works... I had to do it today
Image


and the bracket

Image

Not too sure why the images are showing as postage stamp size!
Suggest you resize and post at 640x800 0r 800x640. Your resizing program will get into that range. Much larger than 800x600 and the forum will reject your images.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
Blockchain the vote.
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