Hello all!
I finally got tired of my OEM Motorcraft Group 96R battery puking its acid guts all over my positive battery terminal. At least every 1000 miles I was cleaning off a solid cake of corrosion, neutralizing it, coating it in protectant only to have it happen again almost right away. I have never had a battery do that in any car I've owned. Now unfortunately for us, Ford uses the group 96R battery on most models they sell, and the aftermarket does NOT currently offer a 96R AGM. Now for those who aren't aware, AGM stands for Absorbed Glass Mat, meaning you do not have acid sloshing around. AGMs are also sealed, so you don't have corrosive gas venting all the time either. The downside is that they are a bit more expensive. So what to do? Find a battery that is close in size and make it fit.
This cool website tells you all the different sizes of batteries:
http://www.batteryweb.com/bci.cfm
Group 96R battery (stock)
96R 9.60" x 6.20" x 6.90" R/H-POS TOP - SAE AUTO
Group 47
47 9.70" x 6.90" x 7.50" R/H-POS TOP - SAE AUTO
I measured the stock battery tray at about 10.25" x 7" x 7"
Now I chose group 47 because it is close in size, the most common and everyone stocks them.
The swap requires you to buy a new battery terminal and build/buy a new battery hold down since the battery is 1/2" taller. I was in a hurry last night so I just bent some aluminum into shape for a new battery tie down, welded a back strap on it for some strength, threw a piece of rubber under it and tightened it down.
The battery terminal that plays nice with stock cables:
http://www.autozone.com/batteries-s...y-terminal/296093_533288_23849/?checkfit=true
I finally got tired of my OEM Motorcraft Group 96R battery puking its acid guts all over my positive battery terminal. At least every 1000 miles I was cleaning off a solid cake of corrosion, neutralizing it, coating it in protectant only to have it happen again almost right away. I have never had a battery do that in any car I've owned. Now unfortunately for us, Ford uses the group 96R battery on most models they sell, and the aftermarket does NOT currently offer a 96R AGM. Now for those who aren't aware, AGM stands for Absorbed Glass Mat, meaning you do not have acid sloshing around. AGMs are also sealed, so you don't have corrosive gas venting all the time either. The downside is that they are a bit more expensive. So what to do? Find a battery that is close in size and make it fit.
This cool website tells you all the different sizes of batteries:
http://www.batteryweb.com/bci.cfm
Group 96R battery (stock)
96R 9.60" x 6.20" x 6.90" R/H-POS TOP - SAE AUTO
Group 47
47 9.70" x 6.90" x 7.50" R/H-POS TOP - SAE AUTO
I measured the stock battery tray at about 10.25" x 7" x 7"
Now I chose group 47 because it is close in size, the most common and everyone stocks them.
The swap requires you to buy a new battery terminal and build/buy a new battery hold down since the battery is 1/2" taller. I was in a hurry last night so I just bent some aluminum into shape for a new battery tie down, welded a back strap on it for some strength, threw a piece of rubber under it and tightened it down.
The battery terminal that plays nice with stock cables:
http://www.autozone.com/batteries-s...y-terminal/296093_533288_23849/?checkfit=true