Lowered Battery Box

You need to turn the battery on it's side on the clutch line side.

The only thing that you can do to make it easier is to put the clutch on a banjo fitting with a -3 Aeroquip line and that doesn't give you much more room.

Push the cables out of the box to get the battery out.

All I can say is TG for the Optima. Without that someone would be syphoning out the battery fluid to keep it from spilling out in the process.

Thanks for the info. I tried, but the cable holes in the body are too small to push the connectors through, and no matter how hard I push, they only go in about an inch anyway. Believe me I have about 0 clearance all around the battery box, so for the first few inches it has to be raised straight up (no ability to angle it). I tried angling it all directions too. That clutch line is very close to the top of the battery too, so there seems to be no way around that except to disconnect it (I suppose fluid will come out). Only way around this in my mind is to drill the holes bigger above both cables, so that they can be raised up higher allowing the battery to slide by them, and to disconnect the clutch line. Who knows how they got this thing inside the battery box in the first place, freakin magicians.

...I manufactured and installed My Battery Box. The only way to get the Battery in was to disconnect the clutch line and Loosen the Master Clutch Cylinder Bolts (2) almost all the way off; so the cylinder can be 'Swung' at and angle for clearence. It is NOT neccessary to disconnect the cylinders 'Push Rod'!! To make it much easier to get to the backside of the bolts to loosen them, I cut a 2.0 inch hole on the side of the foot/pedal box, using a holesaw. Now I can reach in 3 inches with a box end wrench and access the bolts without ever having to craw under the dash! The hole is then covered with a 2.5" X 2.5" Stainless Steel Plate and four SS screws, one in each corner. In My case, the cables Do NOT go through the Side of the Box, they come over the top of the battery from their original port in the Bulkhead above the Passenger footwell. You will have to Remove the TERMINALS from Your Cable Ends in order to get the Cables moved clear. Good-Luck with it!...

Thanks Marlin. I like your modifications, beyond the scope of my ablilities and temperment though. I never thought of removing the terminals from the cables. That may work if I can shove them through the wall. On mine it looks like the master clutch cylender may not be in the way if I can remove the hard line and sing (or bend) it to the side some. Looks like I will need to get out my clutch bleeding stuff too and buy some fluid. Any suggestion for plugging the clutch hole after I disconnect it, Wriggles? I will get out the Motrin and have a go at it a little later. Thanks.

Jan,

I take it this is not the GT5S? My factory GT5 battery box is longer and is not a sealed box but has open sides both ends.

Not much help to you, but for anyone contemplating installing a lowered battery this offers a much simpler install and access. I see no reason it needs to be a sealed box.

Gentlemen. I have the same setup. You do not need to disconnect the clutch master cylinder. The clutch line is what is in the way.

Installing a banjo fitting at the master cylinder and about a 12" -3 flexible Russell/Aeroquip line will give you just enough to get the battery out. Cut the tubing and put a -3 FM nut and ferrel on the tubing and use a double male steel -3 coupling.

Disconnect the cable ends from the cables and push them through the box.

Using the handle on the battery, lift the battery unevenly from the passenger side until you can get it on it's end, then just lift it out. Just reverse to reinstall.

You are dealing with an Optima battery so there is no acid to spill out. It is a gell battery.

It isn't fun to do this but that's how it gets done.

another shot

Thanks guys! Did it without using my 9mm on it like Elvis . PanteraDoug, looks like you have much more room than me to work with in your box. Mine had 0 clearance to wiggle anything around. I had to disconnect the clutch line, plugged it with a foam ear pug, and didn't have to bleed anything. Had to push disconnect the cable connectors though and shove them in. I also had my amp and CD to manuver around, but in the end it all worked. Thanks alot (photo below).

My box is 12-1/4" x 6-3/4", the battery is 10 x 6-3/4.

Photo below, 5S put to rest. My lessons learned:
· Even a non-mechanical dude like me can do some stuff.
· Ask questions, everyone here is so helpful.
· Buy a bigger battery box if thinking of a lowered box, similar to PanteraDoug.
· If you have a smaller battery box like me, consider an Odyssey battery instead. Damn things are small as hell, weigh much less and pack a punch (however they don’t do well if you drive your car infrequent and let it sit, unless you have a kill switch). I have one of those in my black Ultra 5S with even a smaller battery box than my tight red 5S!
· Finally, don’t have caffeine before doing frustrating jobs, and get the Motrin ready if you are stepping into the front trunk for long periods lifting a freakin 50 lb battery!

My connectors on-bolt, and then it is much easier to pull out... and I recently replaced the battery.

The old one didn't have a strap!

I had to use two long metal rods with a bent end... Almost like chop sticks.

I didn't make mine, I got it from Hall. From what I saw installing it, it is not possible to get a larger box in the car. It sits right up against the rack mountings and in order to install the bumpsteer shims, one of the bolts needs to be machined to clear the box.

I am not surprized at all that Pantera Performance Center or Wilkinson would make the box smaller.

The main culpret to getting the battery out is the outlet casting on the clutch slave sylinder. If there was a left exit rather then the existing right exit, it would be no issue at all,

I can't immagine what one is supposed to do to get an acid filled battery out of there. It would have been better to have the bottom of the box removable so that the battery could be dropped to the floor to get it out but then again you would have to get it past the radiator tubes which are right under it.

It is obvious that this location was never an original design consideration. It was just an afterthought to find some additional space in the front trunk. You wouldn't want the battery in this location for racing because you can't get the dam thing out of there in a minute or two.

The Optima with it's handle and gell fill help alot.

of the work that i did last winter, lowering the battery was without a doubt the most frustrating. every single thing that could go wrong, went wrong.

whether all the work, frustration and explitives were worth it i have no idea.

nazgul

quote:

The old one didn't have a strap!

I had to use two long metal rods with a bent end... Almost like chop sticks.

You don't see them very often anymore, what with all the side terminal batteries.

But an old fashioned 'battery carrying strap', as they are commonly called, works great for this.

Newer ones even appear to work on the side terminal style.

Larry

Talking about battery boxes, here is a shot of the battery box I mentioned on my black Hall 5S. Odessey battery is the smallest thing I have ever seen, real light too, but packs a pretty good punch. The guys said they use them in racing applications...I never even heard of them.

What a cute little battery.

This is the next mod I want to do to my car, so any suggestions are great as I am following this thread with great interest. A local car has a larger box as it has a bigger battery in there, but have not seen it for a while.
Once I do this I can recarpet the front trunk as that is the only thing that I have not redone since getting the car !!

I would recommend fitting the larger box in there since it will give you more room to manuever the battery and using the Optima battery so that even if you turn it upside down the thing won't spill fluid.

Suggestion though. If you intend to put the bumpsteer shims in the front rack do it before you do the box and change the bolts to allen socket heads. You will understand why when you fit the box in and see how close everything is.

Also, I'd recommend the banjo bolt, fitting and flexible hose line while you are at it.



Have fun mate! (no one noticed that my pedal plate is spaced out 2" for more leg room...)

quote:

Originally posted by DOES 200:
Talking about battery boxes, here is a shot of the battery box I mentioned on my black Hall 5S. Odessey battery is the smallest thing I have ever seen, real light too, but packs a pretty good punch. The guys said they use them in racing applications...I never even heard of them.

I use an Odessey in my car and 5 1/2 years later it still starts every time. I highly recommend them!

V8Capri, if you don't mind the odessey battery, you can go with a much smaller box. Then "nothing" gets in the way, and the battery has handles built in for easy lift out and put in. Just make sure you can push the cables through the hole, or make the cable holes large enough near the top of the box for the battery to pass by the cables. The battery is only about 5" tall as well.