Simple Repairs made MORE Difficult

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: babyivan
Originally Posted By: Spazdog

I hate the Mercedes ML and the Cherokee and Durango that are based on it. It is difficult to get to the battery (under the passenger front seat) and I wonder how long it will be until someone puts the wrong battery in, it outgasses, and someone inside lights a cigarette blowing up everyone in the car.

Batteries belong under the hood, IMO. BMW likes to put them under the back seat, iirc... and for what reason I have no idea

MB has large battery size 49 under back seat in many car models. The battery has vent tube to outside (through floor hole).

I think they do it that way to reduce the weight on the front axle.

 

[74DartSport]

Originally Posted By: Lubener
Also some late model Chryslers, you have to remove the left front tire and the plastic inner fender panel to remove the battery.

First and second gen Sebring / Cirrus / Stratus / Breeze.
I've owned a couple and can actually do it by turning the wheels all the way to one side. Fender liner is ~ 6 screws, one bolt for the battery holddown and two for the side terminals.

Serpentine belt on a Caliber with the 2.0 World engine. It's 8½' long, two idlers, one tensioner and a clutched alternator pulley that fails every 36,000 miles. To change the pulley remove the belt, one of the idlers, unbolt the AC compressor and shove it aside, weasel the alternator out (there is a procedure in the service manual on how to turn/twist/align to do this) then reverse to install.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: babyivan

Batteries belong under the hood, IMO. BMW likes to put them under the back seat, iirc... and for what reason I have no idea


BMW mounts the battery in the trunk in order to help achieve a 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. I've never had an issue with them- except for fixing a friend's X3 after a barely sentient "professional technician" yanked out the OEM battery without removing the vent tube.

 

[babyivan]

Originally Posted By: MCompact


BMW mounts the battery in the trunk in order to help achieve a 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. I've never had an issue with them- except for fixing a friend's X3 after a barely sentient "professional technician" yanked out the OEM battery without removing the vent tube.

Ahhhhh.... good point on weight distribution.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Not just BMW...my Magnum had the battery in the spare tire well. I recall Miatas also have the battery in the trunk.

My Escort had the battery under the hatch.

 

[Spazdog]

The ML class (and new Durango and Grand Cherokee) is under the passenger front seat

If properly vented, it is not a real problem. kind of a hassle to access but really not any worse than the current Euro-design Fords that have the battery under the hood but the back terminalis way back under the cowl. My concern is that 5-10 years from now when someone buys a used Durango at a tote the note lot with the cheapest gr24 battery that is not vented properly into that location.

 

[jdoucet]

My sister in law has the same car. It was an unbelievable amount of work just to change a lightbulb.

 

[CBR.worm]

I like the battery in the trunk in the BMW, I don't like that a clogged sunroof drain line or trunk seal will fill the multiple ECUs that are also mounted there with water.

 

[artificialist]

There is another good reason to have a battery in the interior. It lasts longer because it experiences less heat. Here in Florida, I could expect 2 1/2 years from an underhood battery, but ones located elsewhere often lasted 5 years or longer.

Yes, the vents are an issue. When I did the work to the ION, the only aftermarket battery with the proper vents was a Deka battery.

 

[linksep]

Originally Posted By: babyivan
Batteries belong under the hood, IMO. BMW likes to put them under the back seat, iirc... and for what reason I have no idea

Why put a battery in the passenger compartment or trunk?
1) Weight distribution
2) Safety (less likely to rupture in an accident and spill acid everywhere).
3) Space, a lot of modern engine bays are very crowded and finding a space large enough for the battery is easy if you look under a seat or in the trunk.
4) Environment -- A battery will live much longer if it isn't exposed to the extreme heat and cold of an engine bay.

The trunk mounted battery in my BMW was over 11 years old when I sold the car. The trunk mounted battery in my Saturn is over 10 years old and still going strong.

 

[jrmason]

Some Cadillac models have their batteries under the rear seat. Clearing the vent lines is part of the recommended routine maintenance.

The wifes VW Beetle TDI's altenator developed a bad bearing. VW must make them out of plutonium at the price they go for. So I set out in search of replacement bearings and found them for a very reasonable price. Also replaced the brushes, voltage regulator, and the one way clutch pulley. I had less than $100 into rebuilding the altenator which was a third of the price of a reman. Also replaced the tensioner and belt while I was in there as it is a TIGHT fit and did not want to have to go back in there anytime soon.

In order to get to the altenator, you must remove:

1) belly pan
2) passenger front tire
3) passenger fender skirt
4) remove intercooler piping
5) remove the serpentine belt
6) unplug the passenger side cooling fan and remove
7) remove the a/c compressor and tie it up as out of the way as you can without disconnecting the hoses.
8) remove belt tensioner
9) unbolt altenator and proceed to lose some skin while you fenangle it out of it's home WITHOUT putting a hole in the radiator

Every time I work on that car which fortunately is not often at all, I appreciate the vast engine compartment space in my Dodge Ram/CTD.

 

[CBR.worm]

Ha! I looked at doing that on my brother's old tdi beetle and gave him the name and number of the shop that I have do the work I don't want to. Same guy who did the alternator on our old A4 - though for that one you only had to pull the intake and a bit of plumbing. Maybe the radiator, I try not to remember.

 

[babyivan]

Originally Posted By: linksep
Originally Posted By: babyivan
Batteries belong under the hood, IMO. BMW likes to put them under the back seat, iirc... and for what reason I have no idea

Why put a battery in the passenger compartment or trunk?
1) Weight distribution
2) Safety (less likely to rupture in an accident and spill acid everywhere).
3) Space, a lot of modern engine bays are very crowded and finding a space large enough for the battery is easy if you look under a seat or in the trunk.
4) Environment -- A battery will live much longer if it isn't exposed to the extreme heat and cold of an engine bay.

The trunk mounted battery in my BMW was over 11 years old when I sold the car. The trunk mounted battery in my Saturn is over 10 years old and still going strong.

Valid points. I especially like the fact that the battery lasts much longer out of the engine bay. I'm lucky if I get 4 years out of a battery.

 

[artificialist]

I just thought of another situation that really annoyed me. Ever replace a water pump on a Chrysler 2.7L V6?

For weeks after I did that job, a shiver would go down my spine every time I saw a Chrysler Sebring.

 

[babyivan]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
.... a shiver would go down my spine every time I saw a Chrysler Sebring.
haha!