Here's a picture of the battery hold-down as shipped to me from the vendor. Does anybody see a problem and, if so, the absolutely zero-cost-to-the-vendor solution to this problem? What p***es me off is that I can't, at the moment, think of an easy way to fix it.



OK, I feel a little better after venting. I hope I haven't ruined a bunch of other people's days.

 

Sure would be nice to be able to tighten it up.
Or maybe it was designed that way with the intention to act as a counterbalance to the wobbling caused by the stock front suspension!

 

Well....you could drop a sleeve made from a piece of SS tubing. Put the sleeve between the wing nut and the top. If the sleeve were no taller than 1/2 to 3/4" it mightn't look too bad or noticeable. Any longer would be noticeable and tacky....

Pretty p*ss poor design though, for a "professional supplier".....

 

George, is there enough room to substitute a regular nut for the wing nut and still be able to get a wrench around it?? I know the "no tools needed" aspect of the wing nut is preferred.

Or.. will the top edge of the battery be right up tight against the inside of the curvature of the top?? If not you could trim out the area that interferes with the wing nut .... maybe???

But I would probably end up doing what RMF suggests. Just offering another possible solution or two.

Maybe they just invented the first "locking wing nut"

Kevin

 

George... there is probably an elegantly engineered solution or two to your problem. Suggestions to date indicate the right track. In my mind, however, I don't see this as your problem... rather it should fall to the vendor to right this thing. Given the state of customer service/satisfaction now, the likelihood of this happening is slender indeed. I'll just bet that you paid enough for this thing to demand satisfaction from your vendor with a pure heart. There are many of us who would back your play should you get in a good shouting match with these folk. Or... get out in the shop and customize this thing. Poor choice of words. Sorry. Himmelberg

 

George,

There's no doubt the design is bush league. However, if you decide to keep it and if you decide to go with the sleeve idea, then I think it would be important to ensure the o.d. and i.d. of the sleeves is such that it stradles at least 50 % of the circumference of the "tab thingie".

Probably best determined by applying "Tolerance calculators utilizing geometric dimensioning tolerancing GD&T principles". This would make me feel better.....

I'm sure there are other solutions as well though....

 

Thank you all for your suggestions and kind words. It's nice to have a place to vent where you won't get hit one up side the head.

Both d*mn straps were welded on so tight that the threaded rods wouldn't fit inside the loops. I had to put in a drill bit shank just smaller than the threaded rod and bend the loops out a little just to get the threaded rods to "thread" through the opening (not that you could do that with the battery and the other rod in place). No chance of putting any kind of sleeve on and having it go between the threaded rod and the hold-down frame. I also imagined myself fumbling around on some dark night and losing a 1/4" long sleeve in the bowels of the battery tray.

I've now had a couple of hours to think this over and cool off. Much as I would like to pursue Peter's suggestion and demand satisfaction, I don't have the time or patience that would take. A serious personal shortcoming I readily admit.

I should have a solution in place tomorrow based on some of your suggestions. I'll post a picture of what they probably should have done to both 1) make the part work and 2) save themselves some money at the same time. I will send photos to the vendor so that they at least have the opportunity to correct this for the next poor SOB who buys one from them. Whether they will or not is beyond my control.

 

"Much as I would like to pursue Peter's suggestion and demand satisfaction, I don't have the time or patience that would take. A serious personal shortcoming I readily admit."

You need my mother to take care of this for you George? You ought to see that woman at the customer service counter after a bad purchase. When's she's done with this vendor they'll be askin what color would you like your new tray painted? Want a free battery too? Everyones got their special God given talent I guess. Sure glad I didn't sass her too much

 

I'm lucky my lovely wife, Barbara, has that talent as well. I don't even like to be in the vicinity when she decides some store has done her wrong.

 

OK, here's my simple-minded solution. Remove metal strip, weld on short piece of tubing. No laughing at my welding skills.

 

And the Winner is!!!!!!!!

George/Earl

Its still a B**ch when ya have to do something like that

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Earl
[B]OK, here's my simple-minded solution. Remove metal strip, weld on short piece of tubing. No laughing at my welding skills.

Good job,George,except where the bird crapped on that tube(or is that your weld? )

 

Gasp Something on Earl isn Stock!

 

I am going to sound like a real idiot, but I have been looking at the first pic of the hold down. I can't find anything wrong with, what's wrong? The solution only added a longer tube on the side.
But then, I don't have a hold down. Or a tray, for that matter. Just 2 triangular pieces of metal bolted to the firewall and a piece of weathered plywood for the battery to sit on. The battery "hold down" is a bungee stretched in front of the battery!

 

Shane

The wing nut is going to smack into the tray's frame if you tightened it. Of coarse George doesn't really need to tighten it now anyway. You see he doesn't have a battery yet. He knows it would sulfate out 6 years before he ever used it. So this thread really doesn't matter. But that's OK, neither do most of the ones I start either.