I have a 1979 F350 with a 460 V8. Presently I have a diehard gold battery with CCA of 850 in it. It's about time for a replacement, curious if I should seek larger CCA than 850. With that big engine I sometimes feel I could use more.

Any thoughts or suggestions on something with more CCA than 850? Is there a better battery than diehard?

 

850 CCA sounds like enough. Clean connections and adequate gauge battery cables matter a lot also. I have run NAPA premium, AZ premium and Walmart batteries at various times in various vehicles. All have worked fine for me.

Common available battery cables are 4 gauge (heaviest). I consider that minimum and for short runs only. 2 gauge or heavier is better. NAPA usually has the material to make your own in heavier gauges.

 

How old is your current battery ?

 

DieHard Platinum is or was, a rebadged Enersys? Odyssey? A very fine battery in any case. With a pricetag to go with it. DieHard Gold is made by DEKA/East Penn, these are good batts too.

CCA is only part of the equation. If you live (and drive) somewhere it gets real cold (like Michigan) or Saskatoon or North Dakota especially a case can be made for the high CCA batteries. But the high cranking amps come at the expense of reserve capacity all things being equal, and durability. They may not last as long. The reason is because they have to use more plates to get the current capacity up there, so they are a lot thinner and prone to damage.

Buy the biggest, heaviest battery that will fit and don't worry about it too much. Make sure the cables and ground connections are squared away. If they are old, replace them. Even the best, most expensive battery will never get charged up completely with corroded or loose connections. Charging system needs a very, very low resistance throughout or it will cause trouble.

 

Not sure how old it is, ID marker with date is missing.

 

Sounds about what I expected but wanted to check with the forum in case I was missing anything....thanks!

 

Interesting no one has recommended gel-cell batteries. I started using Optimas around 2001 after my CJ-7 would eat any wet-cell battery I put in it within two years (lots of hot off-roading and snowy winters). I've heard that Optima quality isn't the same anymore, but haven't had a bad experience yet across a variety of gas and diesel trucks. If you're curious, the Optima I put in my CJ lasted seven years.

 

I've always wondered about the Optimas (Gel), Consumer reports type places don't give them very high marks compared to others in service quality. I was a diehard Diehard guy until a couple years ago when they seemed to be less "die-hardy", have switched all 3 vehicles (1 dent) to Interstate Battery and so far so good (but's it's still early - 26 months on the oldest one). I did see someone on the forum make the same statement Tedster9 made about putting the biggest battery you can in the vehicle - I think ours are usually the 24F size, what is the biggest that'll fit in the dent tray?

 

Between the three trucks, I've got six Group 27F batteries. Most are DuraLast Gold, but one is NAPA and the other is Sears. They're all very good batteries, but they go about two to three years. Out heat (120 degrees) doesn't do them a bit of good!

I know guys getting about seven years from the sealed gel batteries. When I run out of pro-rate, I may go that way...

 

2x Tedster.

I see you are in Michigan. In really cold temperatures, the 850CCA is great, but they are more fragile, and do not sit around well. A #2 cable is required to move that much juice for a cold big-block, from any battery. Anything that warms the battery is effective, also. Heat from below, and a thermal blanket is good. An AC heating pad is fantastic, if you can plug it in. (This appears to work better than a block heater in my very limited experience. Oil is still cold in the pan.)

You might think about modern winter oils like 5w-30. If the mill is tight, 0w-20 synthetic is the new norm. Remember, at cold temps, nothing is too-thin, and and thick oil isn't lubricating anything at start-up. Just did some research into the latest oils, and I think some of us were using too high viscosity oil. (Your oiling system may not be up to the task of lighter oils in summer.)

If you think these thoughts are way out there, I am using a much lighter-duty 775 MCA, not-recommended "Marine Dual-purpose Starting Battery". It was installed 09/2013, and just got me through a Colorado winter. (Then again, it is a 360 with thin oil.) But I think it shows that two big cables, Pos and Neg, are a key to success. Just make sure it is crimped correctly into a copper terminal, then soldered. Block connection for the Neg must be solid. Otherwise the connection loses the benefit gained by the big cable, and you wasted your $.

 

Sorry - mis-spoke. Optimas are AGM batteries, not Gel batteries. Same type of battery as the Diehard, Duralast Gold, etc.

 

Thanks Kraig - learned something new, as I always thought Optimas were gel. Here is what the Internet says about AGM:

"The newer type of sealed nonspillable maintenance free valve regulated battery uses "Absorbed Glass Mats", or AGM separators between the plates. This is a very fine fiber Boron-Silicate glass mat. These type of batteries have all the advantages of gelled, but can take much more abuse."

 

I've got a '77 F150 with a 460 in it. I'm running a blue top (marine) Optima battery in it. I believe it's 850cca. It's my second Optima battery and the first one in this truck and I'm happy with them!
Late, Shortbox4x4

 

On my 87 F250 with a 460 I'm using a Motorcraft battery 850CCA. Made by Johnson Controls. They do last a while. JC also makes "Everstart" for Wally.

 

79 F150 with a 460, I have a Duralast Marine Battery 800CCA. Haven't had any issues with it. Even drained it dry three or four times leaving the headlights on but it still cranks up my out of tune gotta try 6 times before it'll start motor.