I had wondered about this since I had the original battery in my 2015.
then yesterday I noticed what seemed like a slower than usual crank.
then this morning at 0500 .... NO GO
wwuuuuummmmmp wuuuuuummmmmp
had to take my 1980 to work
so at 42,899.5 miles I have replaced the battery


I wanted a WalMart specifically
I am very loyal to my local Bumper to Bumper that I religiously trade with but I was tired of AC Delco batteries...no legitimate complaints.....just wanted something different
of course the two closest WalMarts did not have the battery I needed....so after work I drove the 1980 about 40 miles each way to get it and I just finished putting it in...

oh yeah I spent most of the time cleaning about two pounds of dried mint toothpaste off of the negative terminal....wow
but its a done deal
even put her back in her original blanky


and here is the old one....in all fairness I did not test it or try to charge it....yet

I did not notice a core charge or anything from WalMart not sure whats up with that....I did however notice a $15 "merchandising fee".....huh?
but I didnt have time to jack with it...leave for work in the dark and come home in the dark you know how it is gotta get back on the road.

and last but not least wow when I turned the key to start after installing the new battery I thought the engine was going to spin out of the compartment it startled me it has been that long since I knew what a nice fresh battery can do!!!

also I went like ten pages back looking for a battery thread here in the 6.2 section
life is good
peace out

​​​​

 

To answer your question about "Would you replace a good battery " the answer is yes. The last ten years of the stock Ford batteries have cost the company I work for literally hundreds of thousands in downtime and labor costs. For the last 8 years we pull all the batteries out of the trucks and replace them all with Northstar AGM's, no leaks and down time from battery failure is almost non existent. We have been getting 30-40 new trucks a month and the pallets of used batteries is just building up with nowhereto go thanks to low scrap value. I have seen plenty of new batteries show up in the trucks leaking from factory.

 

With the “basic” batteries - Motorcraft, etc - I would replace them every three years. One time I didn’t, and in the 39th month, my battery died.

I think it’s a relatively inexpensive cost taken over a three year period. I’m in snow country, so I want to make sure I don’t have to mess with the battery in a snowstorm.

That being said, I upgraded to AGM batteries in 2018, so my plan is to keep those longer. Have to see how that works out.

I also keep my old “good” batteries as spares; charged up and in the basement in case I do need one in an emergency.

 

I agree with gashog with the newer Ford batteries. My last 3 Fords, 2016.2017,2020 all have started leaking almost immediately. I won't wait too long for a new battery either.

 

But, those aren't good batteries, by definition those are defective batteries.

Nobody is ever going to replace serviceable parts unnecessarily as a general rule.

 

My batteries have leaked from day 1 on my truck. I even took it to the dealer with corrosion all over the top and the metal tie-down strap rusted and corroded...hoping they would replace them under warranty like others on here have had done. Nope...they just "cleaned" the terminals and told me to "come back again if you have problems"

This spring, I am going to replace both of them whether they need it or not.

The original Motorcraft battery (and alternator) in my 1997 F150 went over 11 years before I killed them with a 700W amp and 12" subwoofer. The alternator went first, and that drained the battery enough to kill it a couple months later. They sure don't make 'em like they used to...

 

"Liking" this post ^^.
I too had a 1997 f1, and my first bad battery experience was my 2017 F250. My 2020 leaks too.

 

And that's a good thing! No, batteries are better today than they ever have been, Way back in the day a top of the line battery had an 18 month warranty.

Good maintenance free batteries today are say, 3 years free replacement and a 7 year pro rate. These days the cars and trucks have so many parasitic loads and current draws and security systems and computer controls they literally suck the life out of any battery pretty quick. Some of the different modules don't fully shut down on some vehicles for a half hour or so after shut down. It's like leaving the lights on, basically.

There was talk for a while about going to a 24 or even 48 volt system but it never happened. It's still basically the same "12 volt" system as was first used in 1956, except with all kinds of stuff hanging off it.

 

The trucks show up here ready for upfit most have 1 to 3 miles on them when we pull the batteries. Same thing with tires, we change out all the tires to meet the requirements of our fleet. So yes new parts are removed that are still good.

 

thanks guys I think every one of us has had the fuzzy white hold down

sorry I kinda rambled on after posting the question in the title which should have included " after x amount of years"

ie: just to be proactive would you replace a perfectly good battery after (X) years/miles even though it is working fine just to be on the safe side BEFORE you got stranded somewhere

and I was in this situation..had about a six year old battery...not a single problem...but then it died
trust me I would have loved to have been that guy whose original battery lasted 12 years or whatever....ikd whose to say it my not have lived longer if I had charged it once in a while....

 

Well that's kind of the point - if the batteries weren't defective, there wouldn't be any need to replace them.

 

This isn't a bad plan for some folks. Batteries are maybe one of the if not the most neglected parts of a car or truck, with most operators they don't get any maintenance or loving whatsoever (unless of course the engine won't start). If you don't want to make a mini hobby out of battery care and testing, absolute reliability is important, or especially if a breakdown at an inopportune time might be very inconvenient or dangerous.

Sometimes you'll hear stories about a particular battery that lasted maybe ten years or even longer, with no special care given to it. That's not the way to bet though. An external battery charger will easily pay for itself, even the cheap "dumb" Sears chargers sold for the last 60 years are just about perfect for keeping a battery topped off.

 

This may sound like an attempt to hijack the thread, but I think it is related. I read on the business news yesterday that 1/3 of Ford warranty costs are due to defective parts. To increase their bottom line and reduce these costs, Ford is going to start forcing parts suppliers to pay 50% of the cost of defective parts involved in warranty costs. Ford really gets blasted on reliability by Consumer Reports (not saying I necessarily agree with CR). Maybe this strategy will improve things.

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-f...-idUKKBN2841B8

Steve

 

Wouldn't it be nice to get the parts stores to eat the labor costs on R&R of defective starters and alternators and fuel pumps and starter relays and points and condensers etc etc. I talked to a shop owner the other day about this, as a business he basically has to eat that.

 

If he installed Genuine parts from Ford, GM or Mopar all the labor is able to be claimed at book rate. Most shops only like to install jobber grade parts and then they do have to eat the labor.