Best Battery Upgrade for 7.3 F350
 

Simple question:

I recently bought a 2000 F350 7.3 diesel dually with only 65,000 babied miles. It is bare bones with no options except the right motor. It is time to upgrade and replace the exisitng batteries as they are not providing enough cold cranking amps. I would appreciate all recemondations for the best batteries to swap out. Thanks.

get the highest CCA batteries you can find.
expect to pay around $150 per battery.

I am looking at the Optima yellow top battery series. however, these are REALLY expensive and there are several "yellow top" types to choose from. You need to get them at the same time and place, preferably with extremly close serial numbers. I have two in my plow jeep and have never been let down by them. I have NOT done my homework yet enough to know which model number I am going to get, but they have a great reputation.

By the way, mu '99 is just starting to crank hard due to weak batts. Also, the plow really makes the headlights and fan bog down. This can't be good for the alternator. If I leave the engine heater plugged in, she starts right up. I may wait a month or so yet.

i would recommend steering away from the optima batteries.
while they are ok for gas engines, i have never seen or talked to anyone who has ever had any success with them in diesel trucks.
i get my batteries from napa. they are made by Exide. i also get the larges CCA battery i can, and have never had one that did not last at least 6 years. i also change them out in pairs.

I'd consider going back to Ford and picking up a new set of Motorcraft batteries. 3 yr replacement, 100 month pro-rated warranty. The motorcraft batteries lasted longer in my truck than the NAPA replacements I put in. Apparently I don't have Tom's luck, but there's a thread going on down in the 99-03 7.3 diesel section that talks about NAPA batteries not working well below 20 deg.

I put Motorcraft in my wife's truck, and when my Autozoo batts go out, I'll stick Motorcraft in mine too.

Welcome to FTE. Be sure to scroll down the forum listing and stop in on the 7.3 diesel section.

Hey there, Cangrats on your new purchase.... I have the same truck.... I used Auto Zone gold top's. 855 CCA each and under 100.00 per battery. I can appreciate the Optima's and the bigger names but for the price and warrenty you can't beat the price....

Check out East Penn Mfg. web site. They make Deka Batteries and a lot of other top named batteries, such as Caterpillar for one, and I believe they make at least some of the Diehards. Get the most cca's that will fit the space and that you can afford Hammer

I appreciate all the input. I have phased out of 1970's and 1980's full size jeep pick ups and wagoneers and am very impressed wit hthe capabilities of this F350. I do appreciate the insight on battery options based on your personal experiences. Thanks agian.

I have two yellow tops in my truck and so far they havent let me down one bit. I also like them because I could fit both of them on the passenger side and free up some room on the dirvers side.

Nice find!

I especially liked the accessory section.

Pop

I have always used the NAPA gold. They have a 24 month free replacement. I have always used the biggest battery that will fit in the spot with the most cold cranking amps. I have never had a problem. If you buy them from a local shop they might not pop out the dates. Then every year and a half you can just swapem out. I spend about $75.00. I have them in my sons Dually, My other sons Heavy Duty and My mustang I drag race with no alternator. None of them have ever let us down

F350 batteries
 

The latest Consumer reports has the Die hard premium series batteries as their #1. They are AGM type with tons of CCA. I noticed a huge cranking improvement with mine installed in cold weather (15F). About $222/each. The Optima's are not drop ins.

Thanks again for all you feedback, free advice from users can't be beat.

cashgreece,

Welcome to FTE! You have the best diesel engine Ford has ever put in a truck.
I would stay with what it came with.......Motorcraft.

Good luck,