Modify NAPA group 41 battery for better fit

[Sodo]

I have some extra cables and fuses on my battery terminals, and found that the tight fit of the NAPA Group41 was taxing my connections.

So I cut off the offending plastic extremities.
I 'sanded' the extremities off with a fglapper wheel on the angle grinder.
But these mods can be done easily with a hacksaw or a multitool.
Maybe even with a drywall knife.

Note the lift strap tied around the battery.
I've been transferring this same strap to successive batteries for 16 years, but this is the first time I've cut off all the battery parts that hassle me.

It's so much easier to drop in and lift out.

Not that i have to take it out often....but more often than I prefer.

It also fit better by chamfering this lower engagement shelf on the rear.

Take care to stay outside of the basic rectangular case profile. Don't cut "in" or the wet stuff might come out.
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[vanagonjr]

This is why I prefer the T-5. Nice and easy to drop in. Only a little smaller, but makes a huge difference.
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Flint reversed 1.8T W/Passat 5-Speed
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FAQ thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798

[Sodo]

NAPA Group 41 Weighs 40.0 lbs and LWH is 11.6 x 6.9 x 6.9

T5 weighs 32.1 lbs and LWH is 9.5 x 6.9 x 6.9 Inches

OK the T5 is 2 inches shorter and 8 lbs less.
I would guess that the T5 weighing 20% less has 20% less capacity.
Which may not be a problem. It may cost about 20% less too.

But anyway the NAPA group 41 pops in and out of the battery box like greased lightning if you are able to shorten the battery by ~3/4" as shown.
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[jimf909]

I like the 2" shorter T-5 too. I'll check back in 3-5 years if it seems less durable than the Group 41. If I had a Group 41 battery I might do what you've done, it's a darn tight fit.

As for cables terminating at the battery posts, I've been believing that I'll eventually add a fuse box to make it easier to draw power directly from the battery. Right now I have a horn, fog lights and the battery combiner connected to the pos battery post of the starting battery. I that replacing those three wires with one 6-8 ga cable leading to a small fuse box will simplify future additions.
_________________
- Jim

[kamzcab86]

[Sodo]

I doubt theres a noticeable difference in durability.
How a battery is treated has a lot of effect on its durability.
If all works out the smaller battery should be fine.

But I can assure you that 20% less lead equates to 20% less Amp-Hours.
Independent of the similar Cold Cranking Amps rating.
More lead will put out 650 CCA for longer but the smaller battery likely works out well in many conditions. Certainly in mild conditions.
OEM has to spec a battery for the worst conditions.
Relatively few vans are used under those worst case conditions.
My van lights up on less than 1second, I don’t need capacity unless I somehow drained the battery.
Or parked north of the arctic circle…

But anyway this thread subject is Modify NAPA group 41 battery for better fit
And the crux of the matter is.... a modified NAPA Group 41 will drop in and pull out easily.
This becomes more desirable if you have added connections, cables, fuses etc.
And if you have had to R&R your battery and simply want it to be easier, and you are the type who "modifies"....

Those who don't find this an easy mod (every 5 years?) and are OK with a 20% smaller battery now know the T5 works too.
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[kamzcab86]

[Wildthings]

IIRC the best match for a Group 41 is a T6 (Group 91) battery, it is close to identical in height and width, and just a tad shorter in length.

There is a T65 as well, but depending on brand it is going to be a really tight fit.

[jimf909]

Battery dimensions:
- T5 is 51mm less long than the Group 41 with the same height and width
- T65 = Group 41 in every dimension
- H6 is 15 mm taller than a Group 41 with the same length and width

Links to relevant threads
- https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
- https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

_________________
- Jim

[davideric9]

[vanagonjr]

[GreggK]

Good idea on grinding the battery down. I always hated trying to remove my old one.
Here is a picture of the T6 installed. Like Wildthings said, its just a little shorter in length than the 41. Leaves room for extra connections. I added a bolt extender to mine.

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FAS TDi engine swap. Peloquin LSD
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[djkeev]

Warranty on modified battery?

I'm guessing zero, nada, none.

Dave
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Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Sodo]

[jimf909]

[Butcher]

And after the customer leaves with a new battery, they just warrantied, the store sends it back. A few days later the manager get a notice that the battery was modified and the claim denied. That manager comes out to the person who accepted the battery and the person gets in trouble. In the old days, they had to pay for the loss.

As Paul Harvey once said, now you know the rest of the story.

It's sad that people try to scam the system. At some point, someone gets screwed and like musical chairs, someone is left out. As long as it's not you, you walk out of the store with a smile. It's a good chance that someone will be walking out of the office with a frown.

I get that you modify things and yes, the battery will probably last over the warranty period, but accept the fact that you modified the battery and own the pitfalls that come with that. Don't pass the turd in someone else's pocket.

[Sodo]

[Ronzo_volvo_guy]

Butcher;

I have to agree with Sodo...when that warranteed Batt goes back, I doubt they spend one second inspecting the case for damage or testing it in any way! ...I do expect when it gets to the Batt builder, it goes from the pallet with all the others (some truely dead, and some not so dead, because they came from a car parts store where they wouldn't know a load-test from something you do to your Depends), and it goes into their system where the top gets lobbed off and the lead gets recycled...I wouldn't feel so terrible about modifying the case a little to allow fitting...

Cheers

[Sodo]

We cannot accept this warranty because evidence suggests you’ve charged it too many times.
The lab results show that it went flat dead twice and it also shows evidence of a desulfation process.

By the scratches on the case it appears you did this twice, likely during initial install. Removal of the tabs indicates that you actually enjoyed an un-earned ease of install, a positive benefit that we have assessed at $10 for each install and removal for a total of $40. It’s not fair to others struggling, that you can have an easy, uneventful battery install. You could plan your installs better.

Therefore we have deducted $40 from your warranty settlement.
Since your battery only had $34 remaining value, you owe $6.00.

🤣🤣🤣

Further evidence suggests you smiled each time you realized what a hassle those tabs were and how easy it was to eliminate them.
That will be $2 each, totalling $10 owed.

And you are smiling now, so $12 total.
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[Butcher]

You do not have to agree with me. 25 years at a dealership, I've seen plenty of parts that were kicked back because of situations like this. Between the technician getting backflagged [pay taken out of their paycheck] and the parts department eating the part, the client was never called and charged. In severe cases, the tech paid for everything.

How many parts have you seen kicked back? Assume all you want, I used to work behind the curtain and it happens.

There is a difference from a part that you can see how it's ground up vs internal damage. Poor comparison. The factory did not expect you to cut open a part to find the root cause.

You need to understand, big companies do not warranty anything they do not have to. They have quality control warehouses to determine the root cause of failures. If they can send the part back to the dealership with just cause, they will. Now that the part is back to the dealership and the money already taken out of the corporate account, where do you think the store gets their money?

In the end, many people do not care that someone else pays for the problems they cause. They are happy they were on the better end of the deal and they could careless if someone else is holding the turd. I'm just saying, someone usually pays in the end. And that cost is added on the item/service you are trying to buy in the future.

Again, it does not really matter if you never warranty it. I certainly would do the same thing, I would handle a failure slightly different. It's my decision to modify the part and I usually accept everything that goes with that decision.