Hello, got a question here i went and got my oil changed today and they told me my battery was venting acid out the side the battery is a walmart battery i know that was probably my first mistake. At the time the price was right and i didn't feel like shelling out mega bucks for a battery, i was quoted a price of $175 by the dealer for a battery but have decided there is no way i'm going to spend that much for a battery. It was suggested i replace the battery, my question is how serious is the problem as far as the battery leaking acid out the sides is it something that consitutes an emergency situation if you will, i was thinking about trying autozone or some place like that and if i needed one getting a battery but is that a fairly common thing for certain kinds of batteries to start venting acid out the side like that and are auto zone batteries etc the same way.

Battery acid is bad mmmk. Acid likes to eat the things it touches...including the thin metal tray your battery is on. Replace the battery and clean the whole area with baking soda and water to neutralize the battery acid.



I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26

Ok here's the latest i went to autozone and had them check the battery out they brought out the charger and told me the battery was still good, it was about a year and a half old they said. I saw some acid on the side of the battery but that looked to me more like aging acid than fresh acid. The guy there told me the battery should be good for at least another 5 months on the tray where the battery was sitting i saw some flakes and what appeared to be the start of rust a reddish orange of sorts the guy at autozone told me i had nothing to worry about was he right was the dealer where i got my oil changed just selling me a bill of goods. The guy at autozone also mentioned something about temperature changes ie from summer to winter having an effect on batteries.

leaking acid is bad regardless what any of them say

but since you don't care about it eating away at stuff, go ahead, ride it out, see what happens


2001 Olds Alero (LD9)
650 whp / 543 ft-lb
@turboalero

[ion wrote: C2]leaking acid is bad regardless what any of them say

but since you don't care about it eating away at stuff, go ahead, ride it out, see what happens

x2



I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26

so i should just go ahead and throw away money on a brand new battery regardless, the tech at autozone and i both looked at the battery we could not see where it was leaking as we sat there looking at it in other words there was not acid just pouring out all over the place.

you are trusting what a tech at Autozone says?





Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!

and you took your car to a stealership to get a price on a new battery?

they're like $80


2001 Olds Alero (LD9)
650 whp / 543 ft-lb
@turboalero

fine then chris since your such an automotive god ,where should i go to get a battery for like $25 30 bucks since i'm not exactly made of money here.

I run a Wal-Mart battery. I have no problems.

Though, once you start losing electrolite, it's pretty much over.

Bill wrote:fine then chris since your such an automotive god ,where should i go to get a battery for like $25 30 bucks since i'm not exactly made of money here.

chris said $80. not $30

$80 battery from autozone

same price at advanced too. and probaly Napa



Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!

Bill wrote:fine then chris since your such an automotive god ,where should i go to get a battery for like $25 30 bucks since i'm not exactly made of money here.

sell your car and get a bus pass. the days of $30 batteries died in the early 80's.



JBO Stickers! Get yours today!

99 redz i know what he said, rich evidently $30 batteries didn't die entirely since shooff runs a walmart battery and they're not too high priced. Shooff since you mention walmart i'm on my second walmart battery the first one they replaced because of the acid problem free of charge if i go back to walmart with it, they may replace it again because being a year and a half old i'm sure it's still under warranty. Thing i'm concerned about is if i do go to walmart they're gonna replace it with the same thing and a year and a half later i'm gonna be back again because it's gonna start venting acid or some such thing, We have one of their batteries in our buick it's called maxx or something and it hasn't had any of the issues either of my walmart batteries have had though mine are everstart not sure if there is a difference in the two if either is better than the other etc. I got a walmart battery because like i said the price was right and i didn't feel like spending a lot of money on it.

start saving up for a new battery or just keep buying cheap crap



Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!

Bill wrote:so i should just go ahead and throw away money on a brand new battery regardless, the tech at autozone and i both looked at the battery we could not see where it was leaking as we sat there looking at it in other words there was not acid just pouring out all over the place.

I would just like to clarifly that no one who works at autozone is a "tech". They are(usally) high school dropouts who think that they know automotive stuff. Never listen the them, i have had many of them swear that what they were spewing was correct and all i needed to do was just take a picture to prove them wrong.

Listen to the people here on the org, we actually know what we are talking about. Save your pennies and get a new battery a.s.a.p. It will be cheaper in the long run.

A done deal went out this afternoon and got another battery this time with a 3 yr warranty vs my old one that only had a 1 yr warranty, so we shall see what happens this time good news is if something happens within the 3 yr period it's free replacement so .

If it's a cheap battery, I'd still keep an eye on it. Make sure it's bolted down securely and nothing is touching it, so it doesn't get punctured. Also have the charging system checked - if the voltage regulator in your alternator is fried, it will quickly over-charge the battery, which will cause it to heat up and crack the case.

The warranty covers the battery itself, not the damage the acid causes. J-body cars have this tendancy (especially with the stock Delco crap batteries) to spill acid down the battery tray, then onto the headlight connectors right below it... all of a sudden, you have no headlights or horn... makes for a bad night.

...j

as far as i know my voltage regulator is fine, i would think if it was an alternator issue i would be getting the charge light on or the car would just not start at all but in any case it's a walmart battery. But as far as the old battery went they were ready to replace it under warranty no questions asked, only reason i had to pay the difference was because i got a little bit bigger battery the one that was in there was like $46 or something and the one i got was their maxx battery it was like $72 something, also has 550 cold crank amps vs the other one which only had like 450 or so. Not sure if that makes a heck of a lot of difference or not i have a feeling the other battery may have been too small and that might have been part of the problem, the manager there said it's not a common occurrence with their batteries to be doing that the acid issue that is but i have a feeling he just didn't want to tell me he was trying to snow me.

walmart batteries are junk, my neighbor owns his own auto repair shop and they refer to them as neverstart battieries.
walmart has a funky philosiphy when the battery goes bad in months you come back for another and you buy other things while you are there.

my buick has a 9 year old interstate battery in it and it still works great.

when it comes to wal mart and auto repair parts just say no .

hercules you say walmart batteries are Junk shooff as he posted above runs one and he;s had no problems so obviously they can;t be all bad besides i;m not exactly made of money not like i can afford the name brands.

honestly, keep getting free batteries under warranty, and be saving up for a REAL battery....one you dont pick up at a store that sells underwear and groceries.

i think it all depends on the type of person you are John , if your one of those that likes to shell out $80, $100 for a battery so be it some people don't want to spend a ton of money on their car. And that is their choice, in my opinion.

There's an old adage that goes... "Pay me now, or pay me later"... going cheap on a battery that spews acid.. well.. I digress.

I've never had a dead battery, ever. Even the day I left my lights on all day long at work (10 hours, actually). Spending $149 once 10 years ago on an Optima battery paid off over and over..

there is a difference between not wanting to spend money.....and buying crap parts that dont work.

I buy batteries for life (or at least extended periods), and they never let me down. Cheap batteries always do.

spend the money on it, then take it our before you get rid of it. put your walmart junk back in.....

I understand not wanting to spend money, but if you are buying parts that leave you stranded, or cause a dangerous situation (ie acid leakage, and therefore explosive gas under the hood) you are asking for trouble.

i'm keeping an eye on it, we'll see what happens.