The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Battery Tray Removal/Install

I am attempting to replace the battery tray that is under the passenger footrest area because the bottom of it is rusting through. The original tray is held in by some sort of, well, I don't know the right terminology for it, honestly. Some sort of rivet-type of thing. The point is, it is not bolted in. I have sawed off the one set of "buttons" on the tray side and am left with what is shown in the photo attached.

I am looking for advice on how to proceed. I tried hammering them a bit, but they aren't budging. I don't really have experience or tools for metal fabrication, so this is new to me.

Thanks!

Using an angle grinder, grind them down until they are flush with the frame. Be careful not to damage the frame. When flush, drive them out with a drift. They should come right out.

Gord's advice is spot on!

When you get to the reinstallation stage, be sure you run your bolts from the inside of the battery box side through the frame and secure with nuts and lock washers on the inner side of the frame. You might even consider using round head hardware to prevent any damage to the battery case from bumping or rubbing against the bolt heads.

You said bottom of tray rusted .why not just replace the bottom .i just made the bottom a few bends to make it as the origional .The bottom in mine was bolted in .

I bought just the bottom from Classic Parts (available from all the usual vendors) and where the rivets went thru, I did plug welds.

I'll give grinding it flat a try. It just is difficult to swing a hammer in the small area.

I didn't replace just the bottom for a couple of reasons: the bottom was secured to the side brackets with similar rivets (not nuts and bolts); the worst of the rust-through is along the corner of the front bracket, so nothing to really work with there to attach a new bottom.

Thanks.

If you can get a drill in there, you can center punch and drill with a bit that's just a little smaller than the hole. That will make it easier to tap them out. When rivets are installed, they're hot and when they're set, they expand to fill the hole, then shrink in length to secure the parts together.

I replaced mine a few years ago and yes it was a job grinding those rivets down but when done, they finally broke free with the help of a drift and big friggin' hammer.

I finished the removal and install today. I ended up using my Sawzall to bring the rivet down as close to the frame as possible and then the grinding was fairly quick. There was so little space to work with that it took a lot of taps with the hammer just because I couldn't get a good swing on it. I did end up putting a short bolt a little smaller in diameter than the rivet into a vise grip and hammered against that which gave me a little more swing on the hammer (compared to the drift). The two toward the back had to be done from underneath which was just more awkward and uncomfortable! Anyway, all set now.

Now my battery is more secure. I also did not have the top bracket thing to hold the battery down (I don't know how my uncle, the previous owner didn't lose a battery!), so now with the new tray I also have the top bracket that holds the batter down. HOWEVER, the battery posts touch on both sides the metal bracket. So, for now I quadruple wrapped the metal in thick electrical tape. When I got the truck, the battery was shot and the first thing I did was replace it. I had the truck only for a day or so and it seemed like the easiest thing to do was just get the same exact battery, so that is what I did. It is not the correct size, though - it is the right length and seemingly height, but the width or depth is much narrower than the tray.

So, maybe if I got the correct battery size, the posts wouldn't be so near the edge where the hold down bracket goes? Or, do they make plastic hold down brackets?

Looking at the auto parts store, the battery they list for my truck is a "Group Size 1-1J" but of course it is a 6 volt. When I feel like spending money again for a battery, I guess I'll start there and see what is available. The 6 volt pictured definitely has the posts further inward than they are on the battery I have now.

Fun stuff!

When I got my Grandpa's 1951 3100, I discovered that the battery hold down was AWOL. He had a 1" wide canvas belt strap and spring clip securing the battery to the bottom tray. One of my brothers who builds industrial metal working saws fabricated and welded up a copy cat hold down bracket that ended up having the same problem you report of contacting the battery posts.

My solution was to notch a semi-circle cutout of the angle steel flat top area at each post location to create the gap needed to prevent direct contact. The hold down remains plenty rigid and I also added a glued on flat rubber strip on the horizontal underside of the bracket so the metal hold down wouldn't damage the battery case through direct contact.

If I was you I would resolve the battery issue quickly. It won’t take long for the vibrations to cut thru that tape and have a direct short. My battery has a slight recess around the edge where the hold down sits so it sits below the posts, with no chance of them touching.

I had the same issue with my new battery and hold down. I ground clearance areas around the battery post areas of the cover so that it could not contact the posts.