dxg Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 2008 Edge Ltd. It looks like I'm missing something but can't figure out what. I have the long thin bolt stuck into the plastic wedge but it doesn't go past the wedge (maybe the end of the bolt broke or rusted away) so the whole thing just sits there loose. There is a hole in the battery tray but no captive nut or anything else for the bolt to thread into. Does anyone know what I'm missing? Maybe a picture or parts diagram? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gloria's edge Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 2008 Edge Ltd. It looks like I'm missing something but can't figure out what. I have the long thin bolt stuck into the plastic wedge but it doesn't go past the wedge (maybe the end of the bolt broke or rusted away) so the whole thing just sits there loose. There is a hole in the battery tray but no captive nut or anything else for the bolt to thread into. Does anyone know what I'm missing? Maybe a picture or parts diagram? Thanks Perhaps this will help.....see attached file. Edge_MKX_08 Battery.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxg Posted December 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Thanks, I have that diagram and I have parts 2, 3 and 4. But there is nothing there for the bolt to screw into. And the diagram doesn't show anything there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 Any possibility that the battery your installing may have the clamp tab located too high up? Does the bolt screw into the metal baseplate without the plastic clamp block? (Does that make sense?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxg Posted December 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 OK, I found the answer the hard way so I'm posting for future readers. The long thin bolt goes through the plastic wedge block and screws into a clip nut that is part of the battery tray. Both the bolt and the clip nut rust and corrode with time and battery acid (yes the Motorcraft OEM batteries do leak enough acid to make a mess). Once they corrode it's impossible to take them apart and the first time someone tries to remove the bolt it will break the bolt and/or clip nut. In my case the end of the bolt is broken off and the clip nut is totally gone. The expensive solution is to buy and install a new battery tray and new bolt. The clip nut is not sold individually. The cheap and quick solution is to use a large diameter sheetmetal bolt. Find the largest bolt that barely goes through the wedge block. It will screw into the hole in the battery tray just about perfectly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbwt Posted December 24, 2015 Report Share Posted December 24, 2015 Or go to a junk yard. You may also find the bolt at a (dare I say it) Golf cart dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted December 25, 2015 Report Share Posted December 25, 2015 (edited) The expensive solution is to buy and install a new battery tray and new bolt. The clip nut is not sold individually. The cheap and quick solution is to use a large diameter sheetmetal bolt. Find the largest bolt that barely goes through the wedge block. It will screw into the hole in the battery tray just about perfectly. The risk of Rube Goldberging a battery and possibly failing causing short and fire is just not worth it. A failure in even a small impact (not necessarily a crash) is dangerous. Not worth the risk of shorting and fire imo. Edited December 25, 2015 by enigma-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxg Posted December 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2015 The risk of Rube Goldberging a battery .... Ummmm... no, I'm not Rube-ing any battery, we're talking about the hold-down hardware here. Which would mostly come into play if you roll the vehicle. The edges of the tray restrain lateral and fore-aft movement of the battery. Easy enough to check how sturdy the hold-down is. Most new batteries come with a carrying handle or strap. Install the hardware and then pull up on the battery strap real hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 26, 2015 Report Share Posted December 26, 2015 Ummmm... no, I'm not Rube-ing any battery, we're talking about the hold-down hardware here. Which would mostly come into play if you roll the vehicle. The edges of the tray restrain lateral and fore-aft movement of the battery. Easy enough to check how sturdy the hold-down is. Most new batteries come with a carrying handle or strap. Install the hardware and then pull up on the battery strap real hard. What are your credentials? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted December 27, 2015 Report Share Posted December 27, 2015 Ummmm... no, I'm not Rube-ing any battery, we're talking about the hold-down hardware here. Which would mostly come into play if you roll the vehicle.In an accident, you figure the momentum causes a part to weigh 8x it's normal weight. Say a battery weighs 40 lbs. In an accident it now weighs over 300 lbs. Why screw around with the possibly of having a battery come loose and short out, supplying hundreds of amperes across a short? All for the price of a simple nut that costs under $9? Ebay item number: 281886479070 You can get a whole new battery tray for $45. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbwt Posted December 27, 2015 Report Share Posted December 27, 2015 If you have an impact of that nature. The location of your battery is rather irrelevant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeVic Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 If you have an impact of that nature. The location of your battery is rather irrelevant. True, the crash is going to be bad, but catching fire is really going to ruin your day ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 (edited) If you have an impact of that nature. The location of your battery is rather irrelevant. At 30 mph the battery weighs 600 lbs. (Approx 30 g's if it stops in one foot). Edited December 28, 2015 by enigma-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxg Posted December 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2015 Gentlemen, Sorry I created such a stir (or maybe people have too much time with the holidays). I suggested 2 alternatives. I am not trying to convince anyone to follow what I did. Just trying to be helpful. As all anonymous info on the web, you should use your own judgment. @enigma-2: The nut you saw on eBay is NOT the nut the hold-down screws into. Look at the picture carefully. The hold-down screws into a clip-nut that is part of the tray and is not sold separately. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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