Battery tie-down issues

[trickyrix]

So, after a year and a half of Miata ownership as of today, I realized that I had never checked the battery in the trunk. Well, yesterday I noticed a funky ding in the right rear quarter that pooched OUT. So I dug in the trunk and I think I found the culprit.

Problem #1: The battery is missing any sort of tie-down, so it can just slide around loose back there - the cables are the only thing holding it in place. So, apparently, I must've hit a big dip or bump that made the battery jump up so high in the trunk that the negative post punched the interior of the quarter panel. Thank GOD the positive post has a plastic boot on it...

Problem #2: Although there's a Mazda battery back there, it doesn't appear that it's a Miata-spec unit. It doesn't fill out the little tray back there, and the stray vent tube that I found has no place to plug into the battery.

I never even thought of checking this out before, but now I'm driving veeery carefully. I know I need to get a tie-down, but I'm not sure the OEM will work. Should I look into getting a new Miata-spec battery? Like a Westco, maybe?

[POS Racing]

Should look like the following :

[CosmosMpower]

I seem to recall seeing this movie before. Hope yours didn't damage the car to the tune of $1,600 like mine.

[trickyrix]

No damage other than the little pooch. But it looks like I'm missing about half of those parts... argh!

Suffice to say this won't pass tech inspection at an auto-x...

[channelmaniac]

Go see the folks at Town North and order some parts... or see if our local board members with lots of extra parts have the parts you need.

[MadMonkey]

I have two of those dings... I noticed them after hitting some unexpectedly large holes in the road. I ended up finding an OEM tied-down somewhere around here (or a new one, I don't remember).

[trickyrix]

So, uh, anybody got any extra parts? Looks like I need the tie-down parts and the tray below the battery. Otherwise I'll hit up Town North on Monday morning.

From what I've said, does anybody know if I've got the wrong battery? Should I be concerned about this?

[channelmaniac]

From what I've said, does anybody know if I've got the wrong battery? Should I be concerned about this?

Yes.

If you have a standard lead acid battery you could end up with a ton of rust over in that corner.

RJ

[trickyrix]

Yes.

If you have a standard lead acid battery you could end up with a ton of rust over in that corner.

RJ

That's what I figured... so is the Westco battery the way to go? If so, where's the best place to pick one up? If not, what's a good alternative?

[black roadster]

I have a Westco and love it. I ordered it from Batteryweb and got it rather quickly. Free Shipping.

Another alternative is the Optima batteries.

[Titus]

I have had my Westco in for 5 or 6 years with no problems. You get free shipping if you buy it straight from Westco, but thier price is higher than most of the Miata retailers so it is probably a wash. If you are looking for instant satisfaction, Westco has a dealer search engine on there site where you may be able to find someone local with one in stock.

[Majik]

I have a rebranded westco that I got at autozone. I am not sure if they still sell it or not. I think it was marked as a duralast. It was cheaper than you can get most places.

[POS Racing]

Like Majik mentioned, Autozone or O'Reilly also sells a AGM replacement battery for the Miata.

LINK!

[mildensteve]

Bob Stretch at Wheels America has most, if not all those parts from his various "donor" cars and has some of them listed on his e-bay store. He usually takes less than his buy-it-now price so offer away. Good guy to deal with.

[trickyrix]

Bob Stretch at Wheels America has most, if not all those parts from his various "donor" cars and has some of them listed on his e-bay store. He usually takes less than his buy-it-now price so offer away. Good guy to deal with.

That's good to know... I saw he had a bunch of Miata parts listed there. Thanks!

[trickyrix]

Should look like the following :

Hey POS... thanks for the diagram! Town North didn't have any of that stuff in stock, so I rummaged around in my folks' garage this morning and found a generic J-bolt and top bracket that I was able to tweak just enough to be a perfect fit...

No more battery sliding around in the trunk, denting my quarter panel!

[cam76034]

What, bungee cord not good enough for you?