2022 best battery for FJ40? (1 Viewer)

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I have a ‘71 FJ40 with original engine. Any suggestions for the current best battery for my truck? I haven’t seen any recent threads with current options.
 
Speaking in general- I have a ‘78 fj40 with 2F and I’ve had good luck with my interstate battery. The new agm style (absorbed glass mat?) are supposed to be better for vehicles that might not be driven all the time and drained/recharged. Guys will probably also chime in about having a 2nd battery if you plan on using a winch. Odyssey is also a good brand. At least those two have been for my vehicles. Prost 🍻
 
When I bought my 70 FJ40 in July 2011 I needed to replace the battery shortly after. Picked up a EverStart from Walmart. Has a 5/11 sticker on it. Still in there today. The vehicle is kept at a second home and can sit for six months and hold it charge. I credit this to two things. It is kept in an insulate garage where is never freezes or gets that hot. The cruiser also has nothing that drains a battery. Have a 04 4Runner that is kept in a non insulated garage in a much warmer climate. That has a battery tender and four or five years max on a battery. My FJ62 is kept in the same garage as the FJ40. Need to get a battery tender for that one or disconnect the battery when we leave for months. The FJ62 is my DD when there but between the clock, radio and what ever else pulls power it doesn't last the the FJ40. Should consider the variables in picking a battery. Climate is a big consideration. Found in the desert expensive batteries do not last any longer and not worth paying for.
 
Based in part on what others have shared I put in a DEKA 9A34 (Rockauto $188.68). It is about a year old now, I've been pleased.
 
Got 21 years in my '40 from the OG Optima Red Top prior to their move to Mexico. Got 14 Years in my Taco out of the Die Hard Platinum (Odyssey). Just bought another Odyssey for the Taco. So Odyssey .
 
Silly question, sorry - but for a purist restoration, does Toyota brand any battery? I realize that most batteries are made at the same plant, here in the US, but curious if Toyota has one. Then again, it will likely have the newer logo, branding anyway. I may go interstate (or Wal Mart) based on:
I've used Wal Mart before, and have had only one fail in the last 10 years, which I just returned, found the freshest on the shelf and replaced it for free. Hard to beat that.

Just trying to figure out what to put in this 78 restoration.
 
Silly question, sorry - but for a purist restoration, does Toyota brand any battery? I realize that most batteries are made at the same plant, here in the US, but curious if Toyota has one. Then again, it will likely have the newer logo, branding anyway. I may go interstate (or Wal Mart) based on:
I've used Wal Mart before, and have had only one fail in the last 10 years, which I just returned, found the freshest on the shelf and replaced it for free. Hard to beat that.

Just trying to figure out what to put in this 78 restoration.




I purchased a Toyota battery for my Camry. I think it was a 8yr battery and had to replace it after 6yrs.

I run deep cycle batteries in my 40's because I run 1 battery and it operates the winch too which i use a lot. I've run dualast batteries for years. They're a little over $100. Recently, the last one I replaced was about 10yrs old.
 
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Everstarts do just fine in a FJ40, there is really not a lot going on electrical with them even if you are running a winch. The old optima batteries were the standard I used to judge batteries by but now not so much.
I think their quality slipped a bit and the competition closed the gap on them over the years.
 
I have used many Everstarts from Walmart, simply because they are (usually) vastly cheaper than batteries from auto parts stores or Interstate. Never had a performance issue with one inside or outside the warranty. I do seek out the 'fresh one' from the back of the rack. Same thing at Sam's Club - fish out the one in the back.
 
I had to buy new batteries for a diesel pickup 6-7 years ago. I bought gel batteries from Napa. It wasn't stupid cold, but cold enough that I didn't think it was going to start without being plugged in. And it had been sitting at least a week. Those batteries ripped that thing over, and it started no problem.

I've been kinda sold on those ever since. I don't know if a 40 requires it, mine will never see any real cold, and I'd assume that's the case for most other people.
 
For a different option....I went this route. This behemoth of a battery ( NAPA 31P ) did require me to adjust the tray and move the charcoal canister back a bit, but it works and turns the 2F over quite nicely. :hillbilly:

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Wouldn't it be cool if we could get Japanese batteries imported? When you buy a new 4 runner or similar do they still come with the Panasonic units with the 6 circular vents/caps? The Agricultural batteries with calcium are good for cold climates. Typically I buy the Duralast Platinum AGM, but here recently they have gone to that newfangled EFB crap. The main reason for me to buy AGM is they don't leak around the posts or caps. They don't build them like the good Delco batteries from the 70's and 80's. Used to, you could get 10-12 years out of a lead acid, now you're lucky to get 3-5 an they cost 3 or4 times as much.
 
For what it’s worth my FJ had a Valucraft battery in it when I bought it years ago… the date on the battery was 3/14 so that’s not a bad run…
 
I bought a JC Penny lifetime battery for my FJ40 in 1975. Cost me $55 and, just like they promised, it was the last battery I had to buy for it and that was 47 years ago. Unfortunately that battery put them out of the automotive service business so you can’t buy them any more. Here’s the ad for the battery that convinced me to buy one:
 
Some batteries have the top post, as well as having GM style terminals on the side.

Does anyone know if there is any negative impacts of using one, and pulling power from both places?

I'm thinking it'd be a sweet way to attach things like a fuse/relay box for accessory lighting, winch, etcetera, that doesn't need to be tied into anything Toyota.
 

Really :rolleyes:

INTERSTATE makes the OEM True START is there really any other option ?

2 year free replacement at ANY North America Toyota dealer no questions asked


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