Well, took the dog out for her nightly run/crap-fest, and what should I see sitting by the front door? A present from UPS-Claus! Missed it when I came home from work, since I come in through the garage, which is around the side of the house. Inside, Mr. Slee (or Mr. Swain) had packaged caster plates for the 80, a new steering damper for the 80 (since mine appears to have been smacked hard and is on its last legs), a couple 5mm. coil packers, and a shiny new battery tray for the 100!
So, it's 9:00 PM, and I'm debating if I should install the battery tray. Afterall, it's pretty much a bolt on job, shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Well, it took a bit longer. Here are my notes:
1.) On 2004 US-spec trucks, there is a large heatsink bolted right into the holes where you would bolt the long arm for the battery tray into the side of the engine bay (inner fender). Not sure about older trucks, though the one Christo shows in his pics does not have this heatsink. Most of my time for the install was spent trying to figure out what to do with this thing!
2.) Heatsink can be bolted to existing holes under the battery tray, but since it _is_ a heatsink, I figured it should probably not be buried under there, with nowhere for the heat to go. But options are limited, as the wiring harness that plugs into the sink is fairly short, and I did not feel like cutting and extending wires in a seven-month-old truck (OK, the real reason is because I was lazy and it was cold in the garage and I wanted to go back inside!).
3.) I ended up unscrewing the two screws holding the sink to its mounting bracket, reversing it, and screwing back on. This allowed me to mount the sink using the same bolt that I used on the long arm of the battery tray. I also used the plastic spacer Christo provided as well as a small washer on the heatsink bracket so that it would fit flush to the side of the engine bay (it has a ridged face that otherwise would stick out). Now the heatsink fins face outward (away from the engine) and it tucks neatly under the top ridge of the inner fender.
4.) Make sure you insert the J-hooks for the battery hold-down bracket before bolting up the tray, as otherwise there is not enough room in there to insert the hooks in the correct orientation. Just slip them in, spin on a loose nut to keep them from falling through, and rest them out of the way.
5.) You do have to do some custom bending of the mounting arms, but not much. I'll try to get some pics of the final install this weekend if I have a chance.
So it's all done now! The Red Top I won at Rubithon fits perfectly in the tray. As always with Christo's stuff, quality is high. Very much recommended if you want to run a second battery in your 100. Now I just need to wait for my Hellroaring control unit to arrive...
So, it's 9:00 PM, and I'm debating if I should install the battery tray. Afterall, it's pretty much a bolt on job, shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Well, it took a bit longer. Here are my notes:
1.) On 2004 US-spec trucks, there is a large heatsink bolted right into the holes where you would bolt the long arm for the battery tray into the side of the engine bay (inner fender). Not sure about older trucks, though the one Christo shows in his pics does not have this heatsink. Most of my time for the install was spent trying to figure out what to do with this thing!
2.) Heatsink can be bolted to existing holes under the battery tray, but since it _is_ a heatsink, I figured it should probably not be buried under there, with nowhere for the heat to go. But options are limited, as the wiring harness that plugs into the sink is fairly short, and I did not feel like cutting and extending wires in a seven-month-old truck (OK, the real reason is because I was lazy and it was cold in the garage and I wanted to go back inside!).
3.) I ended up unscrewing the two screws holding the sink to its mounting bracket, reversing it, and screwing back on. This allowed me to mount the sink using the same bolt that I used on the long arm of the battery tray. I also used the plastic spacer Christo provided as well as a small washer on the heatsink bracket so that it would fit flush to the side of the engine bay (it has a ridged face that otherwise would stick out). Now the heatsink fins face outward (away from the engine) and it tucks neatly under the top ridge of the inner fender.
4.) Make sure you insert the J-hooks for the battery hold-down bracket before bolting up the tray, as otherwise there is not enough room in there to insert the hooks in the correct orientation. Just slip them in, spin on a loose nut to keep them from falling through, and rest them out of the way.
5.) You do have to do some custom bending of the mounting arms, but not much. I'll try to get some pics of the final install this weekend if I have a chance.
So it's all done now! The Red Top I won at Rubithon fits perfectly in the tray. As always with Christo's stuff, quality is high. Very much recommended if you want to run a second battery in your 100. Now I just need to wait for my Hellroaring control unit to arrive...
