If you've spent any time poking around under the hood associated with your rig lately, you've probably noticed that the jeep cherokee xj battery tray is a single of the 1st things to give in to the "XJ curse" of rust and corrosion. It's a simple part to ignore until your battery starts rattling close to every time a person hit a pothole or climb a curb. These outdated Cherokees are famous for their longevity, yet the thin metal or aging plastic material used for the particular battery mounts wasn't exactly designed in order to last thirty or forty years.
Dealing with a crusty battery tray is just a transitional phase with regard to XJ owners. Whether or not you're restoring the clean 2001 Small or trying to maintain a beat-up '92 trail rig through falling apart, dealing with this area is definitely a must. If that tray does not work out completely, you aren't just looking with a messy engine bay; you're looking at a heavy lead-acid battery shifting into your fan, your own radiator, or shorting out against the hood.
Why These Trays Always Appear to Fail
The design of the particular XJ engine gulf is pretty compact, and the battery sits right in a prime spot to collect humidity, road salt, and—most importantly—leaking battery acid. Over the decades, those small drips of acid consume with the factory paint and start munching upon the steel. When you have the later-model plastic version, they don't corrosion, but they do obtain incredibly brittle. High temperature cycles from your motor eventually turn that plastic into some thing resembling a dull cracker, and it'll eventually snap under the weight of the heavy Group thirty four battery.
Once the structural integrity from the jeep cherokee xj battery tray is gone, the battery hold-down hardware usually goes along with it. You might find that will the J-hooks are usually rusted solid or that the openings they hook straight into have simply rotted away. At that point, your battery is basically simply sitting there by suggestion, which is definitely never a very important thing whenever you're bouncing around off-road.
Selecting Between Factory-style and Aftermarket Upgrades
When you lastly decide it's time to swap it out there, you've got 2 main paths. You are able to go back to a stock-style substitute, or you can choose a heavy-duty aftermarket tray.
If you're carrying out a factory-style recovery and you also don't program on doing very much wheeling, a typical replacement is fine. They're relatively cheap and they bolt right in without any theatre. However, most associated with us who adore these Jeeps would rather overbuild things. Automotive aftermarket trays are usually created from much fuller steel—often 10 or even 12 gauge—and they're laser-cut to match the XJ's particular inner fender curves.
The cool thing regarding these heavy-duty options is that they often come powder-coated. This gives you the much better defense against future acid solution leaks. Plus, they often feature much much better tie-down systems. Instead of those cheap plastic bars and skinny J-hooks, a person get a strong steel top dish that clamps the particular battery down such as it's part associated with the chassis.
The Dual Battery Temptation
If you're currently replacing your jeep cherokee xj battery tray , you may start thinking about a dual-battery set up. XJs don't possess a ton associated with room under the hood, but a few clever companies have designed trays that allow you in order to squeeze two smaller batteries (like Optima 34/78s) in to the exact same footprint factory-like individual battery.
This is a huge win if you've got a winch, a fridge, or a massive lighting bar. Running a winch on an one, aging battery will be a great method to end up stuck on the trail. By upgrading the tray to a dual-setup, a person get that peace of mind. Simply remember that a dual tray is a bit more included to install, and you'll need in order to figure out your wiring and isolator situation as well.
Tips for a Painless Installation
Replacing the particular tray is theoretically a "bolt-on" job, but with an XJ, nothing is ever truly just a bolt-on. You're almost going to run into some stubborn equipment. Here's how to make it suck less:
- Soak everything in penetrating essential oil: A day before you plan to do the swap, spray the particular bolts holding the tray towards the inner fender. Those bolts go through the sheet metal plus are subjected to all the grime plus salt kicked up by the top tires.
- Watch the vacuum lines: On many XJ models, there's the vacuum reservoir (the "football") tucked away near the bumper or under the battery area. Be cautious not to pull the those lines when you're pulling the particular old tray out.
- Reduce the effects of the mess: Once the old tray has gone out, you'll probably visit a number of white, powdery corrosion on the inner fender. Blend some baking soda and water plus scrub that region down. It'll counteract any remaining acid so that your new tray doesn't start rusting the minute it touches the Jeep.
- Paint the particular "while you're within there" spots: If a person see bare steel or surface corrosion on the fender once the tray is gone, hit this with some primer and paint. It just takes five a few minutes and prevents a hole from forming inside your engine gulf later.
Don't Your investment Hold-Down Equipment
It's simple to get so focused on the particular jeep cherokee xj battery tray itself that a person ignore the hardware that actually keeps the battery within it. When your new tray doesn't come with its very own tie-down system, make sure you buy the new set of J-hooks and a sturdy crossbar.
There's a particular type of frustration that comes from setting up a brand-new tray and then realizing you need to reuse a rusted-out, stripped-thread J-hook to help keep the battery from sliding. It's worth the extra ten bucks to just get new hardware and end up being carried out with it.
Maintaining Your New Setup
As soon as you've got the new tray installed and your battery is nice and snug, you want to make sure you don't have to do this again in five years. One of the best things a person can do will be use those small chemically-treated felt washers on the battery articles. They actually perform a pretty decent job of avoiding that "blue fuzz" from forming.
Also, it doesn't hurt to occasionally spray a bit of corrosion inhibitor on the tray itself. If you notice a leak, don't wait. Draw the battery, wash the tray out with that baking soda mix, plus you'll be good to look.
The particular XJ might become an unibody "shoebox, " but it's a tough 1. Keeping the jeep cherokee xj battery tray in good shape is just one associated with those small maintenance tasks that retains your Jeep dependable. It's less fascinating as a raise kit or fresh tires, but understanding your battery isn't going to get a leap into your serpentine belt while you're bouncing down a fire road is a pretty good feeling.
Whether you're going regarding a custom steel fabrication or simply the clean stock replacement, your Jeep will certainly thank you with regard to it. It's a Saturday afternoon project that saves a lot of potential headaches down the line. Plus, it offers you a great excuse to clear up some of the crusty grounds and aged wiring while you're deep on the particular engine bay. Content wrenching!