Battery replacement in the '99 Taurus, what a project

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Button Pusher

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Went to Autozone for a Gold 36R battery for the '99 Taurus wagon, the DieHard is going into the '99 Sable and that battery is now the core to turn in.
Well, the kid gives me a battery with a date code on the lower left top of J1xxx (battery made 9th month 2021 (don't count letter I)).
I ask him to check for another that is not old like this one, you can tell the battery was used by looking at the top terminals and the dirt on top, he tested it at my request and it showed 12V. Ask him if they have them on trickle chargers, he said they don't sit long. OK, they why are you selling me a 2021 battery? You got a three year warranty he says. OK, when I come back in the future they are going to look at the date code and say NO WAY, you got it on 12/31/22 and the battery was made in 2021. Showed him the store lists two in stock on the website, tells me that is is wrong. I ask him to please go and check, he does and shakes his head as he walks away. PRESTO, another 36R with a date coded label 8/22. Amazing. He kept telling me I was wrong about date code, fact is the factory that made the diehards makes the duralast batteries. Tells me it came from another store, OK, that other store sent you a core battery not a fresh one. I normally buy the DieHard but 36R Gold not in stock so I went with the Duralast Gold.

All good now, the new battery is on the charger and I'll install it Sunday morning. I'm good for batteries for the next four years on all five cars.
 
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Good eye checking the date code. I’m sure most people don’t bother to even check.

Curious, what’s the story with the 2 ‘99 cousin cars? Not the most popular collector vehicles.
 
Jerzsubbie said:
Good eye checking the date code. I’m sure most people don’t bother to even check.

Curious, what’s the story with the 2 ‘99 cousin cars? Not the most popular collector vehicles.
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Was time to donate the '85 Tempo 265K my wife had since new, needed bigger car with two daughters in car seats. I got the Sable 10 months old 26K miles at Hertz car sales in Raleigh and the Taurus wagon 24K miles the next month, told the salesman I'll be back and he thought I was kidding. These are fleet cars, Ford made zillions of them, parts are always around and the 3.0 OHV engine proven and easy to work on. I wore out my used '85 Turismo at 300K.
I got two ten month old cars for less then what my neighbor paid for one car. I have 306K on the Taurus and 286K on the Sable. I do all my own work including swapping transmissions with Ford reman units.
 
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good job saving it from cash for clunkers
:mad:
old cars cost way more than they should now, but i'm starting to think they're gonna be way more reliable than computerized everything at the mandate of govt
 
DrScaryGuy said:
good job saving it from cash for clunkers
:mad:
old cars cost way more than they should now, but i'm starting to think they're gonna be way more reliable than computerized everything at the mandate of govt
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Both have onboard EEC-IV engine control with individual fuel injectors, later models had COP.
 
Last time I was in an Auto Zone was March 2019. Placed an order online for a battery for my wife's car. Went to pick it up, not in stock even though I got a confirmation email. Took a day to get the battery in. Picked it up, took it home, swapped it out and took the old one back for the core charge.

Well, because I placed the order online, only the manager could process the refund for the core charge and she was off that day, have to come back tomorrow. What ???? That is what I was told.

So I tote the battery back out to my car, come back the next day, no manager but somebody did process the core refund. But now I was told I could not leave the old battery, needed to come back the next day to turn it in to the manager because it was an internet order. No thanks, I left it anyway.

.
 
Good luck on that 4 years. Those batteries have became junk. I have business accounts at all the parts houses. The regional rep told me to stay away from those. Advance rep told me the same thing.
 
LeeMajors said:
Good luck on that 4 years. Those batteries have became junk. I have business accounts at all the parts houses. The regional rep told me to stay away from those. Advance rep told me the same thing.
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Johnson Controls exited the automotive business with the sale of their Power Solutions for $13B USD now known as Clarios based in Milwaukee, WI.
Clarios is the largest manufacturer of automotive batteries in the world, producing roughly one out of every three batteries, or about 154 million a year, worldwide.
They make more then 1 out of three AGM batteries worldwide.

I agree they don't make them like they used to, engine compartments are smaller and run hotter, no more five year pro rating batteries, now a 1, 2 or 3 year exchanges.
 
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I have pretty much abandoned Autozone, Advanced, and O’Reilly. Too much turnover in employees. If it is not something stated on a screen they cannot help much anymore. I now pay more for a higher quality part if possible at NAPA where employees have been around for many years. Battery manufacturing consolidation has resulted in lower quality and less warranty. I learned about date codes on here a few years back. I also was given a one year old battery put back into rotation and declined the purchase.

By the way. Taurus was a tough car to kill. Millions were sold as company cars. I always felt that was one of Fords best products. You picked a couple of solid vehicles.
 
Agree on the Taurus line, I parked cars at RDU Hertz for five years when our first daughter arrived, back then they let you look at the service records. Both my cars were based out of Wilmington, NC location, they take good care of their fleet. BTW, Hertz repair shop is a profit center, they do all the recalls and warranty work on the fleet, they get reimbursed by the manufacturer. My cars are just transportation, when we take a trip I rent a car at the airport with a weekend rate.
Rock Auto is my go to now, I used to use Car Quest after they bought out the old school parts store I use for 25 years, same crew. Now Advance snapped them up.
 
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