I don't mean to have another long thread on batteries, but I wonder if there might be a bit of advice about replacing the battery in my 2001 P38 2.5 DHSE.

I have read though a lot of the other threads and I notice that the preferred choice is the Hankook MF31 - 1000, but I don't think that this is available in Ireland. I have spent a while looking at suppliers in Ireland and the only other option that I can find, that has been recommended on the forum, is the Yuasa HSB334 which is available today in Halfords.

Is the Yuasa a good option, or would I be better to wait until I go to Scotland in July and buy a Hankook ?

Pierre3.

It's slightly lower spec than the Hankook, 100Ah against 105 and 830 CCA compared with 1000. But, it's still a higher spec than that recommended so should be fine.

Thanks Richard. I will give it some thought.

My own battery is starting to loose charge over a week or so. I have fitted one of Marty's RF filters, last year, which did help but I think that the battery is due a replacement. It looks like it has been around the houses and was already in the car when I bought it two years ago.

Pierre3.

Yuasa batteries are also top quality.

Pierre3 wrote:

I don't mean to have another long thread on batteries, but I wonder if there might be a bit of advice about replacing the battery in my 2001 P38 2.5 DHSE.

I have read though a lot of the other threads and I notice that the preferred choice is the Hankook MF31 - 1000, but I don't think that this is available in Ireland. I have spent a while looking at suppliers in Ireland and the only other option that I can find, that has been recommended on the forum, is the Yuasa HSB334 which is available today in Halfords.

Is the Yuasa a good option, or would I be better to wait until I go to Scotland in July and buy a Hankook ?

Pierre3.

hi mate I took my RR 2.5td to local tractor dealer and said I would like a 1000cca they supplied me with a 644 880cca tractor battery that works well

Thanks, David. It looks like I will have to go for the Yuasa as the Hankook isn't available in Ireland from what I can see.

I did see that Kwikfit, in Northern Ireland, have a similar battery to the Yuasa, a Platinum 019SPPLA with a lifetime guarantee [I didn't look to see what "Lifetime" is referring to !!] CCA 900 and 100 AH. That works out at £159 as opposed to Halfords Yuasa HSB334 Silver with a 5 year guarantee at €155 [although it does say "From"].

The Yuasa is rated at CCA 830 [they call it "Startup Power"] and also 100 AH.

I don't know why these companies use different terminology but I suspect that it is to try to prevent users from making direct compaisons by using the same specifications. Tossers !!!

I will have a closer look at the Kwikfit battery, just in case I could warrant a trip over the border, into the North, but it would be useful if anyone knows anything about their batteries and they could let me know.

And Richard is correct about the May weekend discount from Battery Megastore - it doesn't include the Hankook MF31-1000, and no, they don't have any in stock. I also checked this morning.

Pierre3.

I paid 69 quid for mine from local agricultural dealer

Hi karlos, what make was the one that you got ?

Pierre3.

not sure on the make I'll have a look and let you know

karl

Karlos, I emailed the local Claas dealer, about 30 miles away, and gave them the battery size etc. so I will be interested to see if they come back to me with anything useful.

Pierre3.

Pierre3 wrote:

Karlos, I emailed the local Claas dealer, about 30 miles away, and gave them the battery size etc. so I will be interested to see if they come back to me with anything useful.

Pierre3.

pierre3
keep us posted as to what they got
karlos

Karlos, no news yet, I haven't heard anything. I am wondering whether the Claas dealer is a dead end

Pierre3.

Pierre3 wrote:

Karlos, no news yet, I haven't heard anything. I am wondering whether the Claas dealer is a dead end

Pierre3.
pierre
try any agricultural shop

You just need to ask for a type 634 or 644 battery. That dictates the physical size and terminal type and orientation. Then you want at least 107Ah and a CCA figure as close to 1000A as you can get. It's commonly used in smaller trucks and tractors.

Richard, I was just looking at the pictures, on the Batterymagastore website, of the Hanook MF-31-1000 battery and it appears that the terminals are centre posts, rather than at the rear edge of the battery.

Do you happen to know, or perhaps someone else [Dave3d], with the 2.5 diesel will the battery leads stretch to the centre post terminals ?

I know that the Yuasa HSB334, as sold by Halfords, is a rear edge configuration.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Pierre3.

They aren't in the centre but they are further from the battery edge than others. I fitted one to a 99 DSE and don't recall any problems. On my car (98 4.0 litre petrol) the existing leads fitted fine but on the Ascot (96 4.6 petrol), the positive was just that little bit too short so had to be re-routed and fed over the ECU box rather than behind it.

Hi Pierre3,
My car is still in a local Landy garage getting the transfer box changed, otherwise I would go out and check the battery for you to make sure.

The -ve earth cable will be OK, there is a lot of slack; it is just the +ve terminal. As Richard says on the Hankook, the terminals are closer to the centre line of the battery.

https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/hankook-heavy-duty-commercial-battery-mf31-1000/

I may be looking for a battery myself. My Lucas battery is coming up to 3 years old and a bit iffy. It has fully discharged a few times which has damaged it I think. Sorning the car for 5 months didn't help.
I see the Hankook MF31 is £95 now. I don't remember them being that expensive.
Has the £ gone down vs South Korean currency (what ever that is) ?

Hi guys, thanks for the information.

I will go and have a look and see whether there is any leeway in the positioning of the positive terminal lead. From memory there doesn't look to be a lot of flexibility on how far I can move it, but, from looking at the pictures of the battery, perhaps it doesn't need to stretch much further. Maybe I am being a bit over-cautious. I need to actually check the amount of re play on the battery lead to be sure.

Dave3d, just as a vague comparison, the Yuasa HSB344 battery at Halfords Ireland is listed at €155, what's that, about £135 ? Rather a lot more than the Hankook from Batterymegastore UK at £95 [as near as dammit],

The Yuasa HSB344 from Halfords UK is [from] £129, so not a lot cheaper than in Ireland. Although I am not quite sure what they mean by "from". Surely it is either £129 or not ???

Looking around at difference sellers and different manufacturers there is quite a big variation in prices, anything from the cheapest 800 CCA, 100Ah battery at around £75 to well known brands such as Exide coming in at around £150.

I guess it's a case of "You pays your money and you takes your choice" !!

Pierre3.

Pierre3.

Pierre3 wrote:

The Yuasa HSB344 from Halfords UK is [from] £129, so not a lot cheaper than in Ireland. Although I am not quite sure what they mean by "from". Surely it is either £129 or not ???

From probably doesn't include fitting in the price bit, if Halfords over here are anything to go by. Though you probabbly don't want them to fit it anyway!

I didn't think about the fitting scenario. But, I agree with you, I wouldn't ask Halfords to fit anything, if for no other reason that I know how to do regular service replacement things. I have seen too many stories of Halfords staff making a dogs' danglies of simple things, like changing wipers or bulbs and getting it totally wrong !! Duuuuh !

I checked under the bonnet of my vehicle, this morning, and there does seem to be a bit of leeway with the positive battery lead, so that it is possible to fit a battery with a centre terminal configuration, such as the Hankook MF31-1000. My car is a 2001 and looking at the positive terminal clamp there are , I think, three cables connected in the clamp. There are two heavy, red, ones, one going to the alternator, I suppose, one going to the starter motor, and one going to the fuse board. This is only from memory, and they are factory fit and not modified. There is a bit of movement on the clamp which would allow an inch or so of sideways movement.

The difference between a side edge terminal post configuration and a centre post configuration is probably only an extra inch or so.

One other annoying thing is that I emailed three different battery suppliers, two are distributors and the third was Yuasa UK, and I haven't heard back from any of them. There are two versions of the Yuasa HSB334 battery depending on where you look. Halfords list the battery as "HSB334" but other suppliers list an identical one as "Yuasa YBX5334". So, I emailed two suppliers, and Yuasa UK, but no-one has replied to me to explain the difference. The only difference that I can see is that on the Halfords item there is a label that says the battery has a 5 year guarantee. The other battery, although exactly the same specifications, doesn't. Maybe this is the difference.

Pierre3.