Battery leaking/overcharging?

About a year ago I noticed that my battery was leaking a little out of the top. I figured it was nothing to worry about and hosed it off. Didn't really think much of it until I changed the oil and noticed there was some corrosion on some of the hose clamps, the firewall, and a bit on the frame that was obviously from leaking battery acid. So I took the battery in and was told that batteries leaking like that was often caused by overcharging. Never heard of that one before. Anyway, I then brought in my alternator, hooked it up to their machine and it showed it was putting out 14.5 volts. Right about where it should be. The voltage regulator is built into the alt, thus that's the only way the battery could be overcharging. I bought a new battery, stuck it in there and have driven for a few days. So far no leaks.

Is it possible that the battery was simply defective? I'm wondering if some of the plates had fused together, which would cause the voltage to go up.

It was lots of fun having to re-paint some of the corroded areas.

 

At the Chevy dealer I work at we've had some problems with leaking batteries. On the Silverado the acid leaks onto the washer fluid reservoir and pump causing expensive damage. I hardly ever sell an alternator for these trucks so my guess is you just had a leaky battery.

 

My battery is leaking, it's not quite two years old. I'm going to take it to Toyota for inspection tomorrow. Every thing is stock on my truck, so I think I just got a bad one at the factory.