Battery leaking? Normal?

I have ignored some white crust near the front battery hold down. I put this battery in about 3 years ago.

I cleaned up the battery and terminals while had the battery out a few days ago. The crust by the hold down was very bad and ate away a lot of the paint. The picture is what you see after my attempt to clean up.

I checked the battery today and it appears to be slightly damp near the caps. Is this normal?

thanks!

 

No.

 

You can see on the left cap it looks moist in the area. That one is leaking a bit.

 

I’m going to be doing a road trip next week. The irony is, three years ago when I was in Yellowstone my prior battery died. Three years later I’m going to be going back.

Would you guys replace it?

I don’t consider three years a long time for owning a battery. I’m not sure if I’m having any issues with it per se, but I did replace my alternator last week.

 

You can always take it to AutoZone and they can run a computer check on it. If it passes then there's not much else you can do besides clean things up with some baking soda and warm water.

 

Pretty common for a flooded lead acid battery to seep acid especially in hot climates, baking soda mixed with water is the best at cleaning and neutralizing the acid.

Not much you can do about it other than keep it clean or switch to AGM.

 

It's pretty common. The cap "seals" are just hard plastic against hard plastic.

Try putting a wrap or two of teflon pipe thread tape around each of the cap plugs. This has worked for me (battery acid does not interact with the teflon).

 

I have plenty of that around from my recent plumbing projects. Do the caps just simply come off?

 

Heck yeah, it’s normal.

I had a battery barf out enough acid to fill the battery tray and destroy it with corrosion. All this leakage occurred during one bumpy, high altitude, hot summer wheeling trip. I went AGM after that.

My new truck still has an acid battery and shows the same condition as depicted in your photograph. I simply use a dry paper towel to wipe away the acid.

I’ve never seen it happen, but be careful using baking soda, you don’t want the baking soda to enter the battery.

 

On second thought, I’m pretty worn out from all my projects recently from house to cars. If the battery checks out at AutoZone, I’m just gonna run it.

 

Yeah. It’s normal. The older the battery and the hotter the weather. The worse you’ll see it.

I’d test the battery. If it checks good. Run it.

 

Yes, they should lift up and pop off using a flat screwdriver or similar.

 

Indeed, see those vent slits on the caps? Telflon tape won't do a thing. Either live with it or pay twice as much for an AGM battery.

 

Check the electrolyte level in each cell while you have the caps off, @zguy1. It’s likely they’re down a little if you’re a seeing electrolyte on the top of the case. Fill with distilled water just to the level of the little “shelf” an inch or so down into the cell.

 

Never have had one leak out the vent itself, it's always been from underneath the cap.

 

For the tie down, I plan on buying one of these if the price drops for Black Friday. Should hold up better against the acid.

$20 ARONOVA Heavy Duty Battery Hold Down Sets,With Billet Aluminum Battery Tie Down Bracket And 18-8(304) Stainless Steel J bolts (blue, 10" bolts)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09TH7R5RZ?smid=A29X7WJ3Z6HYFW

 

I've observed acid trickling out of the vent holes just transporting batteries in my car's footwell. It does dry out fairly quick. Apparently it's the reason Toyota put the white plastic tray under the battery.

 

Mine does this and it's never been a problem. Just wipe it off from time to time and dispose of the rag.
It's my opinion that the battery needs to 'breath' a tiny little bit because of temperature fluctuations.

 

Incorrect.

 

It should give plenty of warning before it gives up the ghost.