Ok it is not a bike but this is a good group. My 2019 Ford Escape needs
new battery it is the original. No trouble but going to replace due to
age voltage on meter says 12.4 a but under but ok.
I also need an oil change. I generally use the quick lube place down the street but one stop seems to be the easiest.
I made an appointment at the Walmart I go to for groceries. I am a bit dubious of Walmart for auto stuff but frankly they could be just as good
was anything else. There batteries are way cheaper than AutoZOne and
Orielly.
So did I make as mistake should I have gone to a regular car service
center. My Escape runs fine only 30K miles on it.
Ok it is not a bike but this is a good group. My 2019 Ford Escape needs
new battery it is the original. No trouble but going to replace due to
age voltage on meter says 12.4 a but under but ok.
I also need an oil change. I generally use the quick lube place down the street but one stop seems to be the easiest.
I made an appointment at the Walmart I go to for groceries. I am a bit dubious of Walmart for auto stuff but frankly they could be just as good
was anything else. There batteries are way cheaper than AutoZOne and
Orielly.
So did I make as mistake should I have gone to a regular car service
center. My Escape runs fine only 30K miles on it.
Mark J cleary <[email protected]> wrote:
Ok it is not a bike but this is a good group. My 2019 Ford Escape needs
new battery it is the original. No trouble but going to replace due to
age voltage on meter says 12.4 a but under but ok.
I also need an oil change. I generally use the quick lube place down the
street but one stop seems to be the easiest.
I made an appointment at the Walmart I go to for groceries. I am a bit
dubious of Walmart for auto stuff but frankly they could be just as good
was anything else. There batteries are way cheaper than AutoZOne and
Orielly.
So did I make as mistake should I have gone to a regular car service
center. My Escape runs fine only 30K miles on it.
Couple of thoughts. Sounds like you don't drive a great deal... If your climate isn't extremely cold a Delco Voyager deep cycle battery can be expected to last ten years or so if you take care to charge it from time
to time. This won't work if you have to start much below 32F.
On the oil change, a good question is to ask the torque specs they use
for the drain plug, oil filter and battery cables. If the reply is a
blank stare or "What's tork?", I'd go elsewhere.
hth,
bob prohaska
ps, I too prefer to do simple jobs like this myself when practicable.
Ok it is not a bike but this is a good group. My 2019 Ford Escape needs
new battery it is the original. No trouble but going to replace due to
age voltage on meter says 12.4 a but under but ok.
I also need an oil change. I generally use the quick lube place down the >street but one stop seems to be the easiest.
I made an appointment at the Walmart I go to for groceries. I am a bit >dubious of Walmart for auto stuff but frankly they could be just as good
was anything else. There batteries are way cheaper than AutoZOne and
Orielly.
So did I make as mistake should I have gone to a regular car service
center. My Escape runs fine only 30K miles on it.
The technician tried to upsell me to synthetic oil with a bullshit line
In article <101ktib$3b3h5$[email protected]>,
Zen Cycle <[email protected]> wrote:
The technician tried to upsell me to synthetic oil with a bullshit line
The crazy part is that cheap synthetic at the auto parts store is as basically as cheap as anything else. So I use it when I do my oil
changes on my 225,000-mile Saturn.
They must be getting way better margins on synthetic at the oil
changers.
On Mon, 2 Jun 2025 13:22:45 -0500, Mark J cleary
<[email protected]> wrote:
Ok it is not a bike but this is a good group. My 2019 Ford Escape needs
new battery it is the original. No trouble but going to replace due to
age voltage on meter says 12.4 a but under but ok.
I also need an oil change. I generally use the quick lube place down the
street but one stop seems to be the easiest.
I made an appointment at the Walmart I go to for groceries. I am a bit
dubious of Walmart for auto stuff but frankly they could be just as good
was anything else. There batteries are way cheaper than AutoZOne and
Orielly.
So did I make as mistake should I have gone to a regular car service
center. My Escape runs fine only 30K miles on it.
It's probably to late but this might be useful for others shopping for
car batteries. With lead-acid car and UPS batteries, what you're
paying for is the lead and lead oxide. The more lead in a given size battery, the longer it will last. Therefore, the idea is to buy the
heaviest (actually the most dense) battery possible. Since lead
(11.34 g/cm^3) is about 6 times as dense as sulfuric acid (1.83
g/cm^3) any attempt to replace lead with electrolyte is going to be
obvious in the math. Also, if you look at distributor (and possibly warehouse) pricing, you'll find that the more expensive batteries
weigh more.
However, you can't trust the battery weights from eBay, Amazon, and
various big box stores. They all lie about the weight of their
batteries. Bring your own electronic or spring scale, straps, and a
stiff bar or pipe to suspend the scale. If you don't want suspend the battery, find an electronic platform scale and weigh the battery on
the ground.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=platform%20scale&udm=2>
There seem to be a variety of battery types available. Rather than
list all the possible, I'll leave that exercise to the reader. Also,
since the weight varies somewhat between Lead-Acid, LiIon and AGM
batteries, I can't provide an estimated battery weight.
Kelly Blue Book comments on your car and battery: <https://www.kbb.com/ford/escape/2019/battery-replacement/>
When you measured the battery voltage, was the engine running and the
battery charging? If so, turn off the engine, let the battery cool
down, and then measure the voltage at the battery terminals with the
engine *NOT* running and the headlights, A/C, dashboard, etc turned
*OFF*. <https://www.google.com/search?q=battery%20voltage%20with%20engine%20off>
"A good car battery should read 12.4-12.9 volts when the car is off.
Anything lower doesn't necessarily mean the battery is bad. Your car's electrical system may have drained it, or there may be an issue with
your alternator".
On 6/2/2025 8:11 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 2 Jun 2025 13:22:45 -0500, Mark J cleary
<[email protected]> wrote:
Ok it is not a bike but this is a good group. My 2019
Ford Escape needs
new battery it is the original. No trouble but going to
replace due to
age voltage on meter says 12.4 a but under but ok.
I also need an oil change. I generally use the quick lube
place down the
street but one stop seems to be the easiest.
I made an appointment at the Walmart I go to for
groceries. I am a bit
dubious of Walmart for auto stuff but frankly they could
be just as good
was anything else. There batteries are way cheaper than
AutoZOne and
Orielly.
So did I make as mistake should I have gone to a regular
car service
center. My Escape runs fine only 30K miles on it.
It's probably to late but this might be useful for others
shopping for
car batteries. With lead-acid car and UPS batteries, what
you're
paying for is the lead and lead oxide. The more lead in a
given size
battery, the longer it will last. Therefore, the idea is
to buy the
heaviest (actually the most dense) battery possible.
Since lead
(11.34 g/cm^3) is about 6 times as dense as sulfuric acid
(1.83
g/cm^3) any attempt to replace lead with electrolyte is
going to be
obvious in the math. Also, if you look at distributor
(and possibly
warehouse) pricing, you'll find that the more expensive
batteries
weigh more.
However, you can't trust the battery weights from eBay,
Amazon, and
various big box stores. They all lie about the weight of
their
batteries. Bring your own electronic or spring scale,
straps, and a
stiff bar or pipe to suspend the scale. If you don't want
suspend the
battery, find an electronic platform scale and weigh the
battery on
the ground.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=platform%20scale&udm=2>
There seem to be a variety of battery types available.
Rather than
list all the possible, I'll leave that exercise to the
reader. Also,
since the weight varies somewhat between Lead-Acid, LiIon
and AGM
batteries, I can't provide an estimated battery weight.
Kelly Blue Book comments on your car and battery:
<https://www.kbb.com/ford/escape/2019/battery-replacement/>
When you measured the battery voltage, was the engine
running and the
battery charging? If so, turn off the engine, let the
battery cool
down, and then measure the voltage at the battery
terminals with the
engine *NOT* running and the headlights, A/C, dashboard,
etc turned
*OFF*.
<https://www.google.com/search?
q=battery%20voltage%20with%20engine%20off>
"A good car battery should read 12.4-12.9 volts when the
car is off.
Anything lower doesn't necessarily mean the battery is
bad. Your car's
electrical system may have drained it, or there may be an
issue with
your alternator".
I've always put the largest battery that would fit in the
space provided. In my Element I took measurements of the
space and replaced it with the largest one I could find -
don't remember the size offhand, but I do know it's
substantially larger than the stock battery with nearly
double the CCA. The challenge was making sure the post
configuration would allow the cables to reach.
On 6/2/2025 2:22 PM, Mark J cleary wrote:
Ok it is not a bike but this is a good group. My 2019 Ford Escape
needs new battery it is the original. No trouble but going to replace
due to age voltage on meter says 12.4 a but under but ok.
I also need an oil change. I generally use the quick lube place down
the street but one stop seems to be the easiest.
I made an appointment at the Walmart I go to for groceries. I am a bit
dubious of Walmart for auto stuff but frankly they could be just as
good was anything else. There batteries are way cheaper than AutoZOne
and Orielly.
So did I make as mistake should I have gone to a regular car service
center. My Escape runs fine only 30K miles on it.
You'll know if you made a mistake soon enough.
Sorry if that sounds sarcastic, but in chain stores the turnover rate is quite high, and those mechanics with noticeable talent don't last very
long before finding better positions in better garages. Your walmart may
very well be able to retain good talent with competitive wages. It's
tough to say. Try looking at some on-line reviews of their auto service.
I've never been to a walmart for auto maintenance since I normally do
all my own general maintenance work, but on occasion when time and
weather were not cooperating I've gone to the local fast oil change places.
Horror stories about chain store oil changes abound, but those are far
more the exception than the rule. As long as you don't ask them to do anything special and resist the upsell, it should be fine.
True Story: A few years ago time and weather conspired against me to the point that I though it best to go to a local quick change place. For
some reason that I can't remember, I was across town and found myself at
a Jiffy Lube. The technician tried to upsell me to synthetic oil with a bullshit line: He tried to tell me that synthetic was recommended for my
car.
It isn't. I've never used synthetic in the car (2009 honda element)
which at the time it had maybe 150K miles on it. Synthetic is mentioned
in the owners manual as an alternative, but the manual states "premium-
grade 5W-20 detergent oil", which I showed to him.
He tried to dodge it by saying, "yes, premium detergent is synthetic",
when I still told him 'no' he said "I'll need you to sign a waiver since you're not using the recommended oil". I decided instead to leave and go
to the Valvoline center across town (closer to my house anyway). They
tried the upsell too, but when I said no they simply went ahead with the cheap stuff as I asked with no questions.
Caveat Emptor
On 6/3/2025 9:00 AM, Zen Cycle wrote:
On 6/2/2025 8:11 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 2 Jun 2025 13:22:45 -0500, Mark J cleary
<[email protected]> wrote:
Ok it is not a bike but this is a good group. My 2019
Ford Escape needs
new battery it is the original. No trouble but going to
replace due to
age voltage on meter says 12.4 a but under but ok.
I also need an oil change. I generally use the quick lube
place down the
street but one stop seems to be the easiest.
I made an appointment at the Walmart I go to for
groceries. I am a bit
dubious of Walmart for auto stuff but frankly they could
be just as good
was anything else. There batteries are way cheaper than
AutoZOne and
Orielly.
So did I make as mistake should I have gone to a regular
car service
center. My Escape runs fine only 30K miles on it.
It's probably to late but this might be useful for others
shopping for
car batteries.� With lead-acid car and UPS batteries, what
you're
paying for is the lead and lead oxide.� The more lead in a
given size
battery, the longer it will last.� Therefore, the idea is
to buy the
heaviest (actually the most dense) battery possible.
Since lead
(11.34 g/cm^3) is about 6 times as dense as sulfuric acid
(1.83
g/cm^3) any attempt to replace lead with electrolyte is
going to be
obvious in the math.� Also, if you look at distributor
(and possibly
warehouse) pricing, you'll find that the more expensive
batteries
weigh more.
However, you can't trust the battery weights from eBay,
Amazon, and
various big box stores.� They all lie about the weight of
their
batteries.� Bring your own electronic or spring scale,
straps, and a
stiff bar or pipe to suspend the scale.� If you don't want
suspend the
battery, find an electronic platform scale and weigh the
battery on
the ground.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=platform%20scale&udm=2>
There seem to be a variety of battery types available.
Rather than
list all the possible, I'll leave that exercise to the
reader.� Also,
since the weight varies somewhat between Lead-Acid, LiIon
and AGM
batteries, I can't provide an estimated battery weight.
Kelly Blue Book comments on your car and battery:
<https://www.kbb.com/ford/escape/2019/battery-replacement/>
When you measured the battery voltage, was the engine
running and the
battery charging?� If so, turn off the engine, let the
battery cool
down, and then measure the voltage at the battery
terminals with the
engine *NOT* running and the headlights, A/C, dashboard,
etc turned
*OFF*.
<https://www.google.com/search?
q=battery%20voltage%20with%20engine%20off>
"A good car battery should read 12.4-12.9 volts when the
car is off.
Anything lower doesn't necessarily mean the battery is
bad. Your car's
electrical system may have drained it, or there may be an
issue with
your alternator".
I've always put the largest battery that would fit in the
space provided. In my Element I took measurements of the
space and replaced it with the largest one I could find -
don't remember the size offhand, but I do know it's
substantially larger than the stock battery with nearly
double the CCA. The challenge was making sure the post
configuration would allow the cables to reach.
+1
I learned that as a teenager the first time I needed a
battery. Clerk asked for which car. Before I could reply
'Rambler straight six' my expert pal told him 'Cadillac
Eldorado'. Same price and bigger, heavier really is better.
(which makes little difference until it's -25F, and then it
does.)
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