Difficult to Replace Battery?

Originally Posted by aa240sx

Believe it or not I went 105K on the original battery on my 2000 323I after nearly 7 years. The OEM battery is great, but I'm sure the DL-49 will last a long time.

As for a vent tube, yes it does come with a tube and plastic adapter so that you can fit it to the vent tube of your car.

and no, you won't need to adjust the battery tray to fit it, though it is a little bigger than OEM. You'll just need to screw down the metal battery holder a little bit.

Do you removed the little white plastic that was at the edge of the original battery ?

Originally Posted by mtvector

Let me start off by saying that even minor do-it-yourself car projects for me end up in a disaster so when I say this one was easy, it must be really easy.

My notes:
Battery - Advanced Auto Parts 94R2. Perfect fit. No mods to battery well required. $118 (after returning old battery and receiving $10 credit)

Hardest part was removing plastic trunk tray that is over battery. Pull out the plastic plug clip that is up and to the left of the battery on the side of the trunk. That gives the gray carpet trunk liner a bit more wiggle room so the black plastic tray can be worked out from underneath it.

Note that the metal bracket in the battery well is much longer than the OEM battery. There is a little white plastic block towards the rear of the car that keeps the OEM (and then the replacement battery) from sliding front to back. Just make sure you put the battery in place so that the white plastic block is behind it.

Take the negative terminal off first

The Advanced Auto Parts battery appears to have vent holes on either side. I swapped the little black plastic plug from one side of the Advance battery to the other so the vent could be attached on the same side as it was on the OEM battery.

That's pretty much it. Oh, and you should check your spare tire pressure since you already have the trunk cover out.

I just installed a Duralast 49-DL into my 2001 330ci, it's little longer than the original and I did NOT removed the little white plastic block so the battery seats little un-level, I would like to ask if anyone knows any difference with the un-level and level battery setting.

Thanks

I removed the little white plastic that was function as a stop to slide for the original battery, the Autozone 49-DL it's a little longer and also little shorter than the original I add a plastic spacer to hold it down, fits perfect now.
I spend $ 79.99 for the battery ( dealer wanted $ 132.22 plus taxes ) and
five minutes of my time... Not bad at all

I spent $53 for an Everlast 48-3 battery that fit without removal of the white block and I added spacer as well under the paddle.

I'm similarly pleased.

My OEM battery also died last Sat after 5 years.* I'm planning to replace it with 49DL.* I was just wondering, do I need to do anything with the dealer installed alarm and lojack?* Should the keys be in the ignition?This site is awesome.* Thanks for all the info.

NAPA 7548 (group 48), fits fine. 12.1" x 6.9" x 7.6" top rated by Consumer Reports. $76.49. Dealer $180.

Here is a thread with MUCH discussion of various batteries (consensus seem to be the Duralast 49-DL).

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...duralast+49-DL

And this DIY has many pictures to walk anyone through replacing the OEM battery with the Duralast 49-DL.

http://reviews.paonet.org/20070221-D...-DL/index.html

I installed the 49-DL 8 months ago and it fits fine (with a spacer under the battery brace). No problems with battery. Newbies, don't forget to attach the vent tube-batteries produce hydrogen gas during driving/charging (VERY explosive). This battery has superior cold cranking amps rating and is about 1/2 the price of OEM. It is low-maintenance and not maintenance-free, so you should check fluid level once a year or so (maybe more if it gets very hot where you are).

I replaced my battery today with an Everstart 48-3 from Wal-Mart. The battery fit nicely and I only needed to trim the vent tube 3/8". Hardest part of the entire process was removing the plastic storage tray, pain in the @$$. Dealership wanted $170 for a battery, I went to autozone and they were out of stock (they wanted $90), I spent $70 at Wal-Mart.

Hi!!! Does anyone know if this 49 DL batt fits the M3 too?
It seems that there's a diff between the coupes and the verts, but how about the M3s?

Which batt should I use?

THANKS!!

Originally Posted by mr_garg

Hi!!! Does anyone know if this 49 DL batt fits the M3 too?
It seems that there's a diff between the coupes and the verts, but how about the M3s?

Which batt should I use?

THANKS!!

i bought the 94r about a month back from autozone... works well

I've had two E46's one an M3 (so yes they do fit M3's) and two Duralast 49-DL's and needless to say i've been very impressed with both of them. Not only do they provide more CCA's than oem batteries but they're rated to last longer and are quite a bit cheaper (about $60 a piece). The fitment was spot on oem as I never had to add anything to make it stay. Duralast for those of you who don't know is made by Johnson Controls. The same company who makes Otima Batteries (optima yellow top and red top, etc. etc.)

btw. If you go into an Autozone the computer will show it doesn't fit but this is untrue.

The battery went out. So just for fun, I asked the dealer and they want to charge $300+. Jump-started the car and went to AutoZone instead. Tested the battery and sure it's time to be replaced. So I bought the Duralast 94R-DLG since I didn't want to deal with the little things needed with the 49-DL. Replaced the battery right there and car started again (actually much better). Thank you all of you for posting and researching all the info here.

Originally Posted by mr_garg

Hi!!! Does anyone know if this 49 DL batt fits the M3 too?
It seems that there's a diff between the coupes and the verts, but how about the M3s?

Which batt should I use?

THANKS!!

The 49 DL does not fit the 2001 M3 convertible. It is about an inch too long and I just found that out the hard way. It was shocking since all the posts I read here and in numerous places said the fit was perfect. Now I have to go back to autozone and try something else. What? I don't know, any suggestions?

our 1st dealer replacement battery lasted almost 5 years so maybe we were lucky. thanks for the tip on the 49DL. I'll try that.

I also had a similar experience as slow323ci with Autozone not wanting to sell a battery without verifying the application. I started with a narrow battery in my 89 Saleen because I mounted my MSD box there and found a smaller battery. Then I put the same battery in two other vehicles so that they are all the same. Now the autozone guys don't ask when I come in and just grab one off the shelf. it's like training the dog. haha

Originally Posted by Flinque

The 49 DL does not fit the 2001 M3 convertible. It is about an inch too long and I just found that out the hard way.

Go to Wal-Mart. Get the Exide Everstart 48-3.

It will fit. Bring a tape measure and measure it yourself before buying.

$53.00

Thanks for the hekpful hints...saved me a few bucks.

You're welcome

I just installed the 94R-DLG that I picked up late last night and it didn't come with a vent tube. There's no place to insert the tube. Is it required w/ this battery?

Originally Posted by gonzo08452

I just installed the 94R-DLG that I picked up late last night and it didn't come with a vent tube. There's no place to insert the tube. Is it required w/ this battery?

I should've looked harder. There is a small white removal plastic plug on the positive end as in the OE battery where the vent tube connects. Theres also one on the negative end, just like the OE.

One other little trick I saw in another thread is to hook up a battery charger (set on 2 amp trickle) to the battery leads before disconnecting the old battery. Keep the charger connected and running until the leads are reconnected to the new battery.
This prevents you from having to reset the clock or any other electronic settings (radio presets, etc.)
I just did this while putting a Duralast 49DL in my 2003 M3 coupe and it worked great.
The only mods I had to make were to trim the length of the rubber vent tube that came with the Duralast by about 3" and use the 1/2" spacer under the phillips head screw as described earlier in this thread.