Battery question - will Optima 34 fit as 34R not available

panda-52 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 13, 2009 9:21 am

My original Optima died and I've been having trouble locating a 34R. I can order a 34R but was wondering if a 34 will fit. Anybody do this replacement?

Thanks

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 13, 2009 11:24 am

I replaced mine with a regular group 34 battery from advacne auto parts. the gold battery is the right cold cranking amps for our jeeps. some have also used a DieHard with good success and both are cheaper.

Edit to include more detail: The AutoCraft gold's terminals are more centered so when it was installed it was just flipped around backwards so that the terminals were reversed and the cables hooked to it fine for mine.

UFO · **Posted:** Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:19 pm

Is there any issue with the battery cables reaching the terminals?

panda-52 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:41 pm

That was my concern. If you do a parts lookup for the CRD most suppliers specify a 34 and not a 34R. It seems I read somewhere that the terminals on the 34R are a little closer to the edge of the case in addition to being reversed. I'm hoping I can turn the standard Group 34 battery 180 degrees and have enough slack in the cables.

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Fri Nov 13, 2009 7:39 pm

UFO wrote:

Is there any issue with the battery cables reaching the terminals?

I did not have any issue with that when using a kirkland (costco brand) battery.

Also much cheaper and durable than an optima.

jinstall · **Posted:** Fri Nov 13, 2009 7:55 pm

Normally a "R" series batteries mean the poles are reversed. Mainly found on Ford Products.

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 14, 2009 1:58 pm

see my edit above :!:

CRD Joe · **Posted:** Sat Nov 14, 2009 3:54 pm

I replaced mine with a yellow top Optima. I had to tweak the negative cables to fit the inside negative terminal a little bit. No problems.

RTStabler51 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:10 pm

jinstall wrote:

Normally a "R" series batteries mean the poles are reversed. Mainly found on Ford Products.

Yup

jinstall · **Posted:** Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:22 pm

Here is a BCI Chart http://www.rtpnet.org/teaa/bcigroup.html

05infernoCRDL · **Posted:** Sun Nov 15, 2009 1:38 am

the normal 34 optima fit on mine... had to change where the kink was on the neg cable

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Sun Nov 15, 2009 9:25 am

WalMart has 34R size batteries.

CRD Joe · **Posted:** Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:13 pm

I picked up my 34 Optima yellow top at SAMs for 160.00.

Drewd · **Joined:** Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:24 pm **Posts:** 902

I'm not sure what size it was but it was a 1000 camps and 800CCA that I picked up from Adance Auto. It barely fit but it fits and has lasted longer than my red top optima did to date. Only bummer was I had to get my hands dirty and install it myself in the parking lot. The sales folk said it was not an approved battery and wouldn't install it for me. I told them a 12v battery is a 12v battery provided it has enough amperage and fits in the vehicle but logic was lost on them.

panda-52 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:27 pm

I ended up buying a Duralast from autozone 800/1000 cranking amps and 8 yr warranty. It was a regular grounp 34. No problems with the terminals.

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:46 pm

Quote:

I'm not sure what size it was but it was a 1000 camps and 800CCA that I picked up from Adance Auto. It barely fit but it fits and has lasted longer than my red top optima did to date. Only bummer was I had to get my hands dirty and install it myself in the parking lot. The sales folk said it was not an approved battery and wouldn't install it for me. I told them a 12v battery is a 12v battery provided it has enough amperage and fits in the vehicle but logic was lost on them.

I did not have that problem with my local Advance store. the sales guy that sold me my battery agreeed the Optima was most likely not needed and was very willing to try a to fit the Autocraft Gold. I didn't have to get my hands dirty at all, I got good old fasioned curbside service.

Quote:

I ended up buying a Duralast from autozone 800/1000 cranking amps and 8 yr warranty. It was a regular grounp 34. No problems with the terminals.

Nice that should be nearly the same as the one I got from Advance.

onthehunt · **Posted:** Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:42 pm

Quote:

The sales folk said it was not an approved battery and wouldn't install it for me. I told them a 12v battery is a 12v battery provided it has enough amperage and fits in the vehicle but logic was lost on them

They also use that same thing to deny your battery warranty. Read the fine print. Not approved=no warranty.

Drewd · **Joined:** Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:24 pm **Posts:** 902

That's ok. I'm not worried about the battery warranty because it has already lasted twice as long as my optima did and is going strong! Funny thing is that our CRD did mostly highway driving when the Optima failed and now its mostly short trips city driving.

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robotmind · **Posted:** Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:14 pm

I replaced my OEM Red Top with a Optima Red Top 34R from Advanced Autoparts. I can confirm the fit is as good as factory. However, the negative terminal clamp does need some "adjusting". A simple hand bend did the job. Don't know about the regular 34 b/c it was not in stock.

Erik

liberty2.8 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 8:07 pm

Cold weather finished off my Optima so I went with the Duralast Gold from AutoZone. About half the price of another redtop and it fit fine. Only problem was the battery blanket wouldn't wrap around so I'll be looking for a longer piece of Velcro.

Battery question - will Optima 34 fit as 34R not available

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