Optima And Creeper Install

Recently picked up a '99, and when I went to test drive it the battery was dead. They jumped it and after the test drive I bought it. So it was a perfect time to upgrade to an Optima. And I figured while I was at it I might as well upgrade from the stock corroded cables. So I ordered some HD Cables from Jeepers and Creepers. Took about a week for the stuff to get here (no local parts suppliers had the right size optima in stock). Then it took me about 30 minutes to put it all in, fairly easy Job. Small Red Cable to the Fuse Block, Large Red Cable to the Starter (hardest of the 4 based on location), Large Black Cable to the Block, and Small Black Cable to the Fender for the Ground. The Creeper Cables are a bit longer than stock, or at least the Negative Cable in comparison. So I ran it up the fender and under the fuse block to the mount on the engine block. Keeps it nice and hidden and tucked away so you can't catch it on anything. Now my '99 had alot of wires all bundled up with conduit to keep the engine bay looking clean and less chance to damage some of the very small wires running through it. I destroyed the factory job getting the old cables out, so I decided to redo it. Picked up some conduit from Home Depot, and some Flat Pack Duct Tape from walmart, looks good as new. All in all it was a pretty simple install, I really like the setup, and I would recomend it to anyone.

You need to put either grease or battery terminal spray on the battery terminals and you can even put some on the other ends as well. Looks good though...

Is it that sticky red shit??

91 Jeep Project said:

Is it that sticky red shit??

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It can be, I just put a couple of dabs of mobil-1 grease on ours.... vs $3 for one of those little spray bottles of protector stuff... The mobil-1 does fine...

RichP said:

It can be, I just put a couple of dabs of mobil-1 grease on ours.... vs $3 for one of those little spray bottles of protector stuff... The mobil-1 does fine...

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Pretty much just keeps the battery terminals from corroding right???

91 Jeep Project said:

Pretty much just keeps the battery terminals from corroding right???

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Yup prevents oxidation. Oxguard can be used too but I've never seen the stuff here in the east.. Must be a NW thing..

RichP said:

You need to put either grease or battery terminal spray on the battery terminals and you can even put some on the other ends as well. Looks good though...

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Why? Optima's don't corrode. Never greased mine and they look brand new.

Weasel said:

Why? Optima's don't corrode. Never greased mine and they look brand new.

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Nah, trust me, use something. Mine were corroding, and I threw on some of those cheap felt washers and daubed on some OxGuard and I'm golden now. BTW--mine's a red top.

I think I saw OxGuard at Sears Hardeware, I might be mistaken but I think it's for aluminum connections, may be wrong though.

Oh yeah, 91 JP, where'd ya get the military termnals. Same place as the cables?

Thanks...

The terminals come with the cables. Did the same mod last month.

If you want the terminals separate you can purchase at NW power products.
www.wranglernw.com

RichP said:

You need to put either grease or battery terminal spray on the battery terminals and you can even put some on the other ends as well. Looks good though...

Click to expand...

Optimas are garunteed not to corrode, if it does.. call optima get a new one

From my experience it's not the battery posts that corrode at all, it's the terminals and cables connected to them. Any petrolium or lithium based grease will help to prevent that corrosion. It can also help to prevent issues with water getting into smaller connections (like the bottom of some relays I have installed on the passengers side fender). And I'm not sure about other auto stores, but most of the parts stores near me (both home and school) have terminals identical to those and marine-grade quick-disconnect terminals (which I prefer since they make it easy to connect/disconnect accessories or all power without tools).

same here... I love my quick discos

I wish I had pics of mine. They are actually terminals that are mounted permanently on the posts, but they have threaded posts sticking out of the top of them. A wing nut is used on each to hold the wires (terminated with copper rings) onto the posts. They allow each wire to be added or removed separately. For instance, if I wanted to disonnect the power to just my amp, I can pull the wire for just that.

Boatwrench, thanks...

Why doesnt that kit come with an alt to power distribution wire? I just recently built my own cables and since I was doing the starter and ground cables I figured why not do all of them. I found quite a few helpful threads on here. They recomended using a mega fuse for the wire going to the alt. It has work great so far.

I think I will borrow your idea Jeep Project and put the ground behind the fuse area since I made mine too long.

What are the cold cranking amps on that battery? Do they last longer then the cheapos from autozone?

Katarn

What is the square footage on the house in the plans? :gee:

Fergie said:

What is the square footage on the house in the plans? :gee:

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About 6,000 sq. ft. And not a single 90* angle in the place, one of the ugliest houses i've ever seen.............ig:

And the cold crank on this is much better than the cheapies, at least compared to the interstate that was in there before and the auto mart on in my '94............ :bunny: