The guy that owned my b5 before me, sucks
 

Just thought i'd share this.

I set out last weekend to install the VDO gauge. Got it in no problem, looks pretty good too. Just wish i changed the bulb inside the gauge first to match the dash better.. but anyway.

I noticed that there was a little patch of rust right behind the battery. I thought "wtf!" and pulled the battery out immediately to see if there was anymore behind it.

Side note: i completely forgot about the lame security code for my cd player so now its in safe mode :mad:

Pulled the battery and HOLY SHIT. What was left of the battery mount was all rusted and brittle, it was completely rotted through. Not only was the bracket completely gone, underneath where the drain is has a decent amount of corrosion around it as well. I don't know how the hell i missed this when i purchased the car because i took a look at the battery to make sure it was ok ( guess it wasn't ).

There was NO little clip on the bottom to hold the battery still so i am guessing that the battery knocked around for a good 40k miles slowly leaking the acids eating up my firewall and engine bay. Luckily my buddy and i caught this because some of the body was feeling pretty thin, and could have eventually eaten its way through to corrode some more important components of the car.

Long story short - I applied some rust stopper goo pretty liberally and used a few blocks of wood ( and shimms ) to sort of stabilize the battery for the time being. When i have time I am going to rivet some angle iron in the battery compartment so keep it level, along with some clip to hold it in place. I'll prob buy a new battery too because who knows how much this one will leak.

Whenever you move the battery, make sure you seat it correctly!!!!

Mine was the same way. You can buy a new battery tray/clamp/screw for a reasonable price.

And are you sure your battery is leaking? I feel confident mine wasn't, and I live in CA where things don't really rust, but the old battery tray rotted through with rust.

I think so - The bottom part of the compartment was all rusted, not just the bracket. When I was trying to clean it out my hands were getting pretty irritated.

Previous owners can be a whore, I got lucky with my Audi though.....I've heard sooooooo many stories.

I have this issue as well, it looks like sh*t! I'm not sure what to do and yes I know this thread is old lol. Goo stopper or order a replacement tray

Once battery acid starts eating metal, the only ways to stop it are to replace everything or neutralize the acid and then some how prevent the rust from getting any worse. I think you'd be better off just replacing the whole tray if that's an option.

If it isn't, my dad had good luck with a similar situation on my brother's Jeep. Battery acid was eating the fender, so he made a paste out of water and baking soda to neutralize the acid, then slopped POR-15 all over the rust to keep it from spreading. Seems ok so far.

Say whaaaaaaa?!

Bad spam bot is bad at spamming.

Bad spam bot is also bad at not getting the ban dick smacked across his forehead ;)

I have the same shit going on with my B5...

Bad spam bot can go eat a dick!