Tdi battery tray larger than gas tray?

94cobra2615

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2013
Location
ohio
TDI
2002 Black Wagon
Just bought a new battery for my tdi converted 03 wagon. The battery tray is too small for the battery.

The battery advance auto parts says fits it is a 94rh7. The battery is longer than the tray.
 

Lanp900

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Location
PNW
TDI
ALH Golf 2001-Bert
Yeah, as far as I can tell, the TDI tray is longer by a few inches.
 

94cobra2615

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2013
Location
ohio
TDI
2002 Black Wagon
Ok thanks. Didn't know that. The donor car was destroyed on that side and couldnt compare
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
TDI's have bigger battery's for obvious reason's. Some later model MK4 diesels did get the smaller battery, FYI.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
The Group 94R battery is 12.4"x6.9". The tray wants to be a little larger than that. I know in my my car the tray has a small bit of extra length. Since your car is a conversion, you may need to improvise.
 

jokila

Vendor
Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Location
Houston, Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, Manual
The mk4 TDI beetles had the smaller battery and tray like a gasser. The Golf and Jettas have the larger tray to fit the 94R batteries.
 

jokila

Vendor
Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Location
Houston, Texas
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS, Manual
My 99 beetle battery is giant compared to the 2001 jetta.
H6 in mine.
There is a power steering reservoir between the battery and engine cover. Yours must be located somewhere else to make room for the larger batter. I've only worked on 2000+ new beetles so it seemed like they all had the smaller battery.
 

BlowMyTurbo

Active member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Location
Georgia
TDI
ALH swapped MK1 Audi TT
Just bought a new battery for my tdi converted 03 wagon. The battery tray is too small for the battery.

The battery advance auto parts says fits it is a 94rh7. The battery is longer than the tray.


Yeah the tdi uses a bigger battery, my TT when it was gas had a small battery and tray so I had to bring mine over from the doner.


Mk4 TDI Jetta-
-garret VNT17 turbo
-bosio power plus 764 nozzles
-Malone stage 4 tune
-buzzKen 2.5" stainless steel Downpipe
-endurance clutch
-custom straight pipe
 

AnotherPerson

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2015
Location
New Orleans
TDI
1999 Beetle
There is a power steering reservoir between the battery and engine cover. Yours must be located somewhere else to make room for the larger batter. I've only worked on 2000+ new beetles so it seemed like they all had the smaller battery.

The fluid tank is there. It is tight with how the battery sits partially below the edge of the fender.
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
Narf? Bob? Any chance you have the p/n for the larger MkIV battery tray? I cannot get to my Golf right now and I'm trying to help a friend.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I probably have all that stuff used from a part out if you need it. It may be the early type, though.
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
I probably have all that stuff used from a part out if you need it. It may be the early type, though.
B- Thanks so much for the offer. He wouldn't mind early vs late, as long as it fits and accepts the cover (late '03 battery cover). The retaining bolt threading on his current one is rusted out and now the whole thing is loose. Let me know what you need to cover it and shipping.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Sorry, I only found the late type back and top cover, but no tray. Not really sure what I did with it, which troubles me as I rarely throw anything good out.
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
B- Thanks for checking, I know you're busy so appreciate it! I'll keep checking the salvage yards, the LKQ yards include a picture of the engine on their webiste, so if hopefully a TDI will pop up not too far away. If not, I'm sure someone parting a car will have one.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
Try carpart.com. They have an excellent database, it's bulky, but you might find a yard nearby.
I would think anyone doing a total partout would have one. Comes with a clamp and bolt, 4 hold down fasteners with spacers.
 

RexNICO

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2013
Location
South West OH
TDI
2011 Tiguan, 2011 Q7
I found both a 1j0 915 333 c and a 1j0 915 333 a in my garage.
Both include the bracket to secure the battery at the front and the bolt for the bracket.
Neither includes the 4 bolts to mount the tray, or the single bolt on the back (think holds the air box??)

The only noticeable difference is the "c" version has shallower depressions in the tray for the 4 bolts that mount the tray to the car.

You're welcome to either if they'll help you out, just PM me a shipping address.
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
I found both a 1j0 915 333 c and a 1j0 915 333 a in my garage.
Both include the bracket to secure the battery at the front and the bolt for the bracket.
Neither includes the 4 bolts to mount the tray, or the single bolt on the back (think holds the air box??)
The only noticeable difference is the "c" version has shallower depressions in the tray for the 4 bolts that mount the tray to the car.
You're welcome to either if they'll help you out, just PM me a shipping address.
Awesome! Thanks! Let me find out which revision is currently in the car to see if one is a better match. I'm happy to reimburse for shipping as well as for the tray.
 

94cobra2615

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2013
Location
ohio
TDI
2002 Black Wagon
I ended up using a tray from a beetle gasser. Its steel instead of plastic and holds my frostheater mount more solid.
It holds the larger battery just fine
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
Ok, finally got a picture from his car tonight. His battery tray is worn right at the part number, but it looks like:

1J0 915 333 PKT or DKT

This version has the 4 central tray mounting bolts recessed about 2.5-3 inches below the battery, so I'm thinking that's more like the "a" revision.

I'll PM an address, but also let me know if there's any MkIV items you're looking for- I'm guessing there's not much I can match, but you never know.
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
So last week my buddy finally found a dry day and some time to swap his old battery tray with the one generously donated by RexNICO. As soon as I hovered over the area with the new one in hand, I had a sinking feeling. We pulled out the battery, cover, box, and tray (at this point mostly for instructional purposes) and sure enough the new one was too small.



94cobra (above) had given us hope that we could make it work, but we couldn't find a way to mount the group H7 battery and have everything fit back together correctly. It would work, I'm sure, with a smaller battery.



In removing all the plastics, we did find the specific issue with his original tray- the threads on the retaining bolt aren't stripped, but the metal ring on the underside which holds the threaded cylinder in place as the bolt gets tightened, spins freely, preventing the clamp from being secure against the battery lower lip. I think I might be able to just use some JB Weld or other product to seal the retaining ring against the threaded cylinder, allowing the bolt to tighten again....

Regardless, thanks again for everyone's help, and to RexNICO for the donation. I'll send Fred some money in gratitude. If anyone has better suggestions for fixing the battery tray than my idea, I'm all ears. We are going to do some things to his TDI this weekend, including fixing the common broken plastic in the rear hatch lock actuator (using the part from jetta trunk fix), and a few other minor things if it's not too cold.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Yeah, sorry I didn't catch it, but I could have told you that one wouldn't work. NBs are different due to obvious packaging changes, and even ALH NBs did not get the big 80 Ah battery, but had to make do with the smaller 72 Ah unit.
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
Right- we compared part numbers and revision letters, but I didn't think to just compare measurements before RexNICO sent his. At least I have one ready for the next member who needs one!
 

RexNICO

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2013
Location
South West OH
TDI
2011 Tiguan, 2011 Q7
Sorry this didn't work out for your friend.

I'm sure you know this, but the base can be slightly modified to allow/hold the larger battery, but would require foregoing the "battery cover". Not sure if that is a deal breaker for your friend.

And you're spot on, you should be able to re-secure the lower bolt to allow the clamp to be tightened without having someone lay under the car and try to hold it with vice grips :).

Good luck.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
The NB's is entirely different, it isn't just a measurement thing. It has the different shape because the front end harness goes around the opposite side, it has the mounting tab for the air inlet tube (the G/J tube mounts to the body directly, up higher and further back on the inner fender), the battery cannot go as far to the outside on the NB because the headlight bucket is beside it (the G/J headlamp is in front of the battery), and the NB has its power steering fluid reservoir mounted to the inner end of the battery tray (the G/J reservoir is way over on the belt end of the engine).

Even the later plastic type battery tray the NBs use won't work.
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
Sorry this didn't work out for your friend.

I'm sure you know this, but the base can be slightly modified to allow/hold the larger battery, but would require foregoing the "battery cover". Not sure if that is a deal breaker for your friend.

And you're spot on, you should be able to re-secure the lower bolt to allow the clamp to be tightened without having someone lay under the car and try to hold it with vice grips :).

Good luck.
Thanks again for the donation. The tray will find a good home eventually. I know he'd like to keep the cover, so I'll see if I can fix the original.
 
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