1999 SW1 - How to replace battery tray?
 

1999 SW1 with 219K miles. Caught on fire while trying to start it this morning and melted/burned most of the air filter box.

While taking out the air filter box, I saw that one of the holes in the battery tray was "worn out". The bolt that goes through there and holds the air filter box cannot be tightened; it just pulls out of the hole sideways. Looks like I need to replace the battery tray.

Assuming I can find one for sale, how do I remove and replace the battery tray?

Thanks in advance

If I remember correctly,
There is one bolt that goes straight down and through the tray ti secure it to the car.
The other is on a whack angle and can only be accessed by removing the LF wheel well liner (I'm not joking,) It provides support at a 45-degree angle. You won't comprehend the setup until you see it in front of you, after which the physics aspect of all of this will make sense.

I've only ever had to remove the battery tray on my 95SC2 once. I didn't expect the straight downward bolt/screw to be as corroded in place as it was. I only used a small amount of Blaster, didn't wait long enough, and went to work on it. I slowly applied torque to it. I think it rotated ever so slightly. Thinking the rest was child's play, I clicked the ratchet back and applied a bit more force to the fastener. I felt a slow rotation begin. It was not rotating, it was twisting off. It snapped off right where the fastener comes through the tray. That area of the tray cannot flop down very far without hitting a frame member below, so I deemed it not critical to fix and never did. Yes, vibration is bad for batteries but I have not had any problems.

So my point after that meandering story is that if you don't want to twist off that fastener, soak it in Blaster and take your time to avoid snapping it off..

I believe the 99 is more similar to the 01 than the 95. The 01 battery tray I removed recently had two bolts accessible from up top. There was a third bolt inside the driver's side wheel well that can be removed without removing the wheel and the vehicle on the ground. It's a fairly long bolt, and you wouldn't assume it's there unless someone told you about it.

Best of luck,
Chris

Good to know.

Thank you