I noticed a small pool of clear liquid under my car but first just thought it was condensation from the AC. But the pool never dried so I stuck my hand in the liquid to see what it was. I could not believe that this several ounces of liquid was battery acid. The problem was that my battery was leaking from the positive battery terminal and in the process running down the frame rails and everything else in it path.
The battery its self has a 5 year warranty and my car is only 3 years old with the factory warranty only lapsing a few months ago. I expected to take the battery in and have GM replace it as defective under the batteries warranty I would then try to have them repair the damage that the acid caused to my car. Well I had no such luck apparently the 5 year battery warranty is not honored when it’s the original battery sold in a new car it falls under the ordinal 3 year 36,000 mile warranty.
I had never seen anything like this before and I asked the service department if this is a known problem with some of the batteries and surprising that admitted YES we have seen this before.
Keep an eye on your battery before it caused damage to your car!

 

so did you take it up with ac delco or whoever made the battery? they should have at least put you in direct contact with them.

 

I had the exact same problem. My first battery leaked and mucked everything up. No wonder the battery would die for no reason sometimes.

I went to the dealership and had it replaced, the new one just wouldn't hold a charge for more than a week.

I got fed up with dealing with GM's crap batteries and went out and bought a Optima. What do you know? No problems.

That is the advice I give to everyone else. Don't bother wasting time and effort getting crap batteries over and over again. Just take the financial hit and spend the money on an Optima and never have to worry about it.

 

The Optima battery has a second advantage. If for some reason the case should crack it will not leak. The battery acid is held in suspension inside the battery (no free liquid). That's why they can be shipped UPS. I switched to one after a battery I purchased leaked over one winter. What a mess.

Steve

 

a few months ago, my battery casing cracked open in the cold weather (very strange cold night in like August), and it leaked everywhere. The acid leaked down the main power wires and harnesses (the ones that go all over the engine compartment). Had to get them replaced and cost over $250, not including the battery. Check your battery like every other week.

 

my battery went for only 1yr 6mos and was spent? I don't know if my cam was drawing too much on start up causing a bigger load on everything?

 

Where can one find an Optima battery for cheap, locally or online. How much do they usually cost? Thanks

 

which Optmia do i want? The yellow or red top? what it the difference?

 

Probably red top. Yellow is for marine or HEAVY battery usage like a plow truck or cars with incredibly high end audio systems that suck huge amounts of power. A yellow top is a deep cycle battery. A red top is not. See here for more info:
http://optimabatteries.com/faq.asp#q12

I do not believe they make a yellow top that fits f-bodies exactly. You have to make modifications to the block that hold the battery down to make it fit...it does fit but is more of a universal size, not one specific to our cars. I had one and it was more bettery than I needed so I sold it and got a red top. No problems.

 

I got my Optima red top at Pep Boys for $110. It is well worth the money since it performs great and does not create any corrosion on the terminals or in the battery tray.

 

I had the exact same problem with my 96 suburban. It took a lot of arguing with my local chevrolet dealership, but they finialy fixed all of it....