I went with the Odyssey ODX-AMG-34/78 battery. It has both side terminals and top posts, and for some reason they were $16 cheaper each, so $32 saved between the two. I figure the top posts will come in handy if I ever replace the factory cables; I prefer top posts. Plus, they make it easier for the fairly rare jump start (of other vehicles). They also make it easier to add a battery charger or such. A few reasons that attracted me to them over the 78 series with side post.
They are rated at 850 CCA and 1500 CA, but new tested slightly higher than rated. With the recently installed new gear driven ACDelco starter, the new batteries, and the new lead slug between the positive battery cables on the passenger side, the engine spins over stupid fast and fires right off. When I put in the new Optima batteries five years ago it started faster and easier. When I replaced the starter the first time years back it started faster and easier. Now it spins like I've never heard before.
Of course the fun didn't last long as the recently installed hydraulic clutch master cylinder split and leaked. I do not like these plastic master cylinders. I managed to limp it home in 4th gear, got lucky with little to no traffic on the back roads. Slowing for corners and then chugging back up to 1k RPMs was rough, but the old diesel cranked it out.
I ordered and bolted on a LuK aluminum body master cylinder: part number LuK LMC129. Had to go through the painful bleeding process again, always fun. After bleeding, the clutch would still not fully release. I got to thinking and measured from the center of the push rod hole to the mounting flange of the master cylinder and compared it to the plastic GM unit I removed. The LuK measures 1/8" shorter. As a test I cut a piece of 1/4" O.D. steel brake line to a length of 3/16" (an extra 1/16" for good measure) and inserted it in between the push rod and the end of the piston. The piston has a cup for the push rod to sit down in so the brake line shim cannot fall out. This band aid seems to have 'fixed' it, the clutch now fully releases. Via the inspection hole on the side of the bell housing, I'm going to mark the clutch fork's position to ensure that this shim is not adding any 'pre-travel' to the clutch. Do not want the throw out bearing riding against the clutch with it engaged else it will burn up the bearing. I do not believe it is, but until I check it, I cannot say for sure. If I do need to take up the difference, how best to go about it? I'm not going to leave the steel brake line in there as it is not a permanent solution. I have come up with four different options thus far and all should work just fine. Making a better shim out of a piece of brass or such, extend the push rod with a little welding on the end then grind it to final length and shape, cut and thread the push rod and extend it with a coupler nut and a couple of jam nuts, or build a new push rod from scratch using the original as a template. Making a replacement shim would likely be the easiest, cheapest, and fastest. I have a brass drift set, one of those could spare less than a quarter inch off one end and it would never be missed.
The joys of no truck payment and home wrenching. Hopefully the aluminum LuK master cylinder means years of trouble-free clutching.
