MikePA,
I couldn't believe it when I began reading about your battery troubles. I thought you were telling my story!
I, too, when out last weekend to fire-up my TC29D (212 hrs). It had not been started since the end of February, so it had sat for about 5 weeks without any "action". Same story as you, I fought to get the hood latch open, and found an unbelievable mess at the (+) terminal. I knew it was a battery problem due to the fast clicking noise when I tried to start it, but never anticipated the following ordeal.
I removed the rubber hoods and cleaned both terminals. I knew I needed to remove at least the (+) terminal and wire brush both the post and cable clamp with my battery terminal brush. After loosening the nut and spreading the clamp, the (+) terminal still would not budge! Trying to avoid the desperate attempts of prying upward and damaging the battery, I tried rotating it ever so slightly with a large wrench. Yep, it started to turn, along with the entire battery post! Yes, the post broke free from the battery. Now as many are aware, the Class II Boomers had a battery problem where they would overheat & overflow (or something like that) during shipment and initial use. You can find the thread here at TractorByNet. I found it right away. It was probably the first problem I was alerted to by using TractorByNet (Many thanks to all /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif). My dealer took care of the mess it caused, repainted the battery base and tractor frame. I never had another battery problem. Now with this new problem, I decided that a new sealed type battery was in order. I measured the factory battery, noting the small space that the battery must fit into (between the hood latch and the radiator stop). Off to WalMart I went. I located a battery with the correct dimensions, but The TC29D needs the reverse (+)-(-) terminal configuration and WalMart had nothing to offer. Convinced that I could just modify the hold-down bracket and mount the battery with the (+) terminal on the proper side for the cables, I turned in my old battery to avoid the deposit charge. It seemed like a great deal - 535 cca instead of 420cca, and a sealed no-maintenance unit to boot! Once home it was another story.
Upon arriving home I immediately tried to install this new addition to my beloved friend. Yes, the Class II Boomers do have a tight space situation. Although the battery was of the correct dimmensions, I had neglected to consider those little flanges, or "wings" sticking out on the long sides toward the bottom. These kept the battery from even getting close to sitting on the bottom of the battery compartment! Frustrated, I just figured I'd return the battery the next day, get another unit, and go forward.
Well you can guess that WalMart had nothing else close, nor did either of the other two local auto dealers. So I decided to bite the bullet, and call my dealer, have him order the battery, pay the inflated price, and move forward. Don't get me wrong here, my dealer is a good guy, it is just my kind of luck that my needs are never in stock for anything.
Well in fact my dealer had a battery for the TC29D (in fact he had four). I drove the 20 miles the next afternoon to pickup the factory replacement battery. Yes, and since I now did not have my old battery, I had to pay a deposit! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif (It seems like it is so hard to win!)
And yes the battery fit well, I didn't have to modify the cables or hold-down. So I thought the adventure was over. Then it happenned. The hood latch would not "latch" around the hood post; now what. After removing the latch mechanism and cleaning the unit out, it still did not work and it was hard to see what was wrong. So back to my dealer I went, latch in hand. It seems that the battery acid leak two years prior had finally frozen the latch; all it needed was to be left unused for the winter. Periodic spraying with WD40 had not prevented it from going over to the dark side! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Soaking it in penetrating oil for a couple of hours returned it to its full functioning self.
So it went for my plans to quickly jump on my trusted friend and move that dirt out away from the new heat pump. . . . . I'm sure I'll get to it someday.