Gen1 CX-5 2013/2014 (Aus) KY - Battery Tray Broken

[Tsilaedi]

Hello all! First time poster and I'm not a mechanic so I hope you can all bear with me! I appreciate anyone who can point me in the right direction of what to do!!

I've owned this car since brand new.

Now, replacing dead battery with a new one by myself for the first time. Should be simple enough to do myself. It's been replaced at least twice before by battery mechanic ppl.

2 issues:

1. Battery Box
there's no Battery Box at all. IS THIS NORMAL? I can't find any info about NOT having a battery box. Did a previous mechanic take it and sell for parts? I am confused about this... replacement seems expensive to me for what it is, and considering it was running fine without one. Do I need a BBox?

2. Battery Tray
I was tightening the Battery Clamp over the new batt, when the plastic the clamps hold onto snapped on one side. Couldn't believe it was plastic and not metal!
Then I realised that the other side was also partially broken from another time, and that's the reason it took so long for me to get the clamp to line up straight and not be on a diagonal.
I bought a universal battery tray , but quickly realised the only way to fit it would be to install it over the existing BT. To do that I would probably need to cut the plastic sides off the existing BT and get longer bolts to attach it. This is possibly still an option but I am loathe to try and cut the BT plastic sides while it's still installed in the engine bay.

Currently, I am having trouble removing the BT as I have gone through the service & repair manual (Mazda CX-5 Service & Repair Manual - Battery Removal/Installation [Skyactiv G 2.0] - Battery) and following instructions at the "Battery Tray and PCM Component Removal Note" . was hoping I could remove the BT without having to "Remove the air cleaner, air hose and fresh air duct component.."
I tried to get to the bolts from Step 5 onward to see if I could try and slip the BT out but I can't access smaller bolts at the bottom end of the BT due to the PCM component being in the way.

Then I would need to find a Mazda BT part which I am having trouble finding!

but if I could remove the BT then I could at least cut the sides off to get the universal BT to fit .


Does anyone have any suggestions or can point me how to remove BT?

Also is there a difference between the KE and KF BT? I found a KF BT online but I cannot find any dimensions and searches are not giving me correct information.

Any advice appreciated.

If you want photos to see what I am talking about let me know! I'll see if I can at least get a pic of the clamp part that's broken up now.

Thanks !

 

[Tsilaedi]

Battery Tray

Note the side bits where clamps hold onto are broken.

The side on the left only broke when I was tightening clamp bolt after installing new batt. The side on the right was like that before I removed the clamp initially (well, nothing snapped or pinged or pulled away suddenly like it did when the left side broke) therefore I didn’t notice it. I was just confused why it took so long for us to get the clamp lined up straight. Makes sense now! And possibly is the reason why the left side broke due to uneven pressure.

Wondering if a Batt Box would have stopped a lot of this uneven tension too. Anyway I hope the pic helps!

 

[sm1ke]

There is no battery box, it isn't necessary. I believe it may have come with a battery "insulator", but that's just a shroud made of corrugated plastic and a tiny bit of foam, and it just slips on and off.

Those plastic bits are pretty robust. I think the only reason they would break is due to overtorquing the nuts on the battery tie down. But the plastic could have also become brittle from age or exposure to chemicals.

Personally, I would try drilling out a couple of holes in the remaining plastic bits, between the "fins". The holes should be slightly bigger than the hooks on the tie down. Then you can hook the new holes for the battery tie down.

 

[HyFlyer]

I like sm1ke's drilling new holes for the hooks/hold down clamp.

If that didn't work out, the next thing I would think of is a couple of large zip-ties to go underneath the tray and around the battery. Maybe even utilizing the hold down bracket somehow.

The goal being to hold the battery down. It's a 10-12 year old vehicle. Under the hood. It just has to function.