To install a size 24 (Length=10" X Width=6" X Height=8") battery in the 2003 Protege with a 2.0 Liter engine will require the following: [ul][*]1 Plastic Replacement Battery Tray (Be sure to get the smallest size you can get which is big enough to accommodate the battery. The flatter, the better. The tray I purchased is approximately 11½"x7½".)[*]1 Replacement Hold Down Bracket (Again, big enough but as close as you can get. Mine can accommodate a battery up to 7" wide.)[*]2 J Bolts (I bought the 10 inch and ended up cutting them to size with a hacksaw and filing the sharp edges. 8" might work, depending on the design of your battery tray. You have to measure from the inside bottom of the tray to where the J bolts attach to the sides of the tray and add this to the length of the J bolt to see if it will clear the top of the battery with at least a half inch to spare.)[*]2 4"x7/8" Steel Brackets (One to attach the top of one of the J bolts to the body to help stabilize and immobilize the battery and the other as a spacer to fill the gap between the bracket and one side of the battery if necessary.)[*]6 1" x ½" Steel Corner Brackets (one inch on either side of the bend) Two groups of three brackets epoxied together to fill the gap on the side of the battery facing the left side of the engine compartment and to raise that side of the bracket to allow for the attachment of the bracket to the body.[*]1 6mm-1 0 x 50mm or Longer Bolt (For attaching bottom of one side of tray to body.)[*]2 Locking Nuts or 4 Regular Nuts (To fit the bolt to allow it to both support the tray and hold it down. Put bolt through drilled hole in tray, plach washer on bolt at underside of tray, followed by locking nut or two nuts locked against bottom of tray, but allowing bolt to turn freely. Thread one more locking nut of two nuts locked about ¼" from end. Bolt is screwed into threaded hole in body about 2" below tray.)[*]1 Washer (To fit 50mm bolt to help it support tray.)[*]2 Original Tray Bolts (For securing new tray.)[*]Washers (Big enough to fit original tray hold down bolts and to act as spacer to help support one corner of tray.)[*]Drill (To drill Holes in new tray as needed.)[*]Single-Edged Razor Blade (To slit wrists in frustration. Just kidding. Actually to trim tray in necessary.)[*]Brush-On Insulation (For insulating exposed positive wingnut and terminal.)[*]Hacksaw (To cut tops of J bolts if necessary.)[*]File or Sandpaper (To remove burrs and roughen positive wingnut for application of insulation.)[/ul] Refer to photos to see how this all fits together. Remember, remove negative cable from old battery first (before removing positive cable) to prevent shock and accidental shorting. Install positive cable first on new battery for same reason. This is because the negative cable is connected to the chassis (negative ground).

I checked clearance of hood by placing small pieces of corrugated cardboard over uncovered positive terminal and closing hood. If cardboard remains over terminal and shows no sign of contact with hood, repeat with two pieces. If still no sign of contact, try closing harder or pushing down on hood over latch. If still no contact, you should be OK.

Anyone who installs battery by following these instructions, does so at their own risk. I accept no liability whatsoever.

I performed this install over a week ago and am glad I did thus far. Works great. Open circuit voltage after removing surface charge (12.74 volts) indicates 100% charge. If you have a powerful sound system and/or other power hungry accessories and don't have a second battery, you should definitely give this some thought. If someone else on this forum finds a different or better way of doing this, please share.
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More pictures. Note: The description of the bolt as being 2" is wrong. It is 50mm.
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One more.
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