So my start-up has always seemed a little weak in my '88 Cherokee Laredo. It starts, takes a sec, but it's OK. So with COVID, I left my car out for 10 days without turning it over and it wouldn't start. AAA came to the rescue and the "technician" noted that I had a "small" battery. He said that the Group 58 - the one in the truck - IS the correct one for this truck, but it was "small" with a 540 CCA. OK, I thought. You never get to choose a battery when it goes dead, unless you have another vehicle, etc. etc. So I did some research and found from several of the Jeep Forums that you could use the Group 34. BUT the fitment was the potential issue with the Group 58 I was considering because it was/is app. 1" taller. I bought one, it fit in the tray (I did NOT remove the spacer from underneath the tray), I put gel on top of the battery to see if it would touch the underside of hood when I closed it; obviously didn't want that Positive pole touching the hood! I closed the hood and re-opened it and none of the gel - about 3/8" worth in height - was disturbed. Great! Me, being overcautious, bought that red plastic boot you see there and placed it with plastic ties over the positive terminal + added a little red, liquid insulating material to one of the hot leads going to the battery. With the added near 1" height of this new Group 58 battery, I didn't want to take any chances and wanted more importantly, "peace of mind." The truck really fires up now. Note that I always wait for the fuel pump to activate before turning the ignition to full-on; wow, what a difference. Here are the specs of my new, wonderful battery:

Part Number Interstate MTZ-34
Group Size 34
Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) 800
Cranking Amps (CA) 1000
(RC) Min @ 25 Amp125
Amp Hours (Ah) @ 20 Hr63
Length 10 13/16
Width 6 3/4
Height 7 13/16
Weight 46.6
Termination Code TOP POST (AUTO TYPE)
Voltage12
Wet/DryD

Let the controversy be OVER about using a Group 34. It works.
If you have any problems, it might be with accessories' cable lengths - I had to pull them in a bit to get them to the positive terminal, but it was easily doable for my Jeep. As with anything here, do anything battery/electronics-related WITH CAUTION.

Click here: https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...5d&oe=609365F7

I dedicate this page thread to Cruiser54 for all the help he has provided over the years.

 

Yes!! And doesn't the Group 34 also have the bolt type side terminals in addition to the posts on top?

Perfect for wiring up accessories.

 

That is a great idea.
Wish we had this thread a couple years ago.
We sell that type in the store but that idea never occurred to me.
I bought this one for my '00:

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBE8...dInput=battery

When I could have bought this one:

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBE8...dInput=battery

For the same price.
Damn. LOL.

 

Yes on the side terminals with the Group 34/78. Unfortunately, Interstate - the brand I went with - doesn't offer a 34/78. Other manufacturers do like Napa and Northstar for sure. As mentioned in the other thread above, see https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBE8...dInput=battery; and I want to add: be careful with those terminals on the 34/78. Yes, as Cruiser54 stated, they are fantastic if you have a lot of accessories and want to neatly separate the accessories from the starter, or from a winch hook-up. BUT - now you have side terminals that offer exposure to being touched; a place that most of us are not familiar with when working on our Jeeps, like when changing plugs. You touch that positive side terminal while changing a plug or loosening the alternator and your Jeep harness is done with the possibility of a fire. SO, that being said, if you go with the 34/78, put some plastic over that side terminal so you don't accidently touch with a wrench. I know that I may be overstating this to some, but I repeat - the location of that side terminal is unfamiliar to most of us and is therefore more prone to being inadvertently touched. Thanks all. I am really loving have those extra CAs (cranking amps).
IMPORTANT: not all battery heights on the Group 34 are the same. My Interstate Group 34 is 7 13/16" in height; where the Napa mentioned above is 8" in height, which brings it 3/16" closer to that grounded hood (in the absence of good hood insulation.) ! If the height IS taller, than look into removing the spacer from beneath the battery tray to see if that will give you what you what is SAFE - a margin of safety that makes YOU feel comfortable and safe. One thing that can definitely attribute in a big way to a car battery catching a car on fire is if the batterie's hold down isn't tight. A car battery can shift if the holder isn't tightened during hard cornering, or if and when (heaven forbid) you have a collision. The positive terminal on the car battery could be exposed to the hold down or the hood and can short to ground. Covering that positive terminal with some insulating material is what I did to give me that peace of mind.