Which battery and other fun electrical issues (diesel 80 series)

[Bern78]

Hi all, which battery will you recommend for a a 1994 diesel 4.2l 80 series? Need to replace both.
Context: Car not starting after being switched off for a period of time,eg. overnight. (Seems like the batteries charge when driving - had the alternator and starter checked out, but apparently no problems there). But they then inexplicably lose charge over a few hours. Sometimes even shorter periods. Would you say that is a dead battery in need of replacement? Known cruiser/battery behaviour?

There is a kink to this though.. I am in Malawi on an overland trip in the middle of nowhere and the choice of batteries are limited to say the least.
Is it in any way possible or advisable to fit leisure batteries? Been recommended and assured two 12v Willard leisure/marine batteries will do the trick.. but I dont know much, and this seems like bad advice. Am I right? What are the ups and downs if at all possible?
Many thanks!

 

[ram]

Hi my first instinct would be to disconnect both batteries overnight to see if it's not draining through a leak in the system.
It's worth a shot.

Ram

 

[grantw]

If your're not running any accessories off them overnight. I.e they are just starter batteries then there is next to no difference in any of the batteries.

Also have a read of this article.

http://www.sterling-power.com/support-faq-2.htm

 

[steve allard]

Willard are a reasonable brand of battery for Malawi, look for SA brands. you should be able to go to blantyre or Lilongwe toyota garages and they could do a high rate discharge test on the batteries to see if they are shot or not. Follow the above advice and disconnect overnight as well

 

[Bern78]

It turns out a couple of cells were apparently shot. We got tired of trying fixes and just invested in two new batteries and that solved the trick. It was more expensive, but worked. Been a few months now and no problems yet.