Truck is a 1980 F100 with a 4.9 300inline 3sp.
My plan this winter is to get it running again.
Has no battery at the moment and im unsure if the solenoid is bad (which i bought new in January) or the starter froze up.
Truck was running before i let it sit due to getting nee vehicles and other daily drivers.
Of course I cant try to start the truck with no battery but heres what was going on before i let it sit.

Backstory: truck belonged to my grandpa who passed away. I drove it as a daily till i got a newer car.
I had it sitting for about 2 years with no carburetor air filter on it (cause i was young and dumb and thought that would give me power smh)
As the truck sat id eventually try and start it in thr colder months. I let the gas run pretty much empty so im sure the fuel hand is dead on or under the E.

I went to start it one day and it turned over slow... Very slow.. so i hooked uo jumper cables to it and it started...
Few months after i tried to start it again... One solid click.. then i turned the key over again and i heard thr solenoid making noises.. so at the time my ex and i hit the solenoid and it would run.
Well about a year or so after me and her split up and the truck sat even longer. I moved to a different place and hauled the truck on a dolly with the cummins to my new place. (Thinking the truck was in a no running state). I tried to start the truck again with some jumper cables and my cummins... It started! Drove the Ford down the road but didnt drive it far cause im sure it needs an oil change (especially now) cause the lifters were very loud and had alot of other knocking noises (not rod knocking) .so i went to work at a dealership i used to be at and git some BG MOA oil conditioner which helped the noises.
But didnt ever try and start it after the symptom cleared up.
Me and the new chick i was with wanted to try and get it running around 3 years after the initial part of me setting the truck aside. I hooked up the cables again thinking it would start.... Nothing but lights, and some spark from the solenoid.. okay cool i remember the solenoid was bad.. went to O'Reilly's bought one and hooked it up.
Went to try again... Sparks lights cut out almost immediately.. okay maybe the battery connections and solenoid were loose.. tightened up everything .( I will admit im not sure if everything is hooked up correctly to the solenoid since its been a while since i looked at it..wanted to post here first for guys who have done this.) Went to try the truck again...sparks but i also got a humming vibe noise from the engine bay/ starter areas. I had my girl hit the starter a few times but nothing happened.. the positive wire got decently hot on both the original cable to battery, solenoid and booster jumper cable to the cummins.
So what the heck.. we tapped the solenoid once more and more of that humming from that area again.. I figured the motor may have somehow locked up just from sitting.. so i spun the crank with a ratchet and it moved.. a little hard but assumed it was TDC.. it wasnt locked up.
The truck obviously is gonna need some work. And i cant just sell this thing cause its worth more to me in sentimental value than money... But can anyone help me trying to get this thing going?. I don't want to spend over 400$ right now considering its not a priority but would love to get to drive it down the road again.
If buying a starter and solenoid and making sure wires are correct then ill buy them...but i dont want to if the engine somehow is bad just from sitting.... Sorry for the long story please bare with me.

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I highly doubt the engine went bad. Sounds like the starter.

Starter, maybe, but I'd look at if you put the wires on the solenoid backwards

Update:
New starter put in this morning. Truck turns over but VERY slowly. I hooked the Cummins straight to the solenoid. Sped the turning over up a little bit. But definitely not enough.
Poured a little gasoline down the carb. The truck sputtered and again spun over slowly. The battery im using is just a marine battery from my boat since i just bought a new battery for my daily truck.
How can i get this truck to spin over faster? Atleast to get it to hit faster to actually get the oil and other liquids moving?
I am fully aware i need to clean out tank and rebuild carb and all that jazz since its been sitting for a long time. But i wanna make sure this truck will actually run before i do any further maintenance after it runs.
Any help would be great. This truck has alot of sentimental value to me since it was my grandads truck.
I just need some way for it to spin a bit faster to actually get the fuel moving.. i will eventually take the fuel lines off the tank and use a 5gal gas jug to get fuel going... Hope this helps with advice. Sorry its so long. Just happy the engine is turning over with a key.

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Battery and cable conditions come into play when turning slow with a new starter. You heat them up and it can cause other issues. Solenoids don't like to get hot either. Mke certain all the cable connections are clean and tight.

Yeah. That positive cable gets very hot. Its 40outside here in TN. And that cable became very easy to move around. The end connector at the solenoid was hot.
Im thinking of getting a new solenoid this coming up weekend.
Also, thats the original pump... Could it be bad or is the truck turning too slow. I did put fresh gasoline on the tank end side of the pump and used a 2gal jug for it to siphon from.. no dice. Dies as soon as the carb empties out the fuel i pour in.
Fuel filter is easy to blow threw so idk if its bad or not.
Also i disconnected the filter and tried to run the truck that way. It doesnt look like fuel is getting pumped threw.
Sonthe takeaway:
i need fresh cables. (Been using the daily truck to jump this off with the red cable directly on the solenoid and negative on the battery terminal.)

Solenoid in case that one is tired.

?fuel pump?

Thanks in advance. Doesnt look like many ppl use this forum anymore.

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Engine need to spin fast enough to get it to fire. Leftover fuel in the card gets it to start, the fuel pump then has to keep up the supply.

Heat indicates resistance, anywhere there is a lot of heat, you have a lot of resistance. You could perhaps add brass washers to the solenoid to help with connection to the post. Mny of theaftermarket solenoids use a smaller post than factory, so then connection can become and issue. If you do get a replacement, get a heavy duty unit. Some places offer them. If you changed wrnch sizes on the nut to fasten the cables, you got the smaller post size. If memory serves, it is 5/16" vs 3/8" post sizes.

I only use Motorcraft solenoids anymore. Some aftermarket I have tried on one of my trucks only lasted a week.
Like stated, smaller terminals and poor quality make bad connections

Also on jumping with cables, your trying to charge the battery and start the truck at the same time no matter where you hook up. It will always crank slow.
Put a trickle charger on the battery for 24 hrs before you start the trials next time. Even if the battery dont take a whole charge, it will help

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dustybumpers said:

I only use Motorcraft solenoids anymore. Some aftermarket I have tried on one of my trucks only lasted a week.
Like stated, smaller terminals and poor quality make bad connections

Also on jumping with cables, your trying to charge the battery and start the truck at the same time no matter where you hook up. It will always crank slow.
Put a trickle charger on the battery for 24 hrs before you start the trials next time. Even if the battery dont take a whole charge, it will help

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So even after i used my new battery for my daily it still cranks slow. Being cold doesn't help much. Will definitely be looking into new wires and H.D. solenoid in the future. Never even thought bout the connections being smaller.
This truck is definitely gonna be running soon. Just a matter of getting it to crank alot faster for fuel.

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Have you made sure the hose to the mechanical fuel pump is still solid, and not cracked and sucking air.


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dustybumpers said:

Have you made sure the hose to the mechanical fuel pump is still solid, and not cracked and sucking air.


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That is the part im unsure of. It looks good. Hose are of course old but doesnt look to be eaten by rodents. And doesnt have cracks in it.

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How stiff is the hose? I've old hoses that look good on the surface(no cracks) but are so stiff they don't seal well any more.

I'm also wondering if your new starter is bad. Was it brand new or a rebuild?

As far as i know its new. Even tested it off truck just to be sure itll run.
Im really thinking the motor is just cold. I put my daily truck battery on it and its slow cranks. As stated the positive cable get very warm.
Even put the positive jumper to the solenoid itself and still slow cranks. And it doesnt last long with a slow crank. Crrraaannnnk craannk craannkkkk... Idk how to describe it. Acts like a VERY. Dead battery. Even with my new one for the daily which is 750cc

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Starter could be weak tho

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Okay guys. After a few weeks i got back where i left off. Took these earlier. Of course the rust isnt helping at all. But haven't actually ever seen rust prevent a truck to start, let alone spin fast enough. Gonna use my daily trucks extra battery (650CCA) and buy new cables hopefully tomorrow. Supposed to be nice here in TN. Planning on keeping the other cable from solenoid to starter. Doesnt look too bad.
I just am dumbfounded though. Basically new battery and of course the terminals arent in too good of shape (fairly new solenoid) but of course its prolly worn out now since all these wires got warm. And itself got warm too)
If this battery and wires dont help spin the engine over faster, whats next?

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I believe you will see a big improvement. Thats a lot of corrosion

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I hope so. Ill be straight up disappointed lol. No really i will. Just need to get the engine spinning fast enough and pray the fuel pump is still okay. Im gonna use a secondary gas jug so get the fuel out. May use a spray bottle with a female helper so she can spray the carb if the fuel pump is bad.. i just need the engine to run just a little bit and hopefully move some of that garbage oil around. And after it runs, ill begin replacing parts and due maintenance items.

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If the fuel pump won't pump you can gravity feed gas into the feed line in the carb to run it enough to do that.
I would consider changing the oil before you start, there could be part of your trouble, the old oil got gummy

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dustybumpers said:

If the fuel pump won't pump you can gravity feed gas into the feed line in the carb to run it enough to do that.
I would consider changing the oil before you start, there could be part of your trouble, the old oil got gummy

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Thats the line with the filter? Correct? Its the 1bbl.
Yeah i guess i can run some seafoam and cheapo oil and filter

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Correct. Use a bottle with a hose adapter in it, hook to the fuel line. You will have fresh gas, gravity fed. It won't drive you anywhere, but should get you started.

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