Hi, My father passed away and left me this 1984 Ford F-150 single cab truck.

It has a 5.0L 302cid engine and it runs pretty good but it was kind of unreliable before I parked it. At first I wasn't going to keep it but after sitting since around 2018 I want to get her running again and fix her up the way my father wanted her done.

I parked the truck and got frustrated with it because it wouldn't start sometimes when it was hot so I changed the solenoid and it worked for a little while but then it started up again; I don't know if I got a bad solenoid or what but before I could really start messing with it my time got short and days turned to months, then months turned to years.

The last time I messed with it, it was turning over by itself and if I started it the starter kept engaging. I had to take the battery cable off to stop the starter from turning over.
Every time I put the battery cable back on the starter would start turning over by itself. I got so frustrated that I left the battery cable off and said "Heck with it" because I was frustrated over a lot of things on top of me losing my father. Now I really want to start messing with it and fix it up.

If anyone can shed some light on why the truck is doing that I would appreciate it. I don't know if I should change the starter, the solenoid again or maybe the voltage regulator.

Thanks for any help

 

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your father.

You are certainly not the first person to have trouble with the starter relay (aka solenoid). The main issue is most aftermarket brands are pure junk, and are prone to not working and/or not releasing. Way more than you wanted to know here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...i-mean-it.html

That link includes a quick test to isolate whether the starter relay or ignition switch is causing the starter to keep running. Most likely the relay itself is at fault, but it's quick and easy to test. If it's not one of the good brands recommended at the link, I'd simply replace it with one that is. The failure rate of some brands is very dismal.

Let me back up real quick. When you say the truck won't start, you're talking about the starter cranking slowly or not engaging, right? I think that's what you meant, but want to be sure. Or was the starter working just fine, and spinning the crankshaft at the proper speed, but the engine wouldn't run? Totally different troubleshooting, so I want to be sure.

If the problem was slow/dead cranking, after replacing the starter relay, don't change any other parts just yet. Spend ten minutes with a meter as detailed here and it will pinpoint the root cause:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...w-starter.html

 

Your solenoid is welded together. The new units from China have a tendency to have this problem. Very low battery voltage and poor cable connections can aggravate the problem also. Smack the solenoid with a hammer, it might break free inside.

 

Then head to NAPA buy their top of the line, you have to ask for it or they will get you the cheap one, solenoid.
Make sure it is grounded to the inner fender good when bolting it back in place.

I had all new cables when I rebuilt the truck and shortly after on the road I would get the 1 "clunk" from the solenoid, it came with the truck so I reused it based on all the stories of the bad ones.
After rechecking all the cable & solenoid ground connections and still getting 1 "clunk" I bought NAPA's top of the line solenoid and have not had an issue since.
Dave ----

 

Thank you to everyone who helped to shed some light on this situation.

I must admit that the last solenoids I got was the cheap ones; I went to the store and got the best one they had and I'm going to put it on tomorrow.

Also found a new ground wire for the negative post on the battery under the seat today that my father must have purchased before he passed, I'm going to put that on too when I install the new solenoid.

I will post again in about a week with an update on any progress.

 

On that ground cable I think on the 302 it ran to the motor.
If it also has a wire off it run that to the inner fender so it gets a ground.

Also get another cable and run from motor to frame.
There should also be a ground wire from the motor (back of head or intake bolt?) to fire wall.
You can never have enough grounds.
Dave ----

 

Hello everyone!!

I have an update and it's all good.

I went to the store and got the best part they had, I put in a new battery and I changed out the old ground cable too; It was rotten and looked like the OEM wire from 1984.

After I put everything on, I got in and pat the accelerator a few times, turned the key and boom! She started right up after about 2 years of sitting. I was going to drive her to the gas station to put some gas in her but the brake pedal went all the way to the floor and the brake light came on. No big deal because I remember my father saying something about the rear wheel cylinder leaking and that's not a big deal because I was planning on changing the whole brake system out and the shocks and springs too. The shocks look like the ones from 1984 and they ride like it too, lol.

I was planning on upgrading the shocks to Bilstein shocks and replace the coil springs with some Moog coil springs. Looks like the truck sits a little low for me. Does anyone have any recommendations for shocks and springs or am i on the right track?

I was looking at another guy's truck not too long ago and he has shocks called "Skyjackers". Does anyone know about these shocks?
Thanks for any advice.

 

Glad to hear you got the starting system squared away.

For the brakes, when it comes time to bleed them, you'll want to do a pressure bleed. Way more than you want to know here, including why the other methods just don't cut it:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-bleeding.html

 

I got to say on my truck this has been the only way I have gotten a good pedal twice now.
A 2 year old master went bad and I did the pressure bleed on the bad one and the replacement.

Now I do have to say with the old master it could have been bad from day 1 and why the 2 person bleed did not work?
Dave ----

 

Dave, are you okay? You’re more or less agreeing with me. You’ve got me worried for you.

 

I am just getting over a pretty bad cold and my head is still a little foggy
Dave ----

 

Thanks for the advice on the brakes. I plan on doing a pressure bleed once I replace everything. I'm in the process of ordering everything I need to rebuild the suspension and brake system. I will keep everyone posted along the way and I'm thinking of starting a channel to document my progress and get feedback as I go.