yesterday morning i went out started up my truck a 79 f150 with 351m and standard 2 barrel carb drove it a few miles stopped to fill gas and when i went to start it it would hardly turn over. Like the battery was dead i relpaced the battery last weekend so i don't know how that could be the problem. I had some one jump me and it crank a couple of times and then bog down again. I have not tried to start it this morning now that it is cold but just wanted some input

Todd

 

id have the starter tested first off, maybe even the alternator while your at it.....clean all your connections......recharge the battery fully....and then if that doesnt work post back with your progess........good luck......

 

I went outside and tried it this morning and it fired right off with no problem just an update.

 

Do you have headers? Sounds like your starter is getting hot and causing alot of resistance in your starter which causes a slow cranking, if so you could buy a heat shield, or just a better starter or maybe the starter windings are breaking down.

 

Bad timing setting causes this as well.

 

Ford's are known for ground problems. I have a 76 F-150 that the same problem. when engine was cold as in setting overnight she would start no problem then it acted like weak or dead battery. I ran a ground cable (such as the one from the battery to engine block) from the engine block to the frame , that was done 3 years ago and i have never had a problem since.

 

i had this problem a while back and started a post on it , it ended up being the ignition module , i started testing with a test light and found that on start up spark retard wasnt working , i bought a good one and all is well now.

 

Todd
Try the cheapest and easiest first. before buying this and that like others suggest try running a battery cable from your engine block at the same point as your battery ground to block , now grind a spot on the inside of your frame rail to bare metal were there is already a hole and bolt that cable to the frame. this will take about 15 minutes and if you have old cables laying around will cost you nothing.

 

I have been away for a while but I remember both from my own experience and from my reading here that this issue seems to plague alot of us. At first I tended to try and ignore the problem and if I had a long trip, I would just try not to let the engine stop unless I was planning to be somewhere for about 30 minutes or more. As you can imagine, if I stalled out coming to a stop on a very busy highway during rush hour... quite frustrating for me and the people stuck behind me.
I have been fairly successful in fixing the problem in my truck by doing a couple of things that may or may not have already been mentioned. I learned the hard (expensive) way that if the starter isn't getting enough juice in the first place, a new one won't do much good.

I replaced the old 8 guage cable from the solenoid to the starter that had crimped on copper fittings with a nice new 4 guage sealed ends cable from the parts store. I believe the 32" was the closest fit. I really think that this was the most effective thing that I did though I also replaced the starter solenoid and the battery terminal connections. This is because the old cable wire strands were exposed and therefore allowed moisture into the insulation which then led to corrossion build up which then led to resistance and overall reduction in amperage it could carry I also usually have to replace a battery about once a year since I live in Texas and the heat really takes it out of them. If all that fails, I would then look at replacing the starter itself. Good luck and let us know what you figure out!

 

I started off by jumping the solenoid and still no go so i went down to the parts store got a starter put it in and it is back on the road with no problems. Thanks for all the advice. Todd