Hello,
my daughter and i acquired a 1983 f250.
we have been slowly trying to revive this truck it has a 351 windsor in it and when we got it we thought it was seized unable to turn over by hand, we out some atf in the spark plug holes and let it sit. We were finally able to get it to move. We changed the oil and we then rebuilt the carb but now we do not have fuel going through the carb. Also we replaced the starter solenoid with a new one but still cannot start from the cab. These are our first issues that we would like to tackle any help would be appreciated.
thank you

 

You can try starting with a spare fuel can. Either a boat fuel tank or just an open gasoline can. Run a hose from the can and mount the can on the roof so gravity will draw the fuel down to the carburetor It's possible your float is stuck in the carburetor. Once you prime the fuel line with gasoline, rap on the carburetor lightly with a wrench. Sometimes that will free the float. Use starting fluid to try and start the engine. Do NOT prime it with gasoline. I see guys with long beards on these TV shows and think "They've never had a back fire blow burning gasoline onto their face". I know a fellow who didn't know a QUART of gasoline had been dumped to prime an engine and it blew up, hit the hood and then into his face. He said the worst part was he did it again a year later.

 

Thank you we will try that next. The only way we are able to start the truck is by jumping the starter solenoid but we just replaced that I have been doing some reading and it says that this could be an ignition issue from the steering wheel to the starter. We do have a Chilton manual and a whole lot of cut wires in the engine bay and dont get me started on the vacuum hoses haha. I will be posting on this thread for our journey

 

Welcome to FTE
When you jumped the solenoid how did you do it? Battery POS+ to the small S stud or?
Also note that solenoid if it was cheap may not last long.

Still on the solenoid what transmission does the truck have as that makes a difference on how to figure why it will not crank from in the cab.

Fuel: I take it this truck has been sitting for a bit? If so do not try and pull fuel from the tank till you drain the old gas and check it for rust.
As said gat some rubber hose and a small gas can set on the inner fender. Run the hose from the gas can to the inlet of the fuel pump and see if the pump works.
Dave ----

 

Thanks Dave, I did jump it by going from positive to the small s stud. As far as the transmission I am not sure what it has in it I'll have to look. We have been trying to drain the furl tank the best we can with a hand pump not great luck there.. with hopes to put in new fuel. I wasn't aware the transmission would affect the starting.
thanls again

 

If you have a auto it can and I hear the later years of manuals have safety switches that can go bad.
If you have an auto hold the key to start and move the shifter thru all the gears and back to park to see if anything happens.
If manual are you pushing the clutch to the floor but I dont think 83 had the clutch switch but you should always push the clutch to the floor when starting if in nutrual or not.
So let us know what transmission and we can dig deeper on the key start issue to start.

On the fuel tank draining you cant really go in thru the filler as there is a vent hose inside the bigger hose that will not let anything go down to the tank.
If there is not too much gas in the tank it might be best to just drop it using a floor jack to support and lower it.
I would also say if it was sitting for a long time as it sounded like it has with a locked up motor just replace the tank and sender.
Both are cheap enough and you will thank yourself down the road that you dont have to fight rust in fuel filters and carb rebuilds.

I can also tell you, you cant trust looking in the sender hole to say the tank is good as I got really fine rust in the 2 fuel filters and carb on my truck and the tanks looked good.
The rust was from either the top inside of the tanks, I got dual tanks, or the metal fuel lines. Truck has been on the road 6 years now and all the rust has been trapped so I am good now.
Dave ----

 

Welcome to the forum.

You mentioned replacing the starter relay (aka solenoid). Did you try the same test (battery power to the small S terminal) on the old relay?

I ask because many of the replacement relays available today are junk, right out of the box:

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

If you didn't test the old one, and still have it, I'd certainly hang on to it. If the old one tests good, I'd be inclined to reinstall it rather than take my chances on a modern replacement.

From your description, it sounds like the problem is in the control circuit, and not the starter relay itself.

 

Welcome to FTE and congrats on the "new" truck! Lotsa good info here and lots of brain power to assist, big thing is getting all the info of the truck to the collective BHG's so we can assist better! (BHG = Brain Housing Group, a.k.a. melon )

Also, as Fuzz mentioned, transmissions matter (sorry, had too) my 92 F250 has to have the clutch ALL the way to the floor, otherwise nadda, and if auto, if the P/N sensor doesn't see it's in P or N you will get no cranky.
On an 84 I had, was auto, you had to lift the shifter up to get it to start, I never fixed it once I got used to it, figured it was a good anti-theft measure...

Take a picture of the truck, and the data plate on the door jamb, we can decode it, get you more info and it will help you learn more about your new rig.

 

I've got the same truck ('86) with the same engine. Sounds like mine was in much better shape when I got it but the crew here has seen it all and are always willing to help. They like pics.
As others have said, don't try to run the old gas thru your newly rebuilt carb. Use and external can. I eventually swapped in a new 19 gallon side tank because I didn't want to deal with flakes of rust forever. It wasnt that tough.
As for the ignition issues, you might want to invest in a "no friends button". Its a remote ignition set-up that allows you to crank the truck from the engine bay.
Keep us posted and good luck.

 

Dave it is an automatic transmission. We will start by going through and seeing if we can get anything by switching gears. The tank seems to be atleast half way full. We might look to see if we can drop the tank to drain it that way as well. It does have a dual fuel tank but the front tank has been disconnected and is full of rust but still there the back tank is the only thing with fuel in it. Also some not how do you switch tanks I couldn't find anything to switch from front to back but that's for another day.
thanks

 

A couple of points here. On metal tanks, NOT plastic, I like to add a couple of large ceramic magnets like you get at the hardware store. Place them on the tank near where the fuel dumps in. This will circulate the fuel over the magnets and collect any rust particles. I pulled a tank once to replace it and I had run it like that and when I looked inside, the rust had built up into magnetic flowers.

The neutral safety switch on an automatic is on the drivers side of the C6 transmission and makes sure the engine will only start in park or neutral.

Depending on the year, the tank selector is either next to the climate control levers, or later trucks it's on the dash up near the speedometer. On my '85, the tank selector is next to the heat lever on the right hand side. Up for the front tank and down for the rear.

 

Ok you have a auto trans then you have a NSS (neutral safety switch) on the transmission that could be bad. It also does the back up lights so should have 4 wires to it.
If you look at the solenoid at the wire on the S stud you shorted to that same color wire should be at the NSS.
It would only get power when the key is to start. For testing you can jump the 2 wires together but is will crank in any gear.
The other wires would be back up. 1 should have power with key on and the other to the lights.

The dual tank switch should be on the dash to the right of the HVAC controls and looks like the fan switch
Dave ----

 

So I am throwing up some pictures because a few have asked i appreciate all the help so far.

Firing up for the first time.

Engine and carb

 

Sweet ride. Mine is almost a twin in that same red.

 

Love the bug killer picture
Looks to be a solid truck
Dave ----