Fordzilla

And don't forget your eye protection......Ben

diesel_rob

Now THIS is the kind of advice I need.

Any recommendations as far as picking replacement hubs? These seem like the main components below the water line that I definitely want to replace.

AlpineRAM

I usually drill with a small (3mm) for a pilot, and then the drill for the tap you need. I use grease on the drill and the tap to catch the main debris, and then a magnet on a flexible holder to get the rest out.

Before changing the hubs I'd make darn sure they really need changing. If the rear axle does not have water in the oil you should be good there. Don't forget to lift left and right wheel when draining the axle oil to get all the grunge out of the axle tube. The same goes for filling - oil needs to get to the bearings.

On the front axle you have sealed unit bearings. Good to have them at home, they are a wear item :-) Change as needed.

diesel_rob

I took a look under the hood again today and lo and behold I notice that the driver's side battery has the ground to the truck on the POSITIVE terminal. My word.

The plug on the top of the starter was disconnected as well. I cleaned the ring terminals on the end of the wires going to the negative side of my driver side battery. At this point the lift pump which I have identified as a FASS is running great. When I turn the key, still nothing. Lights dim, I hear a slight click but no starter action.

I'm thinking the starter is seized? Maybe a rusted starter gear shaft or corroded contacts. I will probably pull this later tonight and see if I can't clean it enough to get it running.

diesel_rob

I forgot to mention, I disconnected the fuel line right at the connection to the VP44, and I cranked a couple gallons into a bucket, mostly sure there was no water here, unless the FASS is able to remove water that easily? I don't know too much about this lift pump system. I assumed that since the fuel tank has been sitting since it was towed to my apartment, that any water would have settled and would be the first to be drawn up by my lift pump.

diesel_rob

I jumped the starter as well from the ignition wire to the positive cable on the other side of the starter. No start. Sparks but no crank. Does this warrant a rebuild of the starter? Napa has good prices on the rebuild kit. I also swapped the starter relay with another, newer looking one and still nothing. Like I mentioned above, getting some dimming so i'm also wondering if the brand new batteries have drained enough juice to prevent starting. I will likely be checking voltage at the neutral safety switch later this evening.

Fordzilla

Sounds like you're making excellent progress on your own......Ben

AlpineRAM

Pull the starter, if you have sparks but no engagement it seems to be seized. Charge your batteries, disassemble the starter and if it's possible to rebuild get a kit from fostertruck.com

With all the shenanigans that seem to have taken place in your wiring- be extra careful not to burn the truck to the ground!

diesel_rob

I swear I made a reply to this last night. I must have been delirious and forgot to hit post.

I took another look at the "transmission wiring" I posted above. Pretty sure this is a temp sensor, I put a new terminal on the one wire and attached both to the thread and fit the sensor into one of the holes near the neutral safety switch. Not sure if this needs to be below the transmission fluid level or what.

I didn't get to testing the voltage of the neutral safety switch. Does this only have voltage when the key is in the on position? Does it have to be in the start position? I put the transmission in neutral which, as far as my limited understand goes, would bypass the neutral safety switch and allow the starter to engage.

I may try tapping my starter with a hammer tonight, and then if I still get nothing i'll be getting the Larry B rebuild kit possibly in addition to the NAPA kit if I don't feel like waiting for delivery of Larry B's kit to get the truck cranking.

diesel_rob

And I just wanna say thanks for keeping up with the thread and providing me information you two!

Here's hoping I chase the rest of the weird electrical anomalies before they cause any further issues.

diesel_rob

I'm dumb. I said "battery to ground" and what I didn't know was this was the heater core relay cable. Durrrr, embarassing.

I swapped this back into the correct place.

I took apart the starter today and it was still wet inside. I cleaned the water out and cleaned the armature, the commutator and the winding. It had some rust in a few spots and I sanded this off. Back on the truck, still no start. The lights dim when I turn the key and I get the click from the starter relay.

I cleaned the positive cable on the drivers side somewhat successfully with vinegar and salt. Still nothing. I didn't get to check the neutral safety switch but I speculate that I wouldn't even get the dimming in the cab if the neutral safety switch was out.

SIXSLUG

If you have an auto/electric shop or heavy epuipment/marine parts shop nearby they may have the larger LarryB type contacts. I got mine at the local auto electric for about 7 bucks IIRC. heater core relay cable?

AlpineRAM

I'd suggest that you "jump" the starter to see if it's the starter or something else. Just bridge the big contact from the battery to the small one and see if it cranks.

The light going out while you try to crank is normal, even if you disconnect the starter- the key switch disables a lot of stuff like light, radio etc during cranking.

About your sensor- if it's a temp sensor you can install it in one of the pressure test ports, and get information about the fluid temp if you are in the gear that is testable at this port- for all other gears you just measure the case temp of your trans

diesel_rob

grid heater relay. My bad. I’m looking into the LarryB rebuild kits, I was just hoping to get it running before that.

diesel_rob

I did already try jumping the starter both before and after rebuilding it. I’m just getting sparks, no engagement of the starter gear and definitely no cranking.