M1009 Turns over wont start/ Not getting fuel out of thumb nut at fuel filter..

Hey Guys,

If you have read this far thanks for reading and any input you may have. I have diagnosed my truck for the last 5 years and with the help of the manuals and this site.. so far ive tackled most things.

Yesterday i went to start my daily driver the M1009 and it would not turnover. It cranked and cranked but it didnt turnover. I have the Doghead starter relay mod in my truck sense i purchased it. The previous owner had done it himself.

I had one of my glow plug wires melt and cause a overvoltage/burn out of my glow plugs 2 years ago. I rewired the system and swapped the connectors to the 60g Glow plug. So i suspected the glow plug system first but i was unable to get it firing after installing new plugs. So i went on to change the fuel filter just to see if i could improve the fuel flow. When i went to prime the filter and i could not get any fuel to flow out of the filter housing thru the thumb nut on top.


What do i test next? Fuel sending pump in the tank? This is beyond my depth of knowledge.

since you know you don't have fuel @ the filter trace the fuel lines back from there. Look for cracking or wet spots that could indicate leak or air getting into the system. Stock it doesn't have a pump in the tank, the mechanical fuel pump is on the front passenger side of the engine. Do you know if the pump & rubber lines have been replaced at any point & how recent?

Miah said:

since you know you don't have fuel @ the filter trace the fuel lines back from there. Look for cracking or wet spots that could indicate leak or air getting into the system. Stock it doesn't have a pump in the tank, the mechanical fuel pump is on the front passenger side of the engine. Do you know if the pump & rubber lines have been replaced at any point & how recent?

Click to expand...

The pump itself is pretty wet. I had a lot of the cracked hoses replaced when i got the truck 5 years ago. I've got a small drip from the oil pan so everything is a little dirty/wet.. but the pump is seeming real wet.


I have a spare fuel pump in my truck just have never done the work before. I guess ill have to read the manual to see if i can do it infront of my aparment. Dont have a garage anymore :/

Easy. Remove the right side (passengers) Gen 2. alternator and bracket and you can do 90% of it from the top side. Remove everything including the push rod cover. Clean the area really well and the gasket surface. Make sure you have the correct fuel pump. Post a picture of the lever and we can go from there. It is a project that takes less than an hour but 4 hours may be needed for a beginner. I am here to help. More later.