82 Rabbit diesel timing problem

[Aaronjohndong]

I have replaced a injection pump but along the way my TDC and cam have moved. In all the books i cannot find a way to time the cam with TDC. All they say is the cam lobes should be pointed upwards.

[Vancouver Van]

I did that too...on my Westy. It has a 1.6 n/a Diesel, and I think Rabbits did too, if not a 1.5.

Here's what I eventually figured out...and it's been a couple years....

The cam pulley is supposed to be loose on the camshaft; the camshaft is supposed to be fixed in place from the rear. The tail of the shaft has a groove in it. VW sells a special tool that slips into the groove and clamps the rear of the head or something - I used a file and two woodworker's spring clamps and it worked okay.

The thing to watch there is you can be off 180 degrees. I think I just pondered my way through a 4-stroke engine cycle, and positioned the #1 cylinder's lobes so they were on, not off 180 degrees.

The pump-pulley has a hole in it; it has to be lined up with the matching hole in the bracket behind it. Again, there's a tool; again, I made my own, this time from copper pipe. I had a scrap piece; it had to be sanded a bit to slip in, but works good.

The crank pulley....I'm not remembering this part real well. I THINK the keyway is supposed to align straight up. This can be confirmed by the cylinder position. Pull an injector, I guess, and look?

Once the camshaft, pump, and crank are locked down thusly, you position and tension the belt, and then tighten the cam pulley.

**
Good luck. I hope I remembered this right. I know I carefully hand-cranked it through about ten full revolutions, then reset everything as above before actually starting it. At first, I thought VW was nuts for not putting marks on things; I decided, however, that these hard component lock-downs, with one pully loose to allow tensioning without rotating compenents, is pretty smart.