Advice on VW TD 1.6 Fuel Pump adjustments

[epowell]

Thanks so much for this info and inspiration!!  I definitely intend to basically rebuild ALL the mechanical parts of this van. . .  slowly slowly slowly...   get it all done and done as well as possible. . .

My main work will begin in Feb. since I will be out of the country mostly until then - but in the meantime I will be reading and studying everything I can get my hands on

[air-cooled or diesel]

you had said the carpets were in terrible condition; how about under the carpets? perhaps you should strip interior to metal/paint. this gives you a chance to see the condition of a good part of the body, removing the wall interiors is clips or screws(in the older models anyway). take seats out, and clean everything off. if theres any rust or paint bubbling you can take care of small things; and if there are bigger problems, you now see them,,at least. id also look at the under pan, floor etc, and check for rust, at the same time. a couple of places i look are around wheel wells and around doors esp., seams, etc. 
when you put it back together, id put down a sound deadener, maybe some padding, will feel spongy and soft, then new carpet; im sure you can find a shop that can do an interior for a reasonable price, style and color you want,,.rest of interior too, like walls, doors. one thing id say is clean out seat rails(on floor) and some grease. stuff like that.

[epowell]

Absolutely yes to all of that about the body and interior...  when I bought the van I looked ALL OVER the bottom and under the van and I was astonish to find that all the rust has been seemingly properly fixed!

But when I got it home I checked a bit under the carpets on the passenger side and found that under the the carpet was some sort of particle board that was wet and saturated with water - and just under that some surfact rust was starting...   hmmmm   I really wonder where THAT water would be coming from...  seems like there was some kind of a spill there recently and they didn't bother to lift the flooring to properly dry out the area....  the PO had just swapped the engine back to original 3 weeks ago - maybe it is something to do with the RAD which is right in that area?

In any case I certainly will basically rip everything out of the interior and remake it new and funky all by myself --- I am a wood worker (instrument maker) so plan to remake all cabinets, beds, tables, flooring etc in solid birch !   ...the walls and ceiling in kind of bamboo or grass-cloth...   it's going to be Zen style. You know in Eastern Europe and in Asia nobody is allowed to enter a house before removing shoes - I will do the same with my van....   shoes OFF before entering (I will have a stash of warm slippers for people's cold feet though )

[air-cooled or diesel]

But when I got it home I checked a bit under the carpets on the passenger side and found that under the the carpet was some sort of particle board that was wet and saturated with water - and just under that some surfact rust was starting...   hmmmm   I really wonder where THAT water would be coming from...  seems like there was some kind of a spill there recently and they didn't bother to lift the flooring to properly dry out the area....  the PO had just swapped the engine back to original 3 weeks ago - maybe it is something to do with the RAD which is right in that area?

if one spot of the whole interior carpet is wet it could be a spill, coolant or heater core leak, if the radiator is close you need to check that out, usually a coolant leak/moisture smells sweet. have a/c? could be evaporator water in the interior. under the carpet and underlayment, like padding, particle board stuff, and sound deadening when it gets moist rarely drys by its self, and probably will get wetter, stay damp or wet, and underneath it will rust obviously. clean up all that rust, look for more, etc, after rust is fairly cleaned up theres metal treatment you can use; i think its 501 or 502. needs to be mixed with water(yes water), applied, some rust will be turned(inert), bare metal, and turned rust will be treated; i think now, after an hour or so, you now rinse off(water i think)(like a wet/moist rag, towel), i do believe you clean for paint before you use metal prep. i use primer 1st, and 2 coats of paint, can use cans.
 

In any case I certainly will basically rip everything out of the interior and remake it new and funky all by myself --- I am a wood worker (instrument maker) so plan to remake all cabinets, beds, tables, flooring etc in solid birch !   ...the walls and ceiling in kind of bamboo or grass-cloth...   it's going to be Zen style. You know in Eastern Europe and in Asia nobody is allowed to enter a house before removing shoes - I will do the same with my van....   shoes OFF before entering (I will have a stash of warm slippers for people's cold feet though )

your interior sound so cool, &hip. cabinets in a bus or camper is a nice addition, not to say, birch! and bamboo-grass walls & ceiling taking your shoes off,haha, but the driver needs shoes, cannt use brakes too well on slippers.

[epowell]

Yes, when I return from my Winter travels - I will begin serious work on GEorge (my  van)...  and begin with ripping everything out...  once all is out first thing will be to deal with all and any rust that I find --- hopefully there will not be so much that I will need to get into welding - but I will get into that if need be.

The next thing to do is to decide on all electronics I will need and want and make sure all wiring gets done before putting in new flooring and walls etc.

At the same time I will need to start dealing with the mechanical needs as well which brings me back to the Original Topic - replacing the timing belt and adjusting the fuel pump:
I have found some sources of excellent info regarding how to actually do this - here is what I have found:
1) http://vincewaldon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=28

2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqx2WVMj14Q

I am starting to "get" what this is all about. Basically it seems that you need to put the engine on TDC - put in the dial guage - turn the engine backwards until the guage stops moving - calibrate the dial guage to zero - then turn the engine forward......  at this point I need to study it a bit more, but involves loosening the fuel pump and turning it until the dial guage reads the correct setting...    I will of course get it completely straight before I begin - but at least it is exciting to start to get my head around this stuff.

[air-cooled or diesel]

look in the idi section and look at its faq's, then vinces site for the dial adjustment. (for timing).
find out if anything is making the floor wet, whether radiator, heater core, possibly an a/c drain prob, or if water is leaking thru like a door or window rubber,seal, or some rust.
id be wary of welding on a car, most welds tend to rust, and the sheet metal is 16gauge or so so if it does rust it needs to be taken care of quickly, otherwise in a few years it too can rust out rather quickly.
as far as electronics, maybe you want a new wire loom, possibly not, but in the US wiring kits used to be easy to come by. youll want ignition wires, sensor/gauge wires, radio wires. sensors you may want a few. the dash warning,idiot lights, keep. you can add oil pressure, possibly a water temp, maybe the water temp in the dash is enough for you,,what is that exhaust temp, pyrometer? esp if you hop up a 1.9m-tdi, volt gauge. tach? . what other gauges go with a diesel? for a gas i know, like oil temp and a vac gauge. all senders, i prefer electronic, remote, not running oil all the way to dash gauge, etc.  run those wires in a loom, not unprotected running along floor.

[epowell]

I raised the carpets and it dried out and stayed dry, so looks OK.
Will def. keep a keen eye on this and such things.
You warning about welding is well taken... this van supposedly had tons of rust at one time and the PO just took care of basically all of it...  cut it all out and welded in all new panels and things. From what I see in places the welding job looks a bit sloppy - but all looks very strong anyway. Looking more and more closely and in nooks and crannies, I AM finding some rust and rust returning here and there but NOTHING is visible from the outside. I know I will be dealing with keeping the rust at bay - and this is par for the course (never neglect and let get out of hand!)

That is a great idea about the LOOM. At the moment on this van there are naked wires everywhere. Very sloppy wiring jobs all around and the engine looks like spagetti! Making new wiring looms would of course require unwiring the car, then re-wiring thru the new loom...  big and risky work, but well worth it - just need to make sure to lable all wires and terminals extremely well!!

Regarding wiring, I have one weird issue...  in the engine I noticed an important wire terminal receptor with not wire leading off of it...  I am now told that this is a secondary oil temp. sensor lead terminal  and that the dashboard on my van does not support that second sensor anyway so I should forget about it....  BUT THIS FACT TELLS ME THAT OBVIOUSLY THE ENGINE I NOW HAVE IN THERE IS NOT ORIGINAL! Other people are telling me that 84 T3s do not have TD engines! So I am beginning to suspect that what the TRUE original engine for this van should be is a plain 1.6D engine - not TD JX!   This presents me with a dilemna because in the EU engines are supposed to remain origina.! But the technical registration paper on my van the engine type says 1.6 TD (which I think is WRONG).   ...so I am not sure what to do cuz I want to find a second original engine, rebuild it, and swap with what is there now. So do I go back to a 1.6D, or stay with 1.6 TD?   1.6D would be closer to the truth, but the papers say 1.6 TD!  Personally I don't think those checkers/controllers have any idea what is original or not -- the technical paper has NO engine serial number so how are they going to know what is what?  ...and will they care?
 

[air-cooled or diesel]

i probably wouldnt sweat it; the wiring terminal you talking about may not have been in use, from factory; no way to know, i dont think it makes much difference, ive never seen a factory oil temp for the older 1.6's, or a secondary. a turbo is more in need of a oil temp reading than a na. id stick with a td, a nonturbo motor has little power for a golf, if not as big as a transporter. the 1.6d na was like the slowest production car(s) of their time,,&turbo is much funner 
id consider a new wire loom, putting it in,oh what fun, bare copper wires? or just wires run singly? do you have a napa store there? then again iirc you in chezh, plenty of german parts there, or get a used good loom, id perfer new. various wires run around can be a real problem to trace down, fix. a loom install i cannt say is any easier,,?check for someone to do it for you?? you need a good shop 1st.
as for the welds/body fixes, id think of stripping all welds inside and outside, those nooks are weld pockets and porosities. after stripping paint, clean up welds and esp. the pockets, nooks; wire brush(on a drill), or body work attachments, theyll be less than a grinder attach. clean up as best as you can; use metal treatment/prep i stated before, can use for a few days if needed, use around welds and any rust. i think after washing metal prep off you dont clean again is what im saying. use like rust-oleum over welds and treated rust spots. prob then prep rest of the body; inside&outside for painting. use a sealing coat first.
im pointing out im getting to both the front and back of the welds as best i can, i use rust spray for somethings, like the back of welds i cannt get to, maybe because the panel sections overlap, or such, get rustproofing in there at the least.

[epowell]

Yes, all you just wrote will go straight on my TO DO list. Sadly yes, the rust work WAS all done - but on inspection, the work was not that of an artist by a long shot --- very much full of nocks and places h20 can get into....  seems I need to go over everything welded, smooth it all out to get rid of all "hiding places" - get rid of all little rust coming back...  then treat and paint all metal (both sides of every weld)...  ONLY THEN begin to make interior new again...   this way I will extend the life of the current body work

I think right now I will begin putting together that BIG master list.

Do you know much about the 3-4 slider issue in pre-90 T3 transmissions?