Hey everyone first time on here! Sorry if I sound like a noob or something but i've been looking for days and have found people with my problem but no solution so far.
So here it is: I have a 1980 Caddy with a 1.6 N/A. I believe it may have been swapped in at some point in its life but not sure. I've only had it for about 2 years.
The other day the injector head seal started dumping diesel all over the place so I purchased a seal kit and proceeded to "rebuild" my pump. It was still working just fine other than leaving puddles everywhere

I found an awesome rebuild on vwdieselparts I followed it step by step (or so i thought) and when i installed it on my Caddy it was rather underwhelming.... I had no fuel coming out the injector lines. Timing was set with gauge to .95 with everything at TDC. I have checked fuel solenoid on and off the vehicle. Everything has been put back exactly how it came off. I'm really not sure what else there is left to check.
I thought maybe the vanes were not seated so I spun it with an electric drill and got a good face full of diesel out the return line as a result. It does have an electric primer pump installed so I used that to bleed air out of anything i could loosen with out disturbing any internals. I'm not sure if I just need to crank it for a couple hours or if there is some kind of "fool proof" checklist of stuff to try?
So I guess my question is if anyone on here has had the same problem and if so can it be resolved? Any advice, pointers, links, etc. would be extremely helpful as I'm just about out of ideas.....
There is quite a bit of slop in the bolt holes that hold the top cover on. Enough that the idle and main screw could be off. If you have fuel in the pump you may need to crank a bit longer, but I don't know how long you have already. Lots of guessing, but I would try cranking some more before messing with any screws and see if it will light. Use 1/2 pedal if you can to see if that makes a difference.
12V shutoff hooked up?
Try cranking it with the lines off and the accelerator fully pressed, any fuel coming out of the pump?
Did you do the seal on the car or on the bench?
I've tried at half pedal and at WOT with no luck.
The 12v shutoff is connected and I've double checked it on and off the vehicle. I even tried it without the plunger in it.
I pretty much did a full reseal and teardown of the pump. The only thing I left alone was the centrifugal governor and its adjustment screw.
All of my cranking attempts have been with the lines off at the injectors with no fuel showing up. This one is really stumping me.....
Crank the main fuel screw in. Mark it to make sure you can put it back. It may start and runaway but since it is fuel runaway you should be able to stop it with the key. Back out the screw as needed. If that doesn't work report back. Also, be ready to dump the clutch if the key doesn't work.
I tried the main fuel screw all the way up to the steel collar and still nothing. Not sure if going past the collar would help?
You may have damaged your pump when you had it apart then... I assume you had it all vertical when you put the head on, and that you made sure the plunger shim was properly seated, etc?