I changed mine a couple of months ago with the advice of people on this list.

My brakes squeal now.  I still drive it.

Loosen wheels.
Jack the van up.  block the rear wheels.  take off front wheels.
wiggle the steering wheel around until you get a good working area for
the caliper.  Take a punch and a hammer and rap out the pin that holds
the metal piece of sheet metal spring that holds the pads in.  If you
don't have a punch, take a large nail and do it.  The flat piece of
metal will pop out.  You can wiggle the pads out with a screwdriver.
loosen bleeder bolt.  Take a large C-Clamp that fits around the
caliper and force the piston in so that you can put the new pad in.
Maybe you're supposed to do something around here to help the pads to
stop squealing.  I don't know.  I just dropped the new pads in.  Put
the retaining spring (flat piece of metal) back on.  Tap in the pins.
Put the wheels back on.

Make sure you tighten the wheels to the proper torque once the van is
on the ground.  Oh yea, top off the brake fluid above the dashboard.
bleed the brakes.   If you don't bleed all the air out, you may have
slightly spongy brakes like I have.

On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 11:42:02 -0600, Josh Greenberg
<josh@joshgreenberg.com> wrote:
>
> Volks,
>
> I searched and searched through the archive for a how to on replacing the front brake pads on a early model Vanagon, but surprisingly didn't find anything there.  I did find Ken's detailed instructions for the 86s and up, but know my 83.5 has a different system.
>
> The fact that this how to does not exist makes me believe this is a really simple undertaking, but are there any list members that would be willing to give me advice on how to do this job, what to expect, and what tools I will need.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Josh
> 83.5 Westy
>