Sorry to hear of your misfortune- having to do a head job on a ( assume it's
a stock 1.6NA since you didn't say ) 82 diesel westy.
Special tools -
Head bolt tool, 12 point if it's got 12mm head bolts, like an 82 should
have.

Tensioner tool - you can fake it with a snap ring pliers, but it's nice to
have the right tool.
Camshaft holder tool - goes in slot at the back of the head.  You can cheat
and use a flat bar or even a flat wrench.
Injection timing tools - if you mark everything 'very' carefully and put it
right back where it was timing 'should' be 'somewhat unchanged.'  You really
should reset the injection timing with the right tools, or have someone do
it.
Injector socket - deep thin wall half inch drive socket - I use a 1 and 1/16
inch . 
6mm all socket, need one of these here and there. 
Those are the main tools that come to mind. 
Head gasket alignment dowels would be nice, but you make some or get by
without. 

With that many miles - if the head isn't badly cracked, it 'might' start and
run and not smoke or have major problems, for a while, with luck. 

I hope it goes smoothly for you, no rusted bolts, or broken studs etc.....
If you are planning to just install a new head gasket and not touch the head
- good luck ! 
Scott
www.turbovans.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Florian Speier
Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2007 5:25 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: How to do a head reseal on a diesel vanagon?

I have to do a cylinder head gasket job on a friends 82 diesel westy. Does
anyone have a better writeup than the bentley, especially, do i need these
specific tools for the drive belt?
The engine is currently bubbling out coolant between head and block....
argh.  I know that on an engine with already 165k on it, this might be a
temporary fix, but I am unsure of the costs and time involved in a
1.9conversion, so I guess its gonna be just fixing it for now.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

thanks a lot
flo