Sounds familiar. My '82 Diesel had a blown engine when I bought it. The 
'factory new' engine VW put in lost it's valve timing (slipped pulley); 
nasty noises! I insisted they pay for the fix - they don't like me now. 
Then, both front wondow winders failed, just like the previous listings. My 
fix: I bought plastic (nylon) bar stock and milled new parts, using hand 
tools ( yes, and the oh-so-useful knofe (you _know_ I mean knife, don't 
you?)) and power tools (drill and router). The part fabrication took a day 
of puttering, meaning not full-time work. The windows still work well after 
the fix 2.5 years ago. BTW, the instrument circuit board caught afire once, 
at least that's the excuse the previous owner gave for the mess the 
instrument panel was in. I believe him. Hope the bad board is not another 
common denominator! Looks like '82 was not the best year for Diesel 
Vanagons...                                                 -ed