Quote Originally Posted by posscakes

back to the passat. brackie is there a way to work out which gasket i need without pulling it apart first?
Yep.
1. Clean down the front (in your case passenger side) of the motor especially where the head meets the block.
2. Look down between the number 2 and 3 injectors. You'll see a tab sticking out from the join. Its part of the head gasket.
3. Get a long, thin screwdriver and run it along the tab (it's a bit crowded because of the injector pipes). Count the notches.

The reason I advise the screwdriver trick is that the notches are difficult to see and you can't get your fingers in there to feel for them without taking the injector pipes off.
You obviously haven't started to pull the head off yet so one thing I forgot to mention is the need for absolute cleanliness when the injector pipes are off. I advise you to go to a diesel fuel injection shop and get some plastic caps so that you can cover up all orifices in the pump and injectors to prevent the ingress of dirt. Dirts wrecks diesels.