Hello,
I think you may find the solution is to modify the software update URL.
I have not tried applying my situation to a Linux Guest to verify this will work for your scenario.
However the following VMware Tool .iso files downloaded properly after the fix was applied and the VMware Tools Installer menu option began working as expected for a Windows 2008 x64 Guest. There is every possibility it will begin working for other Guests as well.
freebsd.iso
linux.iso
netware.iso
solaris.iso
windows.iso
winPre2k.iso
Here is a link to the thread created to discuss the Fix: