Just got done putting in a resealed EA82 in my 89 wagon , crank it up and its just pissing oil out of the driverside between the head and the block up toward the front of the motor. everything else is dry. I am about sure that the head gasket is bad. Am I on the right track?

Are you sure that its not the seam between the cam tower and the head? there is an o-ring there that seals off the main oil gallery to the cams. There is another o-ring present in the head gasket itself.

 

it would be more common for the cam tower o-ring to fail.

I think Miles Fox is on to the problem... assure which joint is leaking, the head gasket or the next seal out which would be the RTV seal/cam tower & oil passage "O"-ring. Per your post and # of them sounds like you know exactly what you are talking about.

 

If it is the head-gasket (I have replaced one do to this but it was 180,000+ miles) and not freshly resealed. If it is newly resealed with new head gaskets then possibly an issue at the joint location... sucks.. but you may not have a choice here.... double, double check...

Edited November 28, 201015 yr by Indrid cold

I just sealed up everything but didn't replace the headgaskets or intake gaskets. It definatly is leaking where the head and block meet up. The more I look at it and from what i have found here it sounds like the headgaskets.

Yup, external Headgasket leaks are somewhat common.

 

I'd say at least 1/2 of the NA EA82 headgaskets I do are for external leaks.

 

Good news is that it's fairly easy to fix.

 

Sucks you just had it all apart though.

Yep thats what it is. Yanked it back apart, and you can see where the gasket had deteriorated.