im looking at two ea82 heads, one left and one right. they look like they could go on either side, except for the egr. they seem to be the same casting.

these are spfi heads

Ya, other than the EGR I belive they are identical.... I know for a fact that the head gaskets are identical on SPFI's

The castings are identical, but the machining is different. You can bolt either head on either side.

 

I know because I have done it wrong before....

so, i might as well go to the junkyard and get a head from the cold side(drivers) and it shouldnt be cracked as bad as all the hot side ones, and it wouldnt have that damn hole for the egr. this is a revelation to me, cuz i was looking for an uncracked passenger side head for a long time.

HUH! What about the Dizzy drive on the l-hand head? The longer valve cover that requires 5 bolts rather than 4? We really talking EA82 here?

Sorry RedRX, but the cam holder assembly bolts onto the head the same way on both sides and is not part of the actual head. The EGR hole can be plugged. The only heads that I know of that are truly right and left are the turbo head, and that is only because of the oil passage and the water return being machined in the passenger (right side) head.

 

What crack are you talking about. If it is the crack between the valves, that is very common, and if small, it is really not a problem. If it gets larger, it could cause the valve seat to fall out. It is the crack in other places on the head that are a problem.

i know its cool to use the heads with cracks between the valves, but i have one that got real hot, and the crack on the passenger side head is eroded, and large.

 

i bead blasted it to reveal it was cracked under the valve seat too, so i want to get a better one.

 

and since there was never a hold drilled for egr, it should mean better flow, without that pocket of dead air right outside of the combustion chamber.

i just blasted two more heads, and they all have cracks between the valves, and even the small ones go down behind the valve seat and into the port. damn weak... might have to tig the crap out of them.

DOH! - for some reason I was thinking cam-boxes rather than heads.