Alfa Romeo Repair: coolant in spark plug wells, coolant leaks, jeff richmond

Question
I have an 85 graduate, and have had a head job and new gasket installed.  The problem is that coolant leaks into the front three spark plug wells.  the rear well (closest to firewall) is dry.  I was told by the mechanic (not sure I trust him) that neither the head nor the block had any cracks.  I hope you can give me an idea of what to look for.

Thanks,
Jeff
Richmond, VA

Answer
Do you mean a valve job or was the mating surface milled.
Was the head retorqued hot. And were the head bolts retorqued at 1500 miles or less.  Was the protrusion of the cylinder liners checked before the gasket was put down. Was sealant or anti-seize compound used on the threads of the head studs. If all of the above were observed, then you do have a cracked head. Otherwise, have someone do a proper headgasket replacement.

Adding coolant dye to the cooling system could tell you where the leak is coming from using ultraviolet light and uv resistant glasses. If it is coming from the headbolt washer then just maybe anti-seize and a proper retorqueing could do the job.