it's about time.... i finally found the source of the coolant smell that's been present for a couple of years.
right under the thermostat housing i can see the antifreeze coming out and some stains.
so i ordered ARP studs and a victor gasket set off E-bay.....400 bucks for the studs and 315 for the gasket set........more than i expected, but it cannot be helped.
at least by doing the work my self i'll save a bunch....pictures coming later

 

Have you hever had the head off before? That is a common leak spot, you probably already knew that. From your sig I wouldn't think you were makin that much boost to cause a leak.

I'm trying to remember, I had a leak there but it was a threaded plug which was behind a plate or something that was bolted to the t-stat housing, the stains ran down and made it look like the head was leaking.

 

never had it off before...i'll check the plug,maybe i'll get lucky,
I'll start the dis assembly in that area... i'll remove the alternator first to get a good view

 

 

wow that looks like AC refrigerant dye but we all know that it is not coming from that area. Good luck with this endeavor

 

i used some bars leak for my head gasket problem, it seems like it worked so far