The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Need help found antifreeze pool under valve cover

The head bolts screw into the block where the water passages are. That's the only place that the head bolts are exposed to antifreeze. That's why the antifreeze will seep by the threads and up the bolt. The rest of the bolt would be sealed off by the head gasket so that the only place antifreeze can get by would be the threads themselves.