Coolant leak at reservoir hose

[matthewr87]

At 2000 km I have a coolant leak from one of the hoses at the top of the reservoir tank. I am not 100% sure but I think it just started leaking recently. I randomly noticed it this morning while checking my oil after a bit of a spirited road trip yesterday. The level was touching the minimum line and I've since refilled it. It starts to dribble after a short drive now.

I've attached a picture. Any ideas on how to fix it? I've never had to deal with any coolant issues on any of my cars before. Can I just try to tighten the clamp?

I have no desire to take it into the dealership for something like this.

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[CliffClavin]

Take the hose off and inspect the coolant bottle nipple as well as the hose to see if there is any damage to either. You can try and reseat the clamp too to see if it helps.

 

[matthewr87]

Okay I'll try that. This is a re-usable spring clamp I assume? Can it be tightened?

 

[CliffClavin]

It’s a pinch clip so it’s reusable, but it cannot be tightened. It just may be sitting on a ridge or not seated properly.

 

[matthewr87]

I wasn't able to completely take the hose off. It was on there really tight. But I did manage to move the clamp down a little bit. That seems to have helped a bit and the leak is not as pronounced. I'm going to try to move it a bit further down and see if that helps.

Weirdly, I also noticed a leak on the other end of the same hose where it enters the radiator. I am not sure what is going on. That clamp is pretty inaccessible. Not sure how I can go about fixing that one.

 

[matthewr87]

I replaced the hose this morning. So far so good. I ended up ordering from Tasca parts since they do not charge tax and the shipping was a few dollars less expensive. I placed the order last Sunday and it showed up on Friday afternoon.

Also, I managed to replace the hose without removing the airbox and radiator cover. I used a cable-style spring clamp tool and was able to do it. I skinned a few knuckles in the process but it worked out.

Oh and FYI, as expected the coolant started leaking out of the radiator as soon as the tube was removed at that end. It is helpful to have two sets of hands for this job. I did it by myself and had to staunch the flow with a rag while quickly swapping the clamp from the old tube to the new tube and I spilled a bunch of coolant in the process.

 

[honeybadger]

I had to do this as well. If you open the reservoir cap to bleed the pressure off, it won't leak when you remove it. Learned that one the hard way

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