Coolant leak at reservoir hose

[matthewr87]

t 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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[Triton54]

still kinda hard to see, (leakage) but yes, i would just reset the compression clamp, or get a little worm style clamp for those, that ought to do it.

 

[matthewr87]

It dribbles down and pools on the flat edge of the tank.

These are spring style clamps correct? If I reset it will it tighten back up again? Can they be tightened at all?

 

[Triton54]

possibly, i think you could just sort of open it, and let it snap shut, on the hose there, those little return hoses are fairly soft, so i would think you could just grab ur pliers, hold it open, maybe move clamp closer to res. or slightly farther away, and it should pinch it tight.....

 

[2017GBGTPP]

It dribbles down and pools on the flat edge of the tank.

These are spring style clamps correct? If I reset it will it tighten back up again? Can they be tightened at all?

They tighten back up. I would loosen it up and pull out the hose to check for tears or holes in both the hose and plastic. If all looks good reseat it and hopefully it's good.

 

[matthewr87]

Okay thanks guys! I'll try that and see what happens.

 

[SAL-E]

Also check to see if the tank itself is cracked at the hose attachment. Not likely, but possible.

 

[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 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 now 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. I don't know how I can go about fixing that one.

 

[rmeek81]

Had exact same issue with my 19 PP1 from day 1. Pain in the Ass small dribble coolant leak from overflow hose at both resevoir tank and radiator side. Ford replaced resevoir tank believing issue at actual connector (which was not the case.) Clamps at both sides were also replaced w/ worm clips which slowed issue, however leak was still present. In the end (and also not wanting to return to dealership, leave car overnight, etc.) replaced actual overflow hose w/ OEM below which corrected the issue completely and immediately. Stock overflow hose upon inspection from factory ended up having irregular cuts internally at both ends and was seperating at expansion.

https://parts.autonationfordwhitebearlake.com/oem-parts/ford-overflow-hose-fr3z8075c

To get to Radiator side of overflow hose you will need to remove your Radiator cover, and stock airbox or aftermarket CAI.

 

[BlackandBlue]

Had exact same issue with my 19 PP1 from day 1. Pain in the Ass small dribble coolant leak from overflow hose at both resevoir tank and radiator side. Ford replaced resevoir tank believing issue at actual connector (which was not the case.) Clamps at both sides were also replaced w/ worm clips which slowed issue, however leak was still present. In the end (and also not wanting to return to dealership, leave car overnight, etc.) replaced actual overflow hose w/ OEM below which corrected the issue completely and immediately. Stock overflow hose upon inspection from factory ended up having irregular cuts internally at both ends and was seperating at expansion.

https://parts.autonationfordwhitebearlake.com/oem-parts/ford-overflow-hose-fr3z8075c

To get to Radiator side of overflow hose you will need to remove your Radiator cover, and stock airbox or aftermarket CAI.

This explanation is spot on. Sounds like the hose has a hole in it downstream and has found a leak path inside the hose material. No clamp or rigging will fix it. It will just find another leak path.

Replace it.

 

[matthewr87]

Had exact same issue with my 19 PP1 from day 1. Pain in the Ass small dribble coolant leak from overflow hose at both resevoir tank and radiator side. Ford replaced resevoir tank believing issue at actual connector (which was not the case.) Clamps at both sides were also replaced w/ worm clips which slowed issue, however leak was still present. In the end (and also not wanting to return to dealership, leave car overnight, etc.) replaced actual overflow hose w/ OEM below which corrected the issue completely and immediately. Stock overflow hose upon inspection from factory ended up having irregular cuts internally at both ends and was seperating at expansion.

https://parts.autonationfordwhitebearlake.com/oem-parts/ford-overflow-hose-fr3z8075c

To get to Radiator side of overflow hose you will need to remove your Radiator cover, and stock airbox or aftermarket CAI.

Thank you for the feedback and advice.

I found a couple of threads from 3 years ago describing the same issue. Seems like it is still around.

I have one of those flexible spring clamp removal tools, so hopefully I can remove the radiator side of the hose without disassembling the airbox and cover as you describe.

Is there fluid in this hose when the car is cold?

 

[rmeek81]

Cool, cool. Yeah, there will be small amount of fluid still in the hose. Having a couple shop towels handy would not hurt. Coolant system is mostly a closed system so small pressure hiss once you pull the hose. Once replaced/complete and both new hose/clamps are set, start vehicle to idle and run heater full blast for 3-4 min. This will flush any remaining air out of the system and also give ability to verify leak is no more.

 

[Lime1GT]

Do not use worm clamps on fittings made of plastic or even thin steel tubing. Through repeated heat cycles the plastic can deform from uneven compression. Thin steel may be deformed from over tightening. These conditions may cause future leaks. Compression clamps keep even pressure all the way around the fittings to help prevent fitting deformation.

 

[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.

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