Coolant Leak

[agro1]

98' Rangie...I'm loosing coolant in 2 places.
The expansion tank overflow seems to be puking a small amount on a regular basis, maybe an ounce a day, and the cap also seems to be leaking a tiny tiny bit. I can tell cause the threading on the cap is covered with coolant (do these caps go bad ?).
Then, last night, I noticed a small leak coming out of a hose clamp where the hose exits the bottom right side of the radiator.
Now I know this is a closed system and any loss means something, but I'm just trying to pinpoint if these two areas are the result of a bad head gasket, or if they are isolated leaks. I've checked the spark plugs and they look fine. Could it be that I just need a new expansion tank cap and also need to reseal that lower radiator hose clamp ?? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

PS - The car runs fine, not throwing any codes and the temp never goes past the noon position, even in very hot southern CA conditions...

 

[P38MeMate]

agro1,

The coolant tank cap and overflow line is a new one to my knowledge. However, I have had the upper radiator hose blow clean off. What a RIGHT MESS THAT MAKES OF EVERYTHING. The hose kit that was a set rendered by one of the last service campaigns used those gray colored spring clamps. The bulge on the radiator bung pipe is rather non descript which allowed the upper hose to slip off. So, I replaced the clamps with stainless steel IDEAL screw type hose clamps and set them right up against the small bulge so as to prevent any evevated tempurature slipping.

Andrew

 

[Steve83]

Have a shop do a "dissolved gas test" on your coolant - you may have a head gasket leak that's overpressurizing the coolant system. It only takes a second, and the whole kit from NAPA is only $50, so they shouldn't charge you more than $15 to do it.