Leaking Hose On 97 Es300?

[odessit]

Hello,

There was a bit of greenish liquid under the top radiator hose (near the engine). Please see the pictures for details. The hose did feel a bit wet where it meets the steel part otherwise it seems to be solid.

The car does not overheat. There is fair amount of pinkish deposit where the hose is attached to the metal part.

Car has 138K on it. Oil change about 2500K ago (in Jan.) and looks nice (light and clear).

I wiped the fluid and ran the car - did not get wet at all. Coolant was replaced about 28K ago.

What is the most probable cause of the fluid? Could it be coming from somewhere else? Did anybody have similar problem? What is the cost to replace the hose? (NAPA sells it for about $15, but I do not want to mess with the replacement myself). What is a good way to check the coolant level?

Thanks,

Alex

[Capk]

Hello,

There was a bit of greenish liquid under the top radiator hose (near the engine). Please see the pictures for details. The hose did feel a bit wet where it meets the steel part otherwise it seems to be solid.

The car does not overheat. There is fair amount of pinkish deposit where the hose is attached to the metal part.

Car has 138K on it. Oil change about 2500K ago (in Jan.) and looks nice (light and clear).

I wiped the fluid and ran the car - did not get wet at all. Coolant was replaced about 28K ago.

What is the most probable cause of the fluid? Could it be coming from somewhere else? Did anybody have similar problem? What is the cost to replace the hose? (NAPA sells it for about $15, but I do not want to mess with the replacement myself). What is a good way to check the coolant level?

Thanks,

Alex

Alex,

From your pics it looks like the original hose and clamp are on your engine. In and of itself, that's okay if the hose isn't spongy or swollen,etc. However, it looks like you have had a persistent leak at that point for some time as the metal looks very corroded. The weak original clamp and hose probably conspired to give you the leak. If someone really wasn't looking like you were, they'd never notice the antifreeze leak since it probably evaporates from the engine heat after you cut the motor off. Unless you are a reasonably good do-it-yourself mechanic, I'd get a mechanic familiar with Toyota engines to drain the system, replace the hose (and clamps) with a factory hose (it's worth the cost and you can probably get one on-line from a reputable source). While you're at it replace the bottom one, too. Then have your mechanic refill the cooling system with a quality anti-freeze (be sure that person knows how to bleed the system of air properly). You can check the a-freeze level with the engine cold by just looking at the overflow tank level. Let us know how it turns out.

Capk

[odessit]

How urgent is it for me to take care of this?

[Capk]

How urgent is it for me to take care of this?

Not real urgent, but I wouldn't take any long vacation trips to hot/humid locales as you will probably be running the a/c for extended periods of time which will put extra strain on the cooling system (hoses, etc.). To stop the leak right away you could probably just get a screw clamp the right size and install it right behind the existing factory clamp, but I wouldn't wait too long with summer coming up to get the whole system up to snuff.