Coolant leak?

I have a 2005 double cab 4x4 Tacoma and there seems to be a slow leak. There's coolant on top of the overflow tank right below the cap. What would cause that? evaporation or faulty cap?

 

Same with my '08.
Never see the level drop, it's just a bit of weepage where the overflow hose joins.
If it bothers you, remove the hose, clean it up, and reinstall it with a hose clamp.
Don't overtighten or it will collapse the plastic.

 

The dried coolant isn't near the hose. It's right below the overflow tank cap.

 

Maybe it's the overflow tank "throwing up" excess coolant? If that's the case where should your coolant level be when engine is cold? Mine is about halfway between min and max line when cold and when it's hot it's at the max line. But after about a month and a a half the coolant level drops about a cm.

 

Could be splashing. Pull the cap and clean everything up. That doesn't look bad at all.

 

I wiped it clean a few times before taking this picture.

 

Welcome to the Forum. I believe you may have some Hawaiian water to your cooling system and the water is erupting in eco-sympathy with Mauna Loa volcano. Just Kidding.........


Do you smell any sweet odors that comes from Antifreeze ? Have you ever changed the thermostat or Radiator cap on your Taco ? Do you get any coolant leaks on the floor ? You may want to check this while it is hot and see if water in the overflow tank is bubbling. This should not be happening, and it could be a early warning of a cooling problem. When you answer some the questions, I am sure we will find out what is wrong with your system. Good Luck.

 

Haha thanks for the suggestions. I don't smell any antifreeze and as for the rad cap and thermostat I haven't changed any of that yet. I just recently got the truck. Today I drove the truck 80 miles and checked the overflow tank while it was running for any bubbling and it wasn't. Could a bad rad cap be the cause for the dried coolant on my overflow tank?

 

Since your Taco is an 05, and it is now 9 model years old, you may want to change the radiator cap first and see if it stops the overflow. A weak spring on the radiator cap would release pressure to the overflow tank and force fluid out. A cap is not that expensive, and you do not need to purchase a Toyota cap to replace it, but some people like to keep their Taco all Toyota. A dealer replacement radiator cap would be double the cost of an aftermarket cap. Good Luck .

 

Ok I'll try this and see how it goes

 

Did you taste it to make sure it's not sweet?

 

I had a quart go missing 2 different times and have yet to figure out where it went...

 

Just in case you were curious, I thought I'd ask.

 

We're all about helping here at TW.

 

The service writer at the dealer pointed out that mine was overflowing slightly when they were diagnosing it for a blown head gasket. I hope that's not the case with yours but apparently it's a somewhat common issue with 05-08 trucks. They don't leak bad enough to lose hardly any coolant but it pressurizes the cooling system from the # 6 cylinder. Besides a slight occasional gurgling in the dash and a random rough idle for a few seconds (which eventually turned on the CEL for a cylinder 6 misfire) the truck was perfectly fine. I'm pretty sure that's why mine got traded in. Fortunately I caught it before the 30 day/1k mile standard used car warranty ran out and they covered it.

 

Wow you pretty much explained what I've been experiencing. I got a misfire on cyl 6 and I hear the gurgling of coolant also. I thought it was because I have air in my system. So what exactly is the problem?head gasket starting to go?

 

Bump

 

you guys are really freightening me with this headgasket stuff

 

Go get it checked ASAP. IIRC, the '05s (and '04 4Runners) had head gasket failures with #6. My recollection is that there was an early TSB and the head gaskets were redesigned from '06 on. Sounds very much like what you are describing. If so, you'll want to get it fixed before something more expensive gets damaged.