So today after tinkering with my throttle cable and taking it for a test run, I came home to pop the hood and noticed there was a hissing sound coming from the upper radiator hose. Along the very top of the radiator in line with the front support of the car, there is a small amount of coolant (very little: whiped up with one paper towel and only made a small line on the towel). I presume this is from the hose.

A while back the hose would collapse after a period of not driving it (say overnight). A different radiator cap I had laying around seemed to solve that problem.

I know that sometimes hoses appear fine on the outside but have small cracks and imperfections inside. CarQuest in the next town over wants roughly $13 for one (I had them order it anyway as a small investment).

The radiator looks fine upon inspection.

Any major problems other than the hose? I guess it could be the radiator, but I would imagine the hose would go, as the radiator looks relatively new.

I guess if its the radiator, I can buy a Koyo all-aluminum.

 

I think you're already gotten it more then figured out. I ran into a problem with mine years back with an after market radiator that leaked right along that seem. Replaced it under warranty and the second one did the same exact thing! They were both plastic tops... when replaced with the copper top, issue was finally resolved. If you could actually spot the coolant on the radiator top without the coolant evaporating then thats enough of a leak for you to spot it when its occurring. One could drive it hard for a few mins agitating the leak enough to expedite the process.

Kruso