White powder on radiator hose

g/day pete
whether you believe it not you have a slight leak either in the top hose or the overflow pipe filler neck to o/flow pipe fitting which i had once and had to get it soldered
or
or the top hose may be your problem
the white powder trace comes from the glycol in the coolant

i had a simular problem with the top hose on my bravo and after trying hard to suss it out eventually discovered the the internal lining of the top hose had a very small split inside just back from the clamp and the coolant was coming through the hose between the internal ply and the inside rubber layer and was somehow getting past and under the clamp when hot

a very small amount and not enough to cause a drop in coolant level
but enough to be a warning that all was not well

this problem bugged me for quiet some time about 5000km

before i finally removed the top hose and found the very tiny split inside it
replaced the hose and also fitted one of those full circle clamps and bingo no more problems
hope this helps
ps a short cut would be to replace the top hose and use a full circle clamp
sorry just cant think of the name of those clamps
cheers barry

It could well be a tiny leak and what you see could be aluminium oxide, but then again maybe not. Cause after all if your not topping the surge tank how can you have a leak! it eventually has to need a top up doesn't it.

My hoses, oil cap, palstic bits, go white just after using degreaser and hosing it off. Next day all the hoses white!!!! I spray Armourall on it let it drip I never wipe the stuff off and the hoses stay clean and black until the next de grease.

Cheers

Agree with others that it sounds like a coolant leak and when it dries out you are left with the powder. You can lose enough to make a mess without noticing a coolant level drop as a little goes a long way. If your hoses have never been replaced they may be allowing a bit of coolant track past the connection especially if you don't have worm drive type clamps.
Just tightening the clamps may not be enough if there is still dried stuff under the connection. Might be worth pulling the leaky connection apart to check for contamination and the condition of the inside of the hose. this will also let you decide if the hoses should all be replaced.

Whichever way you go it is an indicator that something is developing into a problem.

regards

A

Thanks for the replies,
A new hose and worm drive clamps should do the trick.
Thanks again Pete.