atv coolant leak

[reinhard1]

i have a 2002 polaris 500 ho sportsman. it has less than 400 miles on it. i use it only for hunting and ice fishing. so far its been running fine. the only problem is i get this small coolant leak after i get done running it as it sits. the drip is from the front end but not from the radiator because it always stays full. the little resivour plastic container is not leaking but gets empty anyway. so the leak is from the radiador cap down the plastic tube to the resivour. can it be a faulty cap? is this common? thank you.

[jeffreyd]

my 700 did the same thing, if you look on the 700 anyway the hose from the cap run up under the steering. i had a small hole in the hose that would seep after use. do you run your quads periodically? the thing i ended up doing was making sure i ran them a couple times a month, i would start them, let them run or drive them for a few min and the turn the gas valve off and let them run out of fuel. this way i did not have gas sitting in the carb.

[reinhard1]

your being real helpfull but what are quads? your dealing with a non mechanic. i change the fluids, check the batteries, other than that i dont know too much about my atv. thanks.

[jeffreyd]

quad=4 wheeler=atv=all terrain vehicle. ok so if you run them periodically that will keep the leak from happening most times. it also gets any moisture out of the oil, but you have to let them run until the engine is to operating temp. as far as the shut off thing, is there a gas valve on the left side of the tank near your knee? it should say on/off. when i am done running mine, i leave the engine running as simply turn that valve to off. when it stops running it has used all the fuel out of the carb therefore it wont varnish or go bad. in the tank you need to make sure you run stabilizer or some additive in the gas or it will go bad. my 700 sportsman would, if allowed to sit during the summer when it was very hot, i live in phoenix, would slowly drain the small coolant bottle. not running your atv (quad) is harder on them then running the heck out of it. hope that helps. Jeff

[reinhard1]

hey you have been a huge help. seems i'm making my own problems. it's from people like you that the education process works and hotspotoutdoors is popular. thank you and good luck.

[Dave S]

I would also make sure to check all of your connections between the radiator, the overflow bottle and the engine. It could be as simple as a loose clamp.

Also double check your oil to make sure it isn't milky looking. With so few miles on it, I doubt you'd have a cracked head or bad head gasket but you never know.

I remember a year or two ago, MacGyver posted something about radiators and caps, but suspect that post might have been sent to the archives with the upgrade to the site.

[Macgyver55]

Could be the cap, but I've found a few where the problem was just loose hose clamps on the lower hoses.

Otherwise I'd be looking at the water pump seal.

[reinhard1]

thank you all. i dont think its the water pump seal because its not leaking anywere but from the top near the radiator cap and hose. i know it would be easy for you guys but for me anything mechanical is a challenge. from this point i will try to fix things by myself now that i'm retired. i am going to change the cap and hose clamps for starters. thank you all for your help. good luck.

[spearchucker]

Is the radiator cap tight?

[jeffreyd]

the overfill line might be cracked where it slides on to the nipple at the raditor

[reinhard1]

thank you i will check that too. good luck.

[reinhard1]

put a new cap on. there was a small crack under the clamp by the cap. cut the cracked part off put a new clamp on. so far so good. feel more like a mechanic already. thanks.