# No antifreeze after repair! only water **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [February 27, 2019, 10:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498 "2019-02-27T22:17:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![geo\_mac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9fc29f/32.png) [@geo\_mac](https://community.cartalk.com/u/geo_mac)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 10:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498/1 "2019-02-27T22:17:31Z")
2000 Crown Vic - T-stat replaced by Auto Shop 3 mo ago. Today, temps near 0°, my neighbor calls me from the side of the road. I find a puddle of clear water under the car. We replace the coolant, + car runs fine. I talk to the shop… They became belligerent, swear they put in antifreeze, and tell me I’m a moron. So no coolant added or leaking in 3 months, no one worked on the car… Car is driven very little but had the system flushed several years ago… So what happened ?!? ---
**Author:** ![shanonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@shanonia](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shanonia)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498/2 "2019-02-27T22:26:29Z")
What was the level of the coolant? Could the water be HVAC condensate? ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498/3 "2019-02-27T22:38:31Z")
> [@geo\_mac](#): > > my neighbor calls me from the side of the road. I find a puddle of clear water under the car. How did the “water” leak out of the engine? ---
**Author:** ![geo\_mac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9fc29f/32.png) [@geo\_mac](https://community.cartalk.com/u/geo_mac)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498/4 "2019-02-27T23:02:33Z")
Vic had boiled over losing 6 + quarts coolant from the coolant tank. I tested the fluid at the tank, only rusty water, no evidence ever been flushed. There is flow through the radiator. ![20190227_110347](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/2X/0/0be8fcacb728aebebaa330cfaf4203c468ac5828.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 11:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498/5 "2019-02-27T23:05:05Z")
Take it back to the shop and have them fix it right. Be sure to take your receipt with you. ---
**Author:** ![geo\_mac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9fc29f/32.png) [@geo\_mac](https://community.cartalk.com/u/geo_mac)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 11:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498/6 "2019-02-27T23:13:26Z")
Car is fixed… Shop admits changing stat; refuses ownership of the problem. I can’t imagine they forgot coolant , nor can I see any other possibilities. This is my neighbor’s car , I see it every day ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 11:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498/7 "2019-02-27T23:30:18Z")
If all that was needed was to drain the water and replace it with an antifreeze/water mixture, then its cheap enough that your neighbor should just forget about going to that shop again, but remember to tell everyone they know not to use the shop. ---
**Author:** ![geo\_mac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9fc29f/32.png) [@geo\_mac](https://community.cartalk.com/u/geo_mac)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498/8 "2019-02-27T23:43:36Z")
He paid 1200 $$$ for that and other work in Nov. He may switch. I just wonder what went wrong, ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498/9 "2019-02-28T03:50:41Z")
It’s entirely possible the shop either - didn’t do the work - re-filled w/plain water rather than a 50/50 coolant mixture. No way to know over the internet. One possibility, they did the work, used 50/50, but somebody later poured plain water into the overflow bottle. Did you check the level of freeze protection from a sample from the radiator rather than the overflow bottle? A shop tech could inadvertently make a mistake on the 50/50 mixture too, especially if they purchase 100% coolant and mix it w/water before pouring it in. I can see how such a thing might be possible, but seems very unlikely to happen at an established pro-shop. One thing remains a mystery, why it leaked with the putative water-only coolant, even at freezing temperatures which you’d guess would cause something to break, but no leaks and engines works fine after replacing the coolant. ---
**Author:** ![geo\_mac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9fc29f/32.png) [@geo\_mac](https://community.cartalk.com/u/geo_mac)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 4:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/no-antifreeze-after-repair-only-water/135498/10 "2019-02-28T04:12:51Z")
The neighbor had the system flushed @ less than 20000 miles. There is no evidence of that. I disconnected a hose to drain & nothing but rusty water came out, no green. Shop specified glycol was used in the repair. I’m wondering if the cold + water only made the stat not open? We just came back from a test run… every thing is normal, system pressured. No water added since repair.