If you just replaced a timing belt for a customer, would you run the engine long enough to let it “warm” up? Is that a general practice? personal opinion? Just wondering. I’m asking this because when I went to pick up my truck I saw that the “neck”, it’s the part of the radiator where the hose goes over on top. That was hit with a force that broke the wield. I went there for a timing belt replacement, had no problem with the radiator. The service manager tells me, “I don’t know if it was broken before you brought it in because didn’t run the engine long enough after we replaced the timing belt”. There’s way more to the story, I don’t want to bore anyone. 
Thank you,
John
I always drive the vehicle a few miles after replacing the timing belt.
Tester
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+1
Test drive and recheck any fluid levels that may have been changed/replaced… Double check to make sure all engine covers etc are all back in place before handing over the keys…
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I’m a diy’er, not a pro mechanic, less experience with major repairs, so have less confidence in my abilities than a pro would have. Just speaking for myself in other words. When I changed my Corolla’s timing belt , after finishing, but before replacing timing belt covers I ran the engine at idle in driveway for 20-30 minutes, checking both the crankshaft and camshaft timing with a timing light every 5 minutes. Then after replacing timing covers, 15 minute ride, town streets and freeway, before deciding the job took, done.
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The shop manager is full of bull. Common sense would dictate that any time the cooling system is opened, the mechanic would have to run the engine long enough to reach operating temperature in order to properly refill the coolant and purge out any air which got into the system. This would have to be done when the timing belt kit is replaced (assuming that the timing belt on this vehicle drives the water pump) and it is best practice to drive the vehicle as well, and then check for leaks.
Most professional shops would use equipment that uses vacuum to fill the cooling systen in a matter of minutes and ensure there are no air pockets and the system is fully topped off.
But yes, best practices indicate a test drive after every service.
Whether or not the vehicle was road tested does not prove what caused the radiator leak. Post a picture of the leak, perhaps it will show if the radiator was cracked from impact or old age.
I am wondering why you didn’t reply as a mechanic.
I am not a mechanic and the original post has been edited . The first version read as if it was the person doing the work asking the question . I will delete my other post .
That was the original post as Volvo stated…
@jvak55_185407 , please use reply after you have made a post that others have already replied to as it can cause some confusion… BTW, have you seen some of the topics that get off subject here?? I think some are already bored long before you got here… 
Most Radiators today have plastic tanks and where the hoses goes and radiator cap area (if on the rad) are all plastic…
I am going out on a limb here and going to say if your vehicle is old enough or has enough miles on it to need the timing belt replaced then it is old enough for the rad to be weak enough to crack even with the upmost care…
Even the really old rads had the hose connection’s soldered on and can be a weak point…
Like already said, seeing the damage would be much easier to give you an option as to what happened…
A big THANKS to all! I filed a BBB complaint, which they didn’t respond to after 2 months. They called the owner and told him “We going to kick you out if you don’t respond” I wanted to speak to him a good week before the radiator stuff. The neck was at a angle, took a pretty good wack. I sent him a email that said: Get me a new radiator @ your expence or you get a police report and small claims date. The BBB recommended the police report, I didn’t even think about it. And yes a waterpump was installed (I hope it was), so thanks again! It’s a 1994 Mitsubishi Mighty Max 3.0 liter I’ve had for 27 years and the last time it in a shop was 14 years ago for a timing belt.
On one hand, you are leaning over the radiator a lot (could have damaged it then) to replace the water pump on that truck, very easy water pump/timing belt to replace, but it is also on a 29yo vehicle, so it is going to be very hard to prove the rad was in great shape unless it is fairly new…
If I was the shop manager or owner I would probably replace the rad at my cost to you and no charge the labor and fluids… If I knew I broke it then it would have been replaced at N/C to the customer at the very beginning…
Good luck…
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On a 27 year old vehicle, I would expect stuff to break, just from normal handling, so I would be a lot more forgiving than I would on say a 2 or 3 year old vehicle. It is for precisely this reason that many repair shops and dealership service depts refuse to work on vehicles older than a certain age.
It is not unreasonable for an old plastic-tank radiator to break just from someone removing and reinstalling the hoses, because over time the plastic hose connections (and end-tanks, and rubber gaskets, etc) become brittle from thermal cycling.
On a car of that age, anything could happen. BBB is useless. I wouldn’t have wasted much time on this. Would try and see if the store would cover half the cost as goodwill and move on with life. Stuff happens.
+1
For reasons that I will likely never fathom, a LOT of people seem to think that the BBB is a government agency, with punitive powers. In reality, it is a private enterprise which sells local franchises. Business owners can opt to become members, which allows them to display the BBB symbol. However, the most drastic action that the BBB can take is to refuse to take a business’s membership money if there are repeated complaints, and they rarely do that.
If someone has a complaint about a business that cheated them in some way, that complaint should be filed with their state/county Office of Consumer Affairs, which is affiliated with the Attorney General’s Office.
Filing a complaint with the BBB is a waste of one’s time.
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@jvak55_185407 Try again…
There is no doubt, that is a sloppy patch job. How many times has the upper radiator hose connector come loose from the radiator?