Antifreeze?

[Doug in NJ]

If your engine runs cool enough, why would you not want to run antifreeze? Maybe I'm too young to understand the concern vs. risk.

There are two concerns:

1: If glycol antifreeze somehow makes its way into the oil, it will turn into a gummy mass that can mess up bearings.

2: An A's cooling system is not sealed, and sometimes the cars can burp or spew poisonous coolant onto your driveway (or the car's body).

And of course, cheapskates can save a few bucks by using straight water.

Doug

 

[azmodela]

I made a mistake just recently and ran just straight tap water in a fresh overhauled engine for about 100 miles during break-in. Never again. I can't believe the amount of flaking rust that I drained and flushed out, after I drained the engine and re-flushed the engine prior to filling the cooling system with 50/50 antifreeze mix.

This is likely the result of the rebuild process, and the water jackets not being flushed real well from that. The rust doesn't care too much if it's tap or distilled water. At least you didn't waste a bunch of antifreeze during that time!