Coolant fluid question

[E Kap]

1999 C4 with about 87,000 miles. Friday I had a coolant leak from a rubber tube with a small hole. Thankfully, i could easily see the leak and had a garage located close cut the end of the tubing and reinstall it. I think I lost about 1/2 gallon of coolant. He replaced it with water. The car is driving fine, no further leaks and the temperature is unchanged from prior to the leak. I live in Tampa, Florida with temperatures about 85 these days. Here is my question. Do I need to do a coolant flush and replace with new coolant, or is it fine to drive the car as is with the water replacement?

[logray]

1/2 gallon of water should be fine. The car holds 6 gallons of coolant, so it wasn't diluted down too much.

You could get a cheap coolant hydrometer at any auto parts store and check the concentration of the coolant, but I'm sure it's fine, esp. for FL driving.

If it was regular tap water you might want to consider a flush and refill (using only Porsche or compatible coolant), because the minerals in tap water could cause deposits to build up. But in that quantity, it might not be enough to worry about..

This is why distilled water is always recommended for top offs.

Turns out water is actually better at dissipating heat than anti-freeze! Race cars run pretty much straight water for coolant.

Edited October 9, 2011 by logray