# Dripping muffler



## dougp23 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hi everyone. 

Went to look at a used truck today, it appears to be in excellent shape (as far as the frame and undercarriage go). When he put it on the lift and brought it up, water was leaking out of the front of the muffler....he said that was nothing to worry about. They all say that about EVERYTHING, lol! 

Is it anything to worry about? The truck has sat for most of the winter, if that helps any.

Thank you!


----------



## iamrfixit (Jan 30, 2011)

Some water is normal, will be most noticeable when driving short trips where the engine does not reach full operating temperature. The catalytic converter that is just ahead of the muffler contains a catalyst that actually converts CO and unburned hydrocarbons into CO2 and water as the vehicle is driven. Once the vehicle has been driven long enough to fully reach operating temp the moisture is mostly burned off. As the exhaust cools back off after being driven water tends to condense and collect in the muffler.


----------



## danpik (Sep 11, 2011)

Most water in exhaust systems is from condensation. A cool exhaust system does not allow for the hot gasses to maintain the water as vapor. As the gas moves thru the system it condenses out and lays in the pipes and muffler. As the system warms up, the water stays in a vapor state as the dew point is exceeded. Once the system is hot enough, it will also evaporate all the excess water in the system as well. Starting the truck up and driving it into the shop probably produced about a half quart of water that mostly went out the pipe. However due to the cold system some of it condensed out and collected in the muffler


----------



## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Normal part of combustion. That is why they typically have hole/drains in the mufflers.


----------



## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

Yep^^^^^ That's what the peep hole is for.


----------



## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

yep. not only normal, but good. if it didn't leak, the water would stay in there and rust out the muffler faster.


----------



## 1985gt (Jan 8, 2011)

My 05 will leak most of the time, so does dad's 12. when it's idling. No cause for concern like others stated, that is unless you can hook a garden hose up and water the yard with the flow.


----------



## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Ahem: Excuse me but if the "condensation" continues long after warm up, and continues very long. You have a blown head gasket, cracked cylinder head, cracked cylinder wall. one of these or all of these.

RUN 


ED


----------



## 1985gt (Jan 8, 2011)

de-nagorg said:


> Ahem: Excuse me but if the "condensation" continues long aftyourarm up, and continues very long. You have a blown head gasket, cracked cylinder head, cracked cylinder wall. one of these or all of these.
> 
> RUN
> 
> ...


Water is a byproduct of the combustion process. Its in a vapor form unti it jas a chance to condense in the exhaust system. 

A blown head gasket or a problem like you described you would see coolant mixed with youe oil or a lot of white smoke coming out of the tail pipe.


----------



## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

1985gt said:


> Water is a byproduct of the combustion process. Its in a vapor form unti it jas a chance to condense in the exhaust system.
> 
> A blown head gasket or a problem like you described you would see coolant mixed with youe oil or a lot of white smoke coming out of the tail pipe.


not necessarily!

ED


----------



## 1985gt (Jan 8, 2011)

The coolant would then have a passage to the combustion chambet and/or oil and vice versa. It would be seen somewhere oil, exhaust, or ground. Or you would have oil in th coolant


----------



## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

And again NOT NECESSARILY!


----------



## 1985gt (Jan 8, 2011)

Where would it go?


----------



## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

A fact: last fall I had to replace the heads on my ride. due to the coolant was going somewhere but not in the oil, the oil was not going into the coolant either. 
Seems that there was a microscopic crack in each head, that was only leaking coolant after warm up, and was not smoking, nor flowing . leaking just enough that I needed to add coolant after 500 miles or so. And dripping very slowly from the tail pipe. 

Would go into the combustion chamber out the exhaust valve, into the cat, through the muffler and drip every 2 to 3 minutes at the tail pipe. 
A very slow leak but still a leak in the cylinder heads. This stumped many " professional techs". 

But With my 50 plus years experience with vehicle repair, and some mechanical intelligence and insight I got it corrected. 

Yes I saw where you stated that you had a "DEGREE" in automotive repair. 
So do I plus more than likely a few years more experience, I have seen things that many people have not even thought of happening to the automobile. 

So as I said not necessarily!

ED


----------



## 1985gt (Jan 8, 2011)

So your saying the coolant went in to the exhaust....


----------



## Marqed97 (Mar 19, 2011)

de-nagorg said:


> A fact: last fall I had to replace the heads on my ride. due to the coolant was going somewhere but not in the oil, the oil was not going into the coolant either. Seems that there was a microscopic crack in each head, that was only leaking coolant after warm up, and was not smoking, nor flowing . leaking just enough that I needed to add coolant after 500 miles or so. And dripping very slowly from the tail pipe. Would go into the combustion chamber out the exhaust valve, into the cat, through the muffler and drip every 2 to 3 minutes at the tail pipe. A very slow leak but still a leak in the cylinder heads. This stumped many " professional techs". But With my 50 plus years experience with vehicle repair, and some mechanical intelligence and insight I got it corrected. Yes I saw where you stated that you had a "DEGREE" in automotive repair. So do I plus more than likely a few years more experience, I have seen things that many people have not even thought of happening to the automobile. So as I said not necessarily! ED


I've seen things like this happen too. However, a properly used emissions tester will ALWAYS sniff out the hydrocarbons in the coolant. Because the pressure caused by combustion in the suspect cylinder will ALWAYS push back through the same crack that the coolant may be using to get into the cylinder. And there will always be more pressure pushed back through that crack during a combustion event than coolant coming back simply due to the huge pressure differential present. Saw a ton of them on 3.0 2 valve v6's. 5 minute test with an exhaust sniffer will always show even the tiniest crack. 

In response to the OP's question, if it seems to be running fine, I wouldn't worry one bit.


----------



## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

1985gt said:


> So your saying the coolant went in to the exhaust....


:laughing::laughing:

Umm...not necessarily but maybe....:whistling2:


----------

