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Water in Exhaust system

shaddady34

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Maryland
My jeep has constant water drippage from the tailpipe while running. What is causing the water to get through and what should I do to fix it?? thanks
 
It may just be condensation. Under the right conditions (relative humidity), the motor moves quite a bit of moisture through the cylinders along with the air. The main reason exhaust systems often rust from the inside out.
It may also be a leaky headgasket and you are pumping some coolant out the exhaust. Is your coolant level going down? Does the motor run rough especially at startup? If you are pumping coolant out the exhaust, let some drip on a paper towel and look at the color, if the moisture is tinted the same color as your antifreeze you know you have a head gasket problem for sure.
 
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Water comming out of the tail pipe in cold weather is normal and common and occurs on startup and for a few minutes afterwards, until the exhaust system warms up.
 
Don't do anything to fix it - it's actually indicative that the catalytic converter is working properly. H2O is part of the catalytic breakdown...
 
Yucca-Man said:
Don't do anything to fix it - it's actually indicative that the catalytic converter is working properly. H2O is part of the catalytic breakdown...
You know, thats what I have always thought. But recently in one of my hvac classes we found out that water vapor is part of the combustion process. And the professor pointed out that is why you see water coming out from the tail pipes of vehicles.

Im still not sure, maybe both add to it.
 
I researched how much water vapor is in a cubic yard of air awhile back, at a hundred percent humidity. My results (converting form metric to American) said about an ounce of water for every cubic yard of air (my math may be questionable, but likely near correct) pumped through the motor. Likely turned to steam during combustion and then a portion recondensed on the muffler inner walls, back to a liquid.
 
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