Muffler leaking water question

[dud]

I just bought a 2004 Nissan Frontier. I pulled the truck out of the garage this morning and noticed a pool of water on the garage floor. I checked under the truck and found that the stock muffler has a pinhole on the intake side with water shooting out of it. The muffler is mounted at about a 30 degree angle to the ground with the intake side being lower, where water would collect. I figure that this is part of the muffler design to drain water from the exhaust system quickly and efficiently - it seems to work fine. I live in Florida and with the high humidity water can really collect fast.

Anyone else ever notice this feature in their vehicle?

 

[slag]

yes, there is a thread about this very thing over at the F150 forums. Not all mufflers have pinholes in them however.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I've never noticed a pinhole, but often see water dripping out of the exhaust of my vehicles. It just happens.....

If you see another '04 Frontier out somewhere and catch the owner, ask them if they notice anything or just check under the vehicle (without looking suspicious) to see if you spot a puddle forming.

 

[dud]

I can immagine how a mulfler could rust out in short order (from the inside out) without this design feature.

 

[Phoenix86]

Doesn't the A/C cause this excess water? I notice this on almost every car in the summer.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Phoenix86
Doesn't the A/C cause this excess water? I notice this on almost every car in the summer.

That's totally seperate. AFAIK this is just condensation.

 

[Ladies Man]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: Phoenix86
Doesn't the A/C cause this excess water? I notice this on almost every car in the summer.

That's totally seperate. AFAIK this is just condensation.

I thought water was one of the byproducts of combustion?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Ladies Man

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: Phoenix86
Doesn't the A/C cause this excess water? I notice this on almost every car in the summer.

That's totally seperate. AFAIK this is just condensation.

I thought water was one of the byproducts of combustion?

It is. Condensation happens when moisture in the air changes to liquid form because of a drop in temperature.

 

[dud]

The condensation from the A/C is near the fron of the vehicle from condensation on the A/C coil. The issue I was discussing was that my new muffler actually has a hole in it design to purge any moisture from the unit by using exhaust pressure.

When humid air is taken into an engine and compressed the water (in the air) tend to condense in liquid form. Some of this can and will get trapped in the muffler. In my case Nissan included a totally passive way of getting rid of this water by using exhaust pressure. When I first saw it I said "crap, I've got a hole in my new muffler." Thankfully it was apparently designed that way.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: dud
The condensation from the A/C is near the fron of the vehicle from condensation on the A/C coil. The issue I was discussing was that my new muffler actually has a hole in it design to purge any moisture from the unit by using exhaust pressure.

When humid air is taken into an engine and compressed the water (in the air) tend to condense in liquid form. Some of this can and will get trapped in the muffler. In my case Nissan included a totally passive way of getting rid of this water by using exhaust pressure. When I first saw it I said "crap, I've got a hole in my new muffler." Thankfully it was apparently designed that way.

WTF?

Water is formed in the exhaust system by being the by-product of combustion. The by-products of perfect combustion are water and CO2. Since no engine is going to give you that you will also get CO and NO2 along with CO2 and H2O.

This has absolutely nothing to do with relative humidity of outside air.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: dud
The condensation from the A/C is near the fron of the vehicle from condensation on the A/C coil. The issue I was discussing was that my new muffler actually has a hole in it design to purge any moisture from the unit by using exhaust pressure.

When humid air is taken into an engine and compressed the water (in the air) tend to condense in liquid form. Some of this can and will get trapped in the muffler. In my case Nissan included a totally passive way of getting rid of this water by using exhaust pressure. When I first saw it I said "crap, I've got a hole in my new muffler." Thankfully it was apparently designed that way.

WTF?

Water is formed in the exhaust system by being the by-product of combustion. The by-products of perfect combustion are water and CO2. Since no engine is going to give you that you will also get CO and NO2 along with CO2 and H2O.

This has absolutely nothing to do with relative humidity of outside air.

The combustion itself has nothing to do with the formation of nitrogen oxides. It's the temperature of the resulting exhaust that assists in their production.

And carbon, of course, is also produced in an incomplete combustion reaction.

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: Phoenix86
Doesn't the A/C cause this excess water? I notice this on almost every car in the summer.

That's totally seperate. AFAIK this is just condensation.

This is not just condensation. The combustion process produces quite a bit of water, but it all burns off before exiting the exhaust system due to high temps. In the morning, the water you see draining out is part of the combustion process as well as condensation before the exhaust can really heat up.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

the pin hole is to release condensation to prevent any varnish or rust, it's normal, if you drive your car a decent distance you won't have any water condensating there. (cheap mufflers, and the really really good mufflers don't do this) the really good mufflers are made out of materials that won't rust or varnish, the cheap mufflers just don't care, as you drive down the road most of it will evaporate, but you'll go through the muffler quicker if you don't drive distances very often.

edit: almost forgot, most gasolines have water in them (yes I said water) the state regulations vary on the permitable percentages (If I remember right Texas was less than or equal to 5% in 2000, I really don't know about current regulations though), this water will vaporize along with your fuel, and since it doesn't actually have a chain reaction with the internal combustion it will also condensate in your catalytic converter and muffler.