Engine Water from tailpipe bad?

[Wes92Gt]

My 1992 gt is mostly stock except for bbk shorty headers and an off road h-pipe. Lately its been dripping a lot of water out of the tailpipe. Ive done some research and some say its normal while others say its signs of engine problems. Im wondering if the fact that the exhaust has no cats, that this is the reason for the water, but the engine has 128,000 miles and the water has a slight "sweet smell" to it. Also its been around 40 degrees outside and i don't know if that contributing to the water. Is this a sign of bad head gaskets? Ill post a picture tomorrow of the exhaust with the car running tomorrow.

 

[RangerJoe]

Are you loosing antifreeze? It is fairly normal with the cold weather. I let mine run in the garage for about ten minutes yesterday, and had two puddles of water when i was done. Just keep an eye on your coolant levels and maybe check your plugs for anything out of the ordinary. Joe

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Normally I'd say not to worry, but the "sweet smell" concerns me. Stick your finger in the tailpipe and taste the water. Check for coolant loss. Check your oil to see if it's starting to turn a "creamy' brown, from the normal dark brown.

Colder outdoor temps will cause more condensation, as Joe stated. Usually though...once the vehicle has been brought up to operating temperature and the exhaust has gotten good and hot, most of said condensation should all but disappear (or at least not accumulate to any great amount) by then.

 

[Wes92Gt]

Thanks for your guys input! I'll check the oil and coolant level tomorrow and I'll pull the plugs as well. I'll post some pics too. -Wes

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Sometimes a blown head gasket will make the coolant smell like exhaust, too. You can also let the engine warm up with the radiator cap off and keep an eye out for fine bubbles. I did both to identify a BHG on a Toyota truck I had. It was using water, but the spark plugs and exhaust showed no signs.

A compression test can also identify which cylinders are leaking.

 

[Wes92Gt]

Spark plugs look good...
Compression at (90 psi)..

No bubbles in coolant...

This is what the exhaust looks like after 10 secs of running after sitting over-night (45 degrees outside)

After a minute or two, the exhaust leaves water on the ground...





I drove the car around until it got to temp (180 degrees) most of the exhaust stopped smoking but it could still be seen. So after my observations im guessing the head gaskets are still good although i didnt have time to check all the cylinders. Im still gonna look into it some more but the exhaust still concerns me.

 

[Wes92Gt]

for some reason the pics arent showing but hopefully you get the idea

 

[larrym1961]

I had the same concerns as you are right now one time when I seemed to have what I thought was a lot of water & steam coming out of my exhaust, esspecially this time of year. I also did all checks for a possible leaking Head gasket and all checked good and I also kept a close eye on my coolant level. Level has allways stayed @ the same level in radiator and overflow tank. So I came to the conclusion it is only moisture in the exhaust system and I don't worry about it.

 

[Wes92Gt]

Good! its nice hearing that! sometimes i think i just worry too much about petty stuff

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Compression at (90 psi)..

On one cylinder or all of them? Throttle open or closed? Engine hot or cold?

 

[Wes92Gt]

Engine cold, all 4 cylinders on driver side, throttle closed...im not really worried about it. It was a lot nicer outside today and there was no smoke coming out of the exhaust today

 

[65ShelbyClone]

throttle closed

Compression tests are supposed to be done with the throttle open...

 

[mikestang63]

doesnt sound like you have a bad HG, but the surefire way to check is to go to Autozone and rent an coolant gas test kit. It will measure the amount of exhaust in your coolant. If the fluid color changes from blue to yellow/green, bad news.