Exhaust liquid
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 250
Likes: 1
Exhaust liquid
On my 82 I have true dual exhaust and after a couple of minutes of running, there's a lot of liquid beneath the drivers side exhaust pipe. It's strange because it's only coming out of one pipe and it didn't use to do that. It doesn't smell like gas but this concerns me. Does anyone know why it could be doing this? Thanks
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,697
Likes: 833
From: WI
Its primarily water, a byproduct of combustion, especially with ethonol in the gas. The hot exhaust gas cools down as it goes through the cool exhaust pipe and the moisture in the gas condenses. The condensate collects to form water drops, and that's where the water comes from. Not sure why it's coming out of one side only. I don't think 82's had a heat riser because they had header, unless yours has been changed and you have a heat riser. Otherwise, maybe it's dripping at a joint underneath your car or just collecting in your muffler and hasn't dripped out yet.
Last edited by Mark G; May 20, 2012 at 09:27 PM.
1969/1971/2021 Coupes
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,212
Likes: 80
From: Port Huron MI
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
I was saying to myself "now here we go" with the responses like, you have to drain that stuff every once in a while, or overflow from the radiator etc. Mark hit the nail on the head. Sometimes you'll see it at the exhaust tips too.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,908
Likes: 129
From: Fredericksburg Virginia
Water.
This is why it is EXTREMELY hurtful to an engine, and a car, to just start it once in a while, let it idle for 10 minutes, then turn it off.
That's what the PO did to my car for over 5 years. As a result, the sidepipes and baffle system is ABSOLUTELY SHOT. Rotten from the inside.
The car needs to be heated up and driven to the point that all of this excess moisture is 100% burned off/out by the ENTIRE exhaust system getting hot enough to do so. Header to exhaust tip.
As to why it's only coming out of one pipe, I have no clue. True dual? No crossover? Dual cats? Dunno. Maybe one cat works better than the other. Seems a smidge odd, but I don't know that I'd be overly concerned about it if everything is running right...
This is why it is EXTREMELY hurtful to an engine, and a car, to just start it once in a while, let it idle for 10 minutes, then turn it off.
That's what the PO did to my car for over 5 years. As a result, the sidepipes and baffle system is ABSOLUTELY SHOT. Rotten from the inside.
The car needs to be heated up and driven to the point that all of this excess moisture is 100% burned off/out by the ENTIRE exhaust system getting hot enough to do so. Header to exhaust tip.
As to why it's only coming out of one pipe, I have no clue. True dual? No crossover? Dual cats? Dunno. Maybe one cat works better than the other. Seems a smidge odd, but I don't know that I'd be overly concerned about it if everything is running right...
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Stick your fingers in that 'liquid' and rub them together to see if it makes your fingers slippery. If so, it may be coolant that is getting into the right-side head. Hope not. But, better check to be sure.