Side Pipes leak....
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 572
Likes: 21
From: Milford, CT
Side Pipes leak....
I am thinking this is just normal but I need to ask.
On my 77 L48 4spd... I have hooker side headers and side pipes. I had degreased the motor over the winter in the car and had the manifold ports covered in plastic but a little water got in. When I got the motor back together and started it after a year of working on it I had water coming out of the side pipes. It was water from degreasing the motor. It burned off. I dropped the oil. It was perfectly clean. I changed it and the filter. A few times lately... I notice some water coming out of the side pipes when I first start the car. Its a very small amount but enough to make a little 2" diameter puddle. It reminds me of the condensation that comes out of the exhaust of a car when its first started. I see cars dripping out of their exhaust all the time. After it burns off... there is no more fluid coming out of the pipes. The motor has had a leak down test... there are no head gasket issues and my oil is perfectly clean. I have never owned a car with headers and side pipes. I am thinking this might be normal. Motor runs perfect with no issues. Oil pressure is great.
On my 77 L48 4spd... I have hooker side headers and side pipes. I had degreased the motor over the winter in the car and had the manifold ports covered in plastic but a little water got in. When I got the motor back together and started it after a year of working on it I had water coming out of the side pipes. It was water from degreasing the motor. It burned off. I dropped the oil. It was perfectly clean. I changed it and the filter. A few times lately... I notice some water coming out of the side pipes when I first start the car. Its a very small amount but enough to make a little 2" diameter puddle. It reminds me of the condensation that comes out of the exhaust of a car when its first started. I see cars dripping out of their exhaust all the time. After it burns off... there is no more fluid coming out of the pipes. The motor has had a leak down test... there are no head gasket issues and my oil is perfectly clean. I have never owned a car with headers and side pipes. I am thinking this might be normal. Motor runs perfect with no issues. Oil pressure is great.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,908
Likes: 129
From: Fredericksburg Virginia
This is very normal.
A small amount of water is a normal and ordinary by-product from the combustion process. In other exhaust systems, it can collect at the low points (muffler, cat, resonator) and burned off later so you don't see much of it. A hooker sidepipe system has NONE of these areas for water to 'hide', so it spittles out of the end of the pipe when cold.
As the car heats up, the exhaust/sidepipe system heats up. This heat vaporizes the water before it comes out of the end of the pipe. The water is always there, just not in liquid form. This is why the exhaust gas feels a little humid in your hand if placed in front of the exhaust discharge.
This is always why it is CRITICAL that the exhaust system be thoroughly heated every time you start the car. The PO of my car thought it a brilliant idea to start the Corvette for 5 minutes every couple of weeks. This resulted in water being deposited in the sidepipes every couple of weeks and the sidepipe system rusting through. It was swiss cheese by the time I got the car.
Start the car long enough to sizzle spit on the end of the sidepipe or don't start it at all. Anything in between is not good for the car or the exhaust.
Lots of luck, my friend. Enjoy the sidepipes. I know they DEFINE the personality of my car, and I love it.
K
A small amount of water is a normal and ordinary by-product from the combustion process. In other exhaust systems, it can collect at the low points (muffler, cat, resonator) and burned off later so you don't see much of it. A hooker sidepipe system has NONE of these areas for water to 'hide', so it spittles out of the end of the pipe when cold.
As the car heats up, the exhaust/sidepipe system heats up. This heat vaporizes the water before it comes out of the end of the pipe. The water is always there, just not in liquid form. This is why the exhaust gas feels a little humid in your hand if placed in front of the exhaust discharge.
This is always why it is CRITICAL that the exhaust system be thoroughly heated every time you start the car. The PO of my car thought it a brilliant idea to start the Corvette for 5 minutes every couple of weeks. This resulted in water being deposited in the sidepipes every couple of weeks and the sidepipe system rusting through. It was swiss cheese by the time I got the car.
Start the car long enough to sizzle spit on the end of the sidepipe or don't start it at all. Anything in between is not good for the car or the exhaust.
Lots of luck, my friend. Enjoy the sidepipes. I know they DEFINE the personality of my car, and I love it.
K
