Re: Water dripping from mufler

On Mon, 12 May 2008 11:22:34 -0500, tommyhorse wrote:

> I store my 2003 Silverado 1/2 ton over the winter.  I drive it
> occasionally when the roads are dry, maybe putting on 500 miles in 4
> months.  Once in awhile I back it out of the garage to get it out of
> the way then let it idle a few minutes to let the oil and coolant
> circulate and battery charge up.  The last couple of times, I’ve seen
> water dripping from the bottom seam of the mufler.  And it’s left a
> trail of water back into the garage when I’ve put it back in.  I
> assume this is water coming from the converter.  The sound from the
> exhaust hasn’t changed and I don’t see exhaust coming out of the
> mufler.  The trucks got 50,000 miles on a 5.3 l engine and with the
> original exhaust system.  Is the mufler shot?

Mufflers are made to allow condensation to exit. Internal moisture buildup
is the exhaust system's #1 nemesis on a normally operating vehicle. And
very often mufflers and tail pipes on vehicles driven for short durations
as to not let them warm completely corrode faster than a well driven
vehicle. Some vehicles like the Honda are so efficient that the exhaust is
too cool at the end of its travel thus hastening the corrosion process.