Is it normal to find water dripping from under cabin and from exhaust?

[Slash3040]

I understand the air conditioner condensates but today I have noticed that up my exhaust pipe, I would say right where it bends under the truck, seems to have a leak almost as if a hole is there.

I also noticed more water dripping from under my cab onto my driveway. I couldn’t find the source of this water but there’s some brackets that had some water drops.

I am 100% sure the drips were water and I normally wouldn’t worry about condensation, but is my concern valid or does Ford put exits for water to escape intentionally through the truck?

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[RedlandRanger]

I understand the air conditioner condensates but today I have noticed that up my exhaust pipe, I would say right where it bends under the truck, seems to have a leak almost as if a hole is there.

I also noticed more water dripping from under my cab onto my driveway. I couldn’t find the source of this water but there’s some brackets that had some water drops.

I am 100% sure the drips were water and I normally wouldn’t worry about condensation, but is my concern valid or does Ford put exits for water to escape intentionally through the truck?

I'm not sure whether Ford put exits for water vapor but water is a by product of good combustion.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I understand the air conditioner condensates but today I have noticed that up my exhaust pipe, I would say right where it bends under the truck, seems to have a leak almost as if a hole is there.

I also noticed more water dripping from under my cab onto my driveway. I couldn’t find the source of this water but there’s some brackets that had some water drops.

I am 100% sure the drips were water and I normally wouldn’t worry about condensation, but is my concern valid or does Ford put exits for water to escape intentionally through the truck?

Hi Sam,

Water from the tailpipe can be normal and as RP pointed out warming up the exhaust to get the water vapor out of the system helps longevity of the exhaust system. But dripping from a bracket is puzzling. Where is this bracket? Is it an exhaust hanger? Need a bit more info, but in relation to the front of the vehicle, where is this dripping located. As for 100% water. As gross as this seems, dip your finger into the drip and put it on the back of your wrist. Taste with the tip of your tongue. If you sense sweetness, you have a coolant leak. If no taste...probably condensate or rain water collecting somewhere. This is where your description of exactly where the dripping occurs is key

A back story. I had a neighbor down the street from me in Michigan come to me to help as her Chevy dealer could not solve her oil leak onto the floor of her garage. So to her credit, she bought a roll of brown wrapping paper and taped it to the garage floor. She collected the dripping and took it to the dealership which blew her off with her roll of wrapping paper. I unrolled the paper to verify the oil and then we went to her garage and I unrolled it. Drip was from the oil filter...Reached up and tightened the filter...no dripping after I wiped off the area with an old rag she had.

Take away. Where is this water drip located....

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Slash3040]

Hi Sam,

Water from the tailpipe can be normal and as RP pointed out warming up the exhaust to get the water vapor out of the system helps longevity of the exhaust system. But dripping from a bracket is puzzling. Where is this bracket? Is it an exhaust hanger? Need a bit more info, but in relation to the front of the vehicle, where is this dripping located. As for 100% water. As gross as this seems, dip your finger into the drip and put it on the back of your wrist. Taste with the tip of your tongue. If you sense sweetness, you have a coolant leak. If no taste...probably condensate or rain water collecting somewhere. This is where your description of exactly where the dripping occurs is key

A back story. I had a neighbor down the street from me in Michigan come to me to help as her Chevy dealer could not solve her oil leak onto the floor of her garage. So to her credit, she bought a roll of brown wrapping paper and taped it to the garage floor. She collected the dripping and took it to the dealership which blew her off with her roll of wrapping paper. I unrolled the paper to verify the oil and then we went to her garage and I unrolled it. Drip was from the oil filter...Reached up and tightened the filter...no dripping after I wiped off the area with an old rag she had.

Take away. Where is this water drip located....

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Thanks for the reply Phil,

it is indeed water because the only way I could tell what the drip is was tasting it lol. I’m not really a car guy so I can’t tell you the exact name of the area it was dripping but it was like I said dripping from a bracket but directly above the bracket wasn’t wet at all. I thought maybe water was dripping somewhere else and just landed on this bracket and ran down hill until it found a place to drip. My friend who is a suburu mechanic told me it’s very likely condensation from the a/c and it’s nothing at all to worry about.
I just never looked up under my truck before lol

 

[rydfree]

Hi Sam,

Water from the tailpipe can be normal and as RP pointed out warming up the exhaust to get the water vapor out of the system helps longevity of the exhaust system. But dripping from a bracket is puzzling. Where is this bracket? Is it an exhaust hanger? Need a bit more info, but in relation to the front of the vehicle, where is this dripping located. As for 100% water. As gross as this seems, dip your finger into the drip and put it on the back of your wrist. Taste with the tip of your tongue. If you sense sweetness, you have a coolant leak. If no taste...probably condensate or rain water collecting somewhere. This is where your description of exactly where the dripping occurs is key

A back story. I had a neighbor down the street from me in Michigan come to me to help as her Chevy dealer could not solve her oil leak onto the floor of her garage. So to her credit, she bought a roll of brown wrapping paper and taped it to the garage floor. She collected the dripping and took it to the dealership which blew her off with her roll of wrapping paper. I unrolled the paper to verify the oil and then we went to her garage and I unrolled it. Drip was from the oil filter...Reached up and tightened the filter...no dripping after I wiped off the area with an old rag she had.

Take away. Where is this water drip located....

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

This thread came up in my search for water out of the tailpipe so I'll just tack my inquiry to it as well . I've never had a vehicle drip so much water from the tailpipe as the new Ranger does . This thing leaves large puddles everywhere on my garage floor . There is also a smaller drip from the muffler weep hole area . Both leave a lot of sooty residue on the floor after drying . My wife's car and the Jeep leave absolutely nothing and I never had anything from my '07 F-150 that I parked in the same spot . Is this a turbo thing and what do you do to keep your floors looking nice ?

 

[Iowa Guy]

I understand the air conditioner condensates but today I have noticed that up my exhaust pipe, I would say right where it bends under the truck, seems to have a leak almost as if a hole is there.

I also noticed more water dripping from under my cab onto my driveway. I couldn’t find the source of this water but there’s some brackets that had some water drops.

I am 100% sure the drips were water and I normally wouldn’t worry about condensation, but is my concern valid or does Ford put exits for water to escape intentionally through the truck?

Yes, they do, water drainage/managment, is a huge deal for all the oem's directly related to body rust and warranty claim issues

 

[Motorpsychology]

This thread came up in my search for water out of the tailpipe so I'll just tack my inquiry to it as well . I've never had a vehicle drip so much water from the tailpipe as the new Ranger does . This thing leaves large puddles everywhere on my garage floor . There is also a smaller drip from the muffler weep hole area . Both leave a lot of sooty residue on the floor after drying . My wife's car and the Jeep leave absolutely nothing and I never had anything from my '07 F-150 that I parked in the same spot . Is this a turbo thing and what do you do to keep your floors looking nice ?

10-4. This is one of those "They all do that" things that is actually true. It appears to me that you have a bare concrete floor in your garage. For really tough stains, muriatic acid or laundry bleach will work on non oily ones- be sure the garage door stays open until the fumes have dissipated. There might be a lighter color where the bleach was used.

I would recommend putting a concrete sealer on it if it hasn't been done in the last ten years. This will make cleanup of most any spills or drippings easier. On tougher stains, spray on Simple Green, scrub in and let it sit for ~ten minutes then rinse.

Epoxy garage floor paint makes clean up easier, but is more expensive than sealer, and the cheaper stuff will need to be reapplied more often. You get what you pay for.

Finally, there are stain resistant floor tiles like Race Deck. They are snap-together tiles and are extremely durable. I have them in my garage and are holding up extremely well after 7 years of tracking in road sand & salt in our winters, even brake fluid doesn't affect them. My Ranger's "territory markings" wipe off with a damp rag.

Beyond parking outside in the grass or gravel, there's not much else you can do about it leaking.

 

[rydfree]

10-4. This is one of those "They all do that" things that is actually true. It appears to me that you have a bare concrete floor in your garage. For really tough stains, muriatic acid or laundry bleach will work on non oily ones- be sure the garage door stays open until the fumes have dissipated. There might be a lighter color where the bleach was used.

I would recommend putting a concrete sealer on it if it hasn't been done in the last ten years. This will make cleanup of most any spills or drippings easier. On tougher stains, spray on Simple Green, scrub in and let it sit for ~ten minutes then rinse.

Epoxy garage floor paint makes clean up easier, but is more expensive than sealer, and the cheaper stuff will need to be reapplied more often. You get what you pay for.

Finally, there are stain resistant floor tiles like Race Deck. They are snap-together tiles and are extremely durable. I have them in my garage and are holding up extremely well after 7 years of tracking in road sand & salt in our winters, even brake fluid doesn't affect them. My Ranger's "territory markings" wipe off with a damp rag.

Beyond parking outside in the grass or gravel, there's not much else you can do about it leaking.

Yep it is bare concrete right now as I was going to wait until warm weather reappears to seal it . The tiles were the plan over that . I just hadn't worried about it until I got the Ranger since the other two vehicles don't leave marks . I suppose I will clean it this weekend and then put something to catch it in the meantime .
Thanks

 

[MountainGoat]

I have the same thing. But mine comes from the bottom of the muffler, like there is a hole in the bottom of it. At first I thought it was a diff leak but no it looks like an exhaust leak. WTF I just hit 14k miles, shouldn't have a hole in it so soon.

 

[daniel3507]

I get it a little from the tailpipe but I think most from the muffler. The seams are at the bottom which is where I get it from.

 

[JesseS]

My 21 leaves a good amount of water and soot colored water on the floor if I haven't run it in a couple of days, especially if I let it warm up in the garage. But being a long time wrench I just took one look where it was coming from and knew it was condensate, but man it drips a lot, good thing I have epoxy floors so it wipes right up. I now back out of the garage in idle as soon as I start it up.

 

[Motorpsychology]

Yep it is bare concrete right now as I was going to wait until warm weather reappears to seal it . The tiles were the plan over that . I just hadn't worried about it until I got the Ranger since the other two vehicles don't leave marks . I suppose I will clean it this weekend and then put something to catch it in the meantime .
Thanks

You may find that it's dripping once every few feet as you back out of the garage; mine does, though not every time. When we moved to the townhome. there was a greasy FOD patch where the previous owner's Olds Bravada was parked on the bare concrete floor.

• Scraped it
• Scrubbed with Gunk Concrete Cleaner twice
• Two coats of sealer
• Race Deck interlocking tiles. I'd advise against getting the diamond plate pattern if you go this route. It does't squeegee very well when pushing water off. First world problem

 

[rydfree]

You may find that it's dripping once every few feet as you back out of the garage; mine does, though not every time. When we moved to the townhome. there was a greasy FOD patch where the previous owner's Olds Bravada was parked on the bare concrete floor.

• Scraped it
• Scrubbed with Gunk Concrete Cleaner twice
• Two coats of sealer
• Race Deck interlocking tiles. I'd advise against getting the diamond plate pattern if you go this route. It does't squeegee very well when pushing water off. First world problem

Yes it does indeed leave a trail of spots as I back out also , but the tip area just puddles up excessively it seems . (There's a joke in there somewhere ,LOL)

Good to know about the tiles . I had the diamond tread as one of my options . That makes sense , thanks

 

[MountainGoat]

I get it a little from the tailpipe but I think most from the muffler. The seams are at the bottom which is where I get it from.

That's what mine looks like too. It's more on the other side of the lip, but exact same location

 

[got3fords]

Of all the high mileage Ford's I have owned, I have never had to replace stock exhaust components. They seem to last forever. I wouldn't worry about a little water dripping from it.

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