well, after the rediculously cold winter we just had i finaly jumped the dead battery on the formula to get it moving this year. i didnt drive it all winter as i was having problems with injectors according to my mechanic last fall.

turned the key and she fired right up lke she was supposed to.sawa small stream of fluid running out of the back. nothing too bad . nothing that caused any alarm. as i let it itdle there. i didnt notice it slowing down. . once i bent over i saw water dribbling out of the muffler (not tailpipe) at a decent rate. as if you had just slightly turned a faucet on.

this got my head to spinning. i know i checked the antifreeze and was protected to like -10 or something that fall. and unfortunatly let her sleep in the snow this winter since the garage was full of remodeling junk.

did it actually get so cold that i busted something or an i over-reacting?

------------------

Probably just condensation. That's totally normal. If you're getting any coolant in the exhaust, you can probably smell it.
Put your hand over the exhaust pipe and see if it smells like anti-freeze or if the liquid has that slick feel like anti-freeze. Chances are it's clear water - just collected condensation in the exhaust. That should clear up after the car fully warms up and you drive it some.

Edit to add: if the water is coming from the muffler, not the tailpipe, that sounds like you have a hole in the muffler. Where exactly is the leak? Muffler body? Pipe to the muffler? The Fiero exhaust is stainless steel, so it shouldn't rust out, even if it sat with water in the muffler all winter. (not uncommon if the car was stored all winter outside in a cold climate)

[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 04-10-2007).]

I wouldn't worry too much about water dribbling out of your tail pipe. The products of combustion are carbon and of course water. I thought the same
thing you did whenever I seen water trickling out of someone tail pipe untill I took chem in high school.

Take Care!

Jesse

------------------

I have a Formula and based upon the angle of the exhaust pipes and which way it is facing when a storm blows in catches rain water in the outlet. When it has been sitting for several months and I start it up you'd think I left the faucet on. Your Cat. converter produces some water from it's normal operation but is most noticeable on start up until it warms up.

[This message has been edited by Mike Murphy (edited 04-10-2007).]

When you run your engine infrequently like that be sure to let it warm up FULLY so as to evaporate all that water out of the exhaust and to not sludge up your engine. I run mine about every 2 weeks thru the winter for about an hour each time to make sure its up to operating temp.

There is supposed to be a hole in the muffler; a small drain hole is in each end at the bottom. Water vapor is a normal product of combustion; when it condenses in the cold exhaust system it's the water you see dripping from the tailpipes and muffler. If those holes weren't there, the muffler would fill with water.

*WHEW!*

then ill jump it again and let her run for a bit.


thanks for all the feedback. ill post a pic as wel of the drain hole mentioned above.

------------------