Exhaust question

[SuperKirby]

Don't worry, it's not about mufflers.

Instead, after reading one of the muffler posts on the modified Ex session, someone had put up a video of their exhaust to hear what it sounded like. Hmmm I thought. That's a good idea. I'd never really paid attention to hear what mine sounds like specifically after putting the Dynomax on it. So I walked out, put my phone at the end of it, start it up and run it.
To my horror, it looks quite steamy, and water dripping out the muffler. It's not so bad that I can see it sitting inside and looking in the mirror. But yeah, definitely noticeable from behind.
So my question is, what's normal? I don't seem to be consuming coolant much. I lose a real little bit, but I also think I have a small leak around my water pump. No bubbles in the overflow tank so I don't think it's head gaskets.
There's a very real possibility that I'm being paranoid and it's normal. It just looked bad to me? I'm at a bit of a crossroads with whether I should keep the Ex and keep putting money into it, or sell it and get an F150. I'm leaning towards keeping the Ex, but I want to be able to start putting money into the fun stuff, not have to keep fixing stuff. So yeah, am I just being paranoid? I hope so.

 

[gmbroy]

It could be something simple as just some condensation caused by the cats. After you have driven it for like 5 or ten miles take a look at the pipe & it should be normal . if you had a noticeable loss of coolant I would worry . But i dont think you have a problem . Hope this helps you out . There is no such thing as a stupid question . We are here to help & you will never find a better place to get help . have a good day George

 

[2stroke]

All exhaust build up moisture after sitting. You just have to learn to let the quirks go. Maybe you engine burns a quart of oil between changes, maybe you have a rattle, maybe you are just trying to be one of the guys that consistently gets over 20 mpg. Explorers make noises, they idle a little rough, you can really only expect 18 mpg average on the high end. Save your money and start putting it into fun stuff like the boat or dirt bike. I'm trying to save up for a KTM 300, probably pre 2007 with non linkage suspension.

 

[SuperKirby]

Thanks guys. I'm good with rattles, I accept that most days if I try to go over about 63 it's going to shake me to death, except on the days that it doesn't. Anything over 18 I get pretty happy about. The right front bushings creak like you wouldn't believe, and I should probably fix it but it's pretty tight so I haven't. I'm all for quirks.
I think for me, when I got it I had a head gasket leak and within the first month I spent a whole bunch of money and a couple days working on something I had no clue about. I got through it, and I think I did a good enough job, but still kind of waiting for something to go wrong. Like I said, paranoid.
On a side note, I don't think I need to start another hobby. I have money tied up in guns and hunting stuff than I care to think about. Though a buddy at work just offered me a killer deal on his Virago. Tempting...

 

[Anime]

Water is a normal byproduct of the catalytic conversion process. That's why steel exhausts tend to rust from the inside out, and some exhausts are stainless steel to last longer.

If the bushings are creaking, it's usually time to replace them. The front right ones, especially the radius arm bushings, go bad faster than the others since they are right next to the catalytic converter, so the bushings go through a lot of temperature cycles. They also get the most workout since the passenger front tire seems to hit the most bumps and potholes.

 

[acschilling]

I wouldn't worry too much about the condensation. Water is a by-product of proper combustion. Also exhaust leaks..

My experience:

My Explorer has a small exhaust leak on the passenger side where the manifold meets the y-pipe. I can only vaguely hear it. It's enough to suck in extra air as it cools. Denver has been getting murdered with rain the past 2 weeks (sorry Cali); after letting my Explorer sit a few days, on startup it looked like I dumped about 5 gallons of Seafoam via vacuum into my truck there was so much white smoke. Unusually moist air for an otherwise normally very dry climate. Once the truck warmed up 0 exhaust could/can be seen. Quirky.

Don't let it overheat; keep coolant topped. Change oil regularly. Me run you rong time!

Keep the Explorer!