Hello everyone,

This weekend noticed dripping from my muffler in my 2000 4.2L std tranny
f150. Turns out the bottom of muffler is rotting out. Only has 11k miles. Am
surprised this happened so quickly. I live in SoCal so salted roads and
weather is not a factor.
Anyone else notice premature rusting of exhaust on these?

Thanks

With only 11,000 miles in 4 years, I'd suspect the vehicle doesn't get
warmed up on a regular basis. A good 30 minute run down the highway daily
is required for a full warm up to keep the moisture out of the oil AND the
exhaust system. Also, the muffler may have a drain hole in it allowing
excess water out.

--
Steve
=======================
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"V8TR4" <v8tr4 (AT) advprodtek (DOT) com> wrote

That is exactly what I told my wife, it's actually her truck. I also
explained how some people would say that dual exhaust was a problem because
it took longer to heat up and clear out residual water.
I was just very surprised it happend so quickly, niether my mustang GT or my
TR4 have had this problem and the TR gets driven even less. I have rescently
gotten a MIG welder and was going to patch the muffler and also put in a
drain hole.

Thanks for your input

"Steve Barker" <railphotonut (AT) not (DOT) hotmail.com> wrote

You may live in Southern California, but judging by your mileage, you
make a lot of short trips. Short trips generate a lot of moisture, but
they don't get the exhaust system hot enough to keep the water in vapor
form, so in tends to collect in the muffler. Guess what, warm water
promotes rust, particularly when there is a little sulfuric acid hanging
around (generated in the catalytic convertor because of trace amounts of
sulfur in the fuel). F150's aren't the only vehicle that eat mufflers.
My Sister's Honda Civic just ate one and I thought it had a stainless
steel exhaust system (guess I was wrong). She is a teacher and her
school is less than 3 miles from her home.

Regards,

Ed White

V8TR4 wrote:

V8TR4 wrote:
The Mustang most likely has a stainless steel exhaust system. My 2001 GT
did.

Regards,

Ed White

Are you sure it's rotted out? There is a small hole placed in the muffler
for condensation drainage. Not doubting your judgment, but I have seen some
confusion before. It's very rare for a muffler to rust out with the few
miles as you have.

John

"C. E. White" <cewhite3 (AT) mindspring (DOT) com> wrote