Mitsubishi Repair: 1996 mit. eclipse 4 cyl, my..., water issue, white smoke


Question
1996 mit. eclipse 4 cyl, my car seems to have a water issue, when I start the car at first no problem when it warms up water spits from the muffler. ( clear water) there is no anti freeze smell to it, the radiator and over flow is up to where it should be, there is no water in the oil,
and the car just smokes (white) REALLY bad this happened once after getting gas but cleared up and now its starting agian. at one point I stucl a long paper towel in the muffler and it was soaked with water. Any clues? N. Marchand

Answer
Norman,
Believe it or not, this is normal.  The water you found is caused by the condensation of the cold air against your hot muffle after you first turn off the engine.  This happens more frequently in the colder months, and almost is unnoticable in the warmer summer months.  All the white smoke you see is water turning to steam as the hot exhaust gas warms it up.

The only problem that this can cause is over time, that water in your muffler (and through out the rest of your exhaust system) will slowly cause your exhaust system to rust from the inside out.  Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about this.  But most exhaust systems will sustain at least 10 years before they need to be replaced.