Just changed my radiator and I have water coming from my tail pipe...

Hello Group! I have 1989 Thunderbird with the infamous 3.8L V6 engines. About a month ago I attempted to flush my radiator due to my car overheating and not trying to blow the head gasket. The radiator was clogged badly. So I got a brand new radiator for $80 and installed it today. After I got it in and fired it up, I noticed a lot of water coming from my tail pipe. So, I took it for a test run, still drips but not as bad as it first did. Now, I've been told that water from the tail pipe is normal. Should I go with the info I've gotten or do I need to dig deeper into it all to find the cause. I know that my Tbird is prone to blow head gaskets, new radiator is a temp fix until I can afford one of those nice 4.6L V8's for it. Or could it be the water pump, and if it is the cause, why? I just changed it 13 months ago when I purchased it with a Motorcraft water pump. Please help!

Reply to
gw636
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Your water pump is fine. Water coming out of the tail pipe is normal when starting a cold engine, the water is from condensation in the muffler and tail pipe because it is colder than the exhaust going thru it. After the engine warms up to operating temperature, the water should not continue to come out. Is the weather real cold? If so, it may continue longer.

Reply to
ihcnut via CarKB.com

Thank you for the info. No cold weather in sunny Florida. The only other thing I can think of is that due to the radiator not being able to drain properly, I disconnected the lower hose to flush the radiator. I just got back from checking all the fluids and she is running great!

Reply to
gw636

Maybe your radiator failed because of the bad head gaskets. I would pull your sparkplugs and look for one that is too clean compared to the rest. Then you have your answer.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Urz

This is normal. Just keep an eye on the coolant level. Even if you DID have a leak in your cooling system, it would not come out as water but come out as steam.

Reply to
RT

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