Muffler Bad Or Sad?

[SnowStorm]

Today I'm looking under the back to see how the tires are wearing (quite well actually) and, horror of horrors, I see a small hole in the muffler with black stains streaking back from it.  I start calling around for a replacement.  No one seems to have it - dealer item.  Its $250 online, closest dealer says about $340 and several days to get it.  I call the dealer where I bought the car and got a price of about $440 installed but was then kindly (!) informed that mufflers have "weep holes" to let the water out and some streaks therefrom could be expected after 137k miles!  Well, the little hole is right at the bottom where a "weep hole" might happily live (see photo) so I think I'll just let it have a good cry.  Now I'm wondering:

• Has anyone else heard of this weep hole or seen it on their muffler?
• Does anyone else have streaks coming back from it?

 

P.S.  I suppose this might have been a good chance for an unethical dealer to say, "oh that's not good, bring it in and we'll put on a new one."

[plus 3 golfer]

Yes, there's a weep hole on each side.  I've got 95k miles on mine.

[Tellio22@gmail.com]

I had just found the trail if exhaust stain on th passenger side lower , side of the muffler. Then noticed the stain starts at a little hole just above the seam in the lower side. Looks like someone drilled a small hole. Hum weep hole... I can see the trace stains of exhaust along the side of the muffler 39000 mile stain I would have thought it was a defect the way it looks like it's leaking gas but guess it's very tiny so as long as I don't see more traces I wouldn't worry. I'd like to see the new 2018 cmax on the lot to see if it has this weeping whole? Or look at a ford replacement muffler to see if this practice is common.

1 wonder if it causes gas to get into the cabin?

2 wonder how many dealerships went a head and replaced it? Next time I go to the dealership I'll see what they say after they look at it.

[BIG ROCCO]

I have seen weep holes in mufflers for a long time - they help prevent condensate build up and are a good thing and certainly nothing to worry about

[jestevens]

My muffler looks funny too - soot around the ends - I guess subconsciously I'm just ignoring it until it makes a larger noise.  We have annual vehicle fitness and emissions inspections here so I figure if it was bad/wrong they would tell me about it then.

[Tom]

I have what I assume is water dripping from my exhaust system. I think this is caused by the C-Max being a hybrid and not creating enough heat to evaporate the water found in the gasoline as it burns. Therefore, Ford provided the weep holes so that the exhaust system doesn't rust.

[plus 3 golfer]

I have what I assume is water dripping from my exhaust system. I think this is caused by the C-Max being a hybrid and not creating enough heat to evaporate the water found in the gasoline as it burns. Therefore, Ford provided the weep holes so that the exhaust system doesn't rust.

 

Yes, and more so in HEVs and PHEVs but also in ICE cars.  Weep holes are nothing to "worry" about.  Like BIG ROCCO says, weep holes have been around a long time.  Some of us likely drilled weep holes in our mufflers as "knowledgeable" mechanics in the "old" days would recommend weep holes so that our replacement mufflers would not rust out as quickly from the inside due to condensate staying inside the muffler. 

 

Prior to caralytic converters, mufflers heated up very quickly and thus evaporated condensate inside the muffler quickly even on shorter trips.  After the addition of CCs in the mid 1970's, weep holes began showing up in many OEM mufflers to drain / blow out condensate from the low areas inside the muffler as it took a lot longer for a muffler to heat up with a CC than pre-CC.