I have a 2011 Ford Ranger 4x4 4.0 SOHC with 41,000 miles on it and it's developed a strange problem. Whenever I start the engine up it will shoot out water. I have an aftermarket magnaflow single exhaust system on the truck but it's been installed for a while.

I have checked the following
- Watched the radiator to see if small air bubbles appear and they do not
- Temperature gauge is always a little below half
- Oil looks fine - not milky
- Coolant reservoir has remained at the same point
- Radiator is full

It isn't smoking or burning oil. The truck is garage kept and the temperature has been in the 70s but it does it every time I start the truck regardless of length of driving.

I have attached some pictures of the carbon + water but why is my truck doing this? It's ruining my garage utility door...

 

some fuel companies are adding injector cleaners to the fuel at the refineries

if it does not smell like engine coolant then it is fine

put your hand under the exhaust tip and allow several droplets to fall into your cupped hand , if you see tiny carbon deposits floating in with the fluid , then it is the cleaner doing it`s job

 

It's not dripping out....it's spraying out. It still doesn't smell or appear to be coolant. Does that make a difference?

 

is the spray constant , or does it spray only when you rev the engine

 

It won't spray out after the initial startup. If I turn it off and let it set for 15 minutes it won't do it again.

It started doing this on 9/27/15 and hasn't ever done this before. I drove it around for about 40 minutes yesterday trying to make sure all the moisture was out but it didn't work. I stopped by my parents house last night; let the truck sit for about an hour and half outside and it sprayed out and then again this morning.

It looks just like water with carbon. Although Motorcraft gold coolant doesn't have as strong of a smell as the green stuff.

It idles smooth and runs great. I don't want to be paranoid but whenever something just starts up out of the blue, I get a little concerned.

I also want to note my car in the same garage doesn't have this issue.

 

it is fuel injection mixed in with the fuel

water with carbon deposits is just the end result

we have cleaners mixed in with our fuels for several years up here

unless your muffler has a factory weeping on the bottom of it , the water justs sits in the muffler

 

I wonder if I should drill a hole in it. It's stainless steel so it wouldn't hurt for the water to sit in it. I just can't believe it didn't do it all summer. I'm going to try a different gas station next time and see if it continues to do it.

Logic indicates if that much water was coming out of the radiator, the reservoir would be low and the engine would be idling rough and smoking.

Thanks for your help.

 

excess water sitting in a muffler in cold winter climate can be a real problem , it can plug up some of the internal holes causing engine stalling .

drilling a weep hole is a good idea , the excess moisture has a escape route

 

fired up the engine yesterday , water vapour coming out the tail pipe NORMAL 17 celcius or 62 degrees fahrenheit

a more powerful ignition coil and way better ignition wires creates hotter combustion , the water vapour is just the cleaner mixed in with fuel