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Earlier, I asked this question: Could this be the source of an exhaust leak. I found a crack in the manifold, but in addition to that, when I started the car after it hasn't been started in a while, I found water forming (from condensation) around the gasket that connects the manifold to the down/front pipe.

Now my question is, does this water mean that the gasket is leaking? Or is it normal for it to let some water pass? When I feel my hand around the gasket, I can not feel any air coming out of the exhaust other than where the manifold is cracked.

EDIT: To be more clear by water I mean the pipe got wet

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  • May be completely unrelated, but what environment are you working in, in terms of heat and humidity?
    – MooseLucifer
    Jan 21, 2017 at 0:44
  • I am working inside a garage but the door is wide open, I live in Ohio too so pretty humid I guess
    – method
    Jan 21, 2017 at 0:49
  • I assume Ohio is pretty $%&#ign cold right now, so there probably isn't enough humidity for the water to be coming from the air.. Is the exhaust hot when you find the water or still warming up? Hopefully someone else can help because I am clueless!
    – MooseLucifer
    Jan 21, 2017 at 1:01
  • No I am pretty sure the water is from the exhaust as there was some forming around the crack too, and it was a cold start
    – method
    Jan 21, 2017 at 1:41

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No, you should not automatically assume the water you found is from the a gasket leak. If you were unable to detect any exhaust leak (through touch or any other method), plus not finding any soot traces near the gasket, I think you can pretty much rule it out. The gasket should not "let some water pass" normally. Where exactly the water came from is anyone's guess, but I would put a high likelihood it did NOT come from or through that exhaust gasket.

As an aside in your case, since you have to at a minimum pull the exhaust manifold to either get it fixed or replaced due to the crack, you can completely alleviate your fears about the gasket at that time because you'll have to replace it then anyway. You will not want to re-use an exhaust gasket of this type, used in this manner. It will most likely self destruct when you remove the exhaust manifold anyway.

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