Car exhaust can reach temps of 500 degrees F. With the hottest points being the exhaust manifolods/headers, and the catalytic converter.
Yes you CAN start your car w/o the exhaust manifold mounted.....However, if you do, you are VERY likely to crack a valve. Your exhaust system protects the valves from cool air contacting a hot valve.
One reason why car exhausts rust faster than the car body of the car is because they are often at a different temperature. The exhaust can be very hot and very cold so this creates a reaction rate which inturn makes the exhaust rust faster. hope that helps :)
This can be caused by a cracked head or blown head gasket.
Your hot exhaust is cooling down and the metal is making a ping sound, chances are though, that your exhaust is possibly getting too hot, or has some loose components inside or bolted to it. If your exhaust rattles at all, you may need to replace the muffler, and if you car has a trouble code related to misfire, or catalytic converter there may be too much fuel in the exhaust and is too hot.
Please describe your problem more? When is there water in the exhaust? When the car is cold, hot, just started, after running for some time?
You car has an exhaust system attached to the engine. The exhaust can get to upwards of 300o and then because of that, water that touches that hot metal turns into steam resulting in the "smoke" you are referring to. This also applies to the engine when wet.
The egr (exhaust gas reclaimer) has hot exhaust gas passing thru it, it will get hot.
It is normal for the exhaust to get hot. It is the result of an internal combustion engine. If the exhaust is red hot then there is a problem, perhaps from excess fuel or incorrect timing.
oil leaking onto something hot like an exhaust manifold
there is always exhaust (expect when the engine's off or hybird) unless you are too close to the car in front of you.
as hot as the exhaust manifold there are exhaust gases passing through it