hot pipes

[interceptor_74]

after driving my car i can hear a cracking a popping coming from underneath her. it sounds like the exhaust pipes are hot and are crackling, is this normal or what?

[AZLincolnMercury]

normal....usually the catalytic converter

[v8_dave]

Yea I though there was even a TSB on this due to customer complaints, although no fixes.

[gadget73]

Its the metal cooling down. Mine does it too, like a ticking noise.

[interceptor_74]

thats cool i just wanted to make sure something wasnt clogged and was unable to cool properly, thanks fellows

[megaforcer]

Every single car on this planet does that. Your first time owning a car?

[mercman1951]

thats cool i just wanted to make sure something wasnt clogged and was unable to cool properly, thanks fellows

I wondered about this too...I wrote it off as normal, but it's been worse for me on this Town Car than on other cars:

1988 Cougar XR-7, 5.0, stock duals, yes. (Stainless pipes), (Yes, as in...made noise)
1979 Heritage Thunderbird, 302, replaced Y pipe with true duals & '86 Mustang shorty headers, no noise.
1979 Cougar XR-7, 351M replaced Y pipe with true duals, punched cats, no noise.
1979 Town Landau Thunderbird, 302, all stock, no noise. (rusty anyways)
1977 Grand Marquis, 460, no cats, H pipe, duals, small 'mufflers', (Stainless pipes), yes.
1990 Lincoln, 5.0, replaced Y pipe with H-pipe & duals, no noise after a week of driving "new" exhaust system. Made noise initially.
1996 Impala SS, LT1, replaced stock duals with aftermarket setup, (Stainless pipes and mufflers), no noise.
1985 Chevy Truck, 305, true duals, dumps before axle, no noise.
1971 Chevelle SS 396 Big Block, headers, true duals, yes.
1988 S-10, 4.3 V-6, stock single exhaust, no cat, yes.

Those are the most recent.

When I say "no noise" I mean, I never noticed it like I noticed it on other cars...if the noises were present at all.

When I first bought my T/C ('99 with 72,000 miles) I was surprised by the amount of creaking/cracking/poping going on after the warm car was shut off. Seemed excessive- in other words, it caught my attention. Seems to be something that is more noticeable on these cars than others for whatever reason. My exhaust appears to be original.

There doesn't seem to be a single contributing factor. I normally attributed exhaust cooling noises with age...a new car seemed to do it more than an old car (or a new exhaust system vs. an old exhaust system) but I think I just proved myself wrong looking back...

I wouldn't worry about it.