A lot of mechanics would say, "It's fine, nobody will see this," and slap the welded EGR tube back in. Instead you operate off of, "If someone sees this, I want them to know it wasn't a total hack job." Respect the hell out of you going the extra mile to make your repair look right.
I'm probably a may worse welding newb then Ray is. But that tube looked like it was stainless. And Ray mentioning not being a welder: probably not used the correct welding wire. Seems to be an issue to me. Especially considering it's an area with plenty-o-rust development. Didn't see a drop of paint, to protect the fix. Might look nice (and it does), but it will soon turn to a big rusthole in a stainless pipe?
@@Jahee-Official That area is exhaust heat temperature, painting would be a complete waste of time being burnt of very quickly, even heat rated paint would not last. You are correct if the tube is Stainless it should have been welded with stainless wire. As he has done it with steel wire the repair will last for a while but a new tube will be required at some point as the fixed area will rust through. He should have the sockets that grab rounded off nuts if that failed then he should have taken 3 minutes to shield the tube before getting torch happy. When working on older vehicles you need to be extra careful as many parts are not going to be easily available, if at all.
@@Brindle_Boxer that's why it's called video though that is why the video only lasts like 30 minutes as opposed to 3 hours he has missed out on a lot of things but like he said he is giving you the basic gist of it and he has to work on things he can't hold the camera the whole time that's just unrealistic it's doable but unrealistic
Being a professional welder for over twenty years I will not lie. I winced in pain a couple of times during this video. Although, you deserve your man card for perseverance and calm under pressure. I know anytime I so much as see a rusty exhaust bolt I hiss and coil back like a vampire at the break of dawn. Also, welding tip for filling a big hole, place a brass or copper rod behind if possible, and the weld will not stick to the dissimilar material allowing for greater ease of filling said hole.
As a Diesel Motor Mechanic, I like how we as mechanics just get on with the job of welding/Fabrication like this as we're just expected to do it when the need arises, but as soon as you guys need to weld something in a " obscure " place we as Mechanics must just come running to remove whatever it is that is hindering your line of sight, The man did a good job in my opinion. No need to add how you " winced in pain " at someone who isn't a " Professional Welder ".
While i do weld i am far from a professional i had a piece of stainless steel teach me that LOL but anyway it’s crazy the mess we get ourselves in being a free thinking being isn’t it
A good mechanic will admit his mistakes. A Great Technician will show you his mistakes, how he fixed it, and how to avoid doing it again. A perfect mechanic doesn't exist, he leaves his mistakes for the next guy to fix. From one technician to another, Thank You for Your Service,I really appreciate the knowledge you share and how freely you give the talents you have been given.
Have you heard of anything called motorsport? If a pit mechanic makes a mistake, he doesn't have a job, so the perfect mechanic may not be in the states, but the rest of the world has.
Nice repair on the tubing. Just a thought on the "movement" of hard parts around a radiator. A thin sheet of cardboard dropped between the radiator and the part being removed can prevent damage to the fins and is real cheap insurance.
I grew up in an automotive repair shop, went to school for it and spent many years (over 15) as a professional technician. I must say this dudes attitude is great and all his phrases took me back to the days of shaving my skin off on under shields and busting knuckles. I really like this channel. its true that every simple straight forward job is one stuck/stripped bolt away from ruining your day.
Good suspense! And awesome repair! That's pretty much how all my DIY jobs go: 1. Diagnose problem, 2. Damage part while trying to remove it, 3. Realize that part is unobtainium (or way over my budget), 4. Attempt unconventional repairs which either work or don't work.
Same here too, this is why I rarely ever work on my own shit. Lol. I can fix other people's stuff without issue 95% of the time. But my own? 95% of the time I break it worse. I wonder why that is.
McGuyver does it again. It amazes me to watch you do this stuff. I’m a retired pathologist. I’m know nothing about repairing vehicles but I have been in situations that required some McGuyvering to diagnosis a surgical patient. I’ve also been summoned to calibrate many a microscope in my 42 year career (not part of my job description) but I was always happy to help. Have a great weekend Ray and family.😊❤️
As someone who once trained to become an industrial mechanic, I've burned my share of holes in things I shouldn't have. It's always great fun to have a hole in something that doesn't even exist, because the last time someone made a part for that machine was around the time it was installed, in 1963. Doesn't help much 40yrs later, when the company who made the thing was bought up like 5 times and now only services some arcane piece of software from the other side of the globe. Sometimes it's more about getting the job done, then getting it done to perfection. I've left some creative welds on the odd machine over the years. Now I do computer stuff. I miss my old job.
working at the shipyards in cairns, qld, was sent to weld up a geni exhaust, didnt have to do circles,or vertical ups or any patterns, the engine could not be turned off, so just held the rod closish & the engine did the rest. 5 guys got the ass that day for going to pub at lunch on urgent job. these joba were down the river,not at the shop..
As an industrial mechanic that's going into computer jobs, I don't think I'll miss it. Did my fair share of cars, boats, industrial equipment,... I'm rather sick of it.
The next time you have to weld some thin wall tubing you can use a brass drift or a piece of copper tubing to slide inside the tubing. The weld won't stick and it helps to control the heat of the tubing better. Hope this makes sense.
Also start weding on the thicker part and building the bridge, starting welding on the edges tends to burn away material.... im also a noob with experience in burning holes bigger :P
@@williamallen2817 it doesn't matter man stainless is just steel with some chromium and nikel to make it rust resistant It will only make the stainless steel rust where it's welded if using a normal steel wire
Real men of genius: heres to you mr Catalytic converter replacer man! You took the time to correct your mistakes on a melted egr tube. you took initiative to weld the hole back together and grind it down to look pretty. We salute you mr catalytic converter replacer man!
I see lots of mechanics have different way to do things, but from my perspective as a back yard mechanic, I really enjoy watching your videos. One of the best parts to me is when you mess up and show how to correct that. That's important for us back yard mechanics.
@Freiherr Dinckelacker i wrap a piece of electrical tape over the front and back of the screw holes on the plate.. been doing that for the last 20 years, haven't had a rusting problem yet.
@Freiherr Dinckelacker I live in Jersey...about a half hour from the ocean. Rust is a way of life here. Especially with the way they oversalt the roads during winter.
@Freiherr Dinckelacker Ok, since i don't live there, i don't know. No need to be a dick about it. Given that you lived in red bank, you can attest to just how much they oversalt the roads.. Hell, it's only gotten worse since sandy. ever since then, if the forecast even LOOKS like it might have snow in it, there's trucks, painting the roads with salt water. Anyway, maybe it's not as bad here, but it's still pretty bad. Used to have rust problems with fasteners and plates, until i started doing the thing with the electrical tape. I know the trick i use works here. ::shrug::
Your awesome!! I have worked on cars for 30 years (no schooling for it) I’m a glorified shade tree man that has repaired mistakes from every garage in my area. Only one that I trust and they are like you HONEST. I’m retired due to disability but I once in a while fix a vehicle here and there for single mothers cause I don’t want them getting ripped off and I usually do it at cost of parts if it’s not a big job
I am not a mechanic by any means but have kept my 1989 Honda CRX HF on the road for just under thirty three years without it ever being in the shop except to have the tires replaced. The car has 387,000 miles on the odometer and has never left me even once although it has been coast to coast four times and to Canada (over 1,000 miles each way) ten times. I never even carry a screwdriver with me even to this day. I only have a flashlight in the glove compartment in case I need to see something under the hood at night (even though I have never had to). The engine has the original pistons, rings, crankshaft, bearings, camshaft, block, heads, valves, and valve guides. I have put on one starter, one master cylinder, and naturally the timing belt, hoses, tensioner, etc. I do all of my own work and I truly appreciate that you show how the struggle is real. But, I trust that you get satisfaction out of a job well done. I know I do. From my perspective, preventative maintenance is the key. I see in many of your videos that people put preventative maintenance off far too long. I have been preaching preventative maintenance for the last several decades and my car is evidence of the long term rewards. Thanks for the great content. I look forward to each new video (especially the commentary).
Ray please listen to me on your welding. Step one: clean your metal first. Step two: when welding on thin metal such as pipes place copper on the inside. Cleaning the metal beforehand will make your weld adhere better. Placing the copper on the inside of the pipe will allow you to lay your weld down without the big glob on the inside of the pipe because it will not weld to the copper and will help to dissipate the heat so you don’t burn through the pipe. Also keep practicing and make welding not your enemy. Mechanic on brother.
Windy and cold here in Ireland this morning and it’s days like this that my wife would love to be in the Florida sunshine but anyhoo back to watching Ray getting “ stuck in” as we say in our little part of the earth, ps after watching to the end and you saying that you are not a morning person my wife and myself are morning people but our youngest daughter is so so much not a morning person so I fully understand how that works,
Small little tip for welding: If possible, use a copper rod (if available) for the inside of a tube. You can't weld copper to steel and it would save you save time cleaning the inside of the tube. Hope you read this and hope you knew that beforehand, if not then you leanred something for next time :) Like your videos, always something new to see!
welding suggestion - use the wire wheel and grinder to clean up the part before welding then to keep porosity at a minimum snip off the end of your wire every time as that burned little glob on the end adds contaminates to the weld and that causes porosity then use filler wire about the size of coat hanger. you can get that from your weld supplier. this does 2 things. it helps with filling the hole and by adding cold wire to the process it helps from over heating and making the hole bigger. if you know how to add filler wire with oxy acetylene this works the same way. welding is a series of details and when you leave those out you make thigs more difficult. with a hole that size you could have cut a patch out of some sheet metal or used a thick washer to fill up most of that hole. by adding that much weld on one spot on one side you risk shrinkage on that one side and that can cause the end of the tube to be crooked and the flange wont line up right then there will be tension on one side of that tube when you bolt it all back together and with the vibration of the motor running that can cause that weld to crack.
Morning Ray, love a vid where I'm like dang that's clean then you're like dang that's rusty. In the North East you take one look at exhaust bolts and just start with the cutoff wheel
been watching your channel quite a bit lately, this is the first job I've seen that mirrors most of my work on my cars, everything goes wrong, and eventually you resort to a torch, welding and grinding to fix things you broke unrelated to the repair.. good to know it happens to the best of us too and it's not just me lol
Great job, Ray! That's what makes you a real mechanic and me a parts changer. Put a piece of copper tube behind your weld. The filler won't stick to it and gives you a backstop for a puddle.
I like your videos very much. I am amazed at how effortlessly you film the work, complete the repair and comment on the progress of the work. It is indicative of a real pro.
@@Hoaxer51 Agree! I can usually get anything apart without actually cutting it. red hot, turn it out... I heat the center first, thinking it will expand first and 'crush' the rust, finish by heating the nut; but I don't know if that step helps, or is all in my head... If it is a stud or bolt, I let it cool a moment until the red dulls. Don't want the exposed portion softer than the engaged portion. Might not be necessary, but I never wanted to chance it... Mr K L
Is that fk feeling that leaves you rethinking your life under the car looking at the body wondering if it will fell off the jacks and end the misery. 😂
Oh my! That reminds me of growing up in the 60's/70's! All our Chevy Pickups & Grain-Trucks, & my Dad's Lincolns! His last one was a '76 Black/Black Lincoln Town-Car with the oval rear "Opera-Windows". God I loved that Land-Yacht! And yes, you COULD stand beside that big V8!!🤓😍
I'm that guy in the shop cussing up a storm because you've got to remove three or more items before getting to the problem area on the car. I learned how to work on vehicles with my dad. It was always a small block Chevy in a truck or full size car. Lots of room to work. Then I bought an LS1 powered Camaro Z28. I learned real fast how modern cars are such a pain to work on.
Thanks for undoing your black magic cauliflower of a weld^^ That was actually not even bad, I've seen - and done - worse welding jobs. Thin metal parts can be quite elusive. Now for some welding advice, that has probably been mentioned here before: When welding unweldable holes in steel pipes or sheet metal (espescially of the crusty, oxygen-rich variety), use a piece of copper underneath. Like a smaller diameter pipe or some copper sheet. The steel weld won't stick (very tightly) to the copper and doesn't flow away while you try to fill in the hole(s). Don't use brass, though. While it still doesn't stick to the steel, the zinc in the alloy will evaporate and give you a bad fever for a day or two.
Blue coolant... The bane of my existence. A trucking company I drove for used to use the blue coolant. On more than one occasion, various drivers (me included) would inevitably dump a gallon in the windshield washer fluid reservoir. In our defense, the company saved all the old washer fluid bottles and refill them with that dang blue coolant.
@@Cynsham, Red Green! That guy had a bunch of great sayings. “Remember, I’m pulling for you. We’re all in this together.” and “ Keep your stick on the ice “!
Every time he comes up in my recommended he’s damaging a car. Props to you for being brave and working on things even some of us gearheads wouldn’t touch
Ray, Next time you need to weld like this, Get a wire coat hanger, hold it over the hole, and weld it to the side of the hole. Repeat until filled. You did a very nice job though.
After owning various Honda models, which I loved because of their simplicity and reliability, I started to notive they really love to rust. They use the cheapest bolts and love to rust. Suspension, brake and exhaust are left uncovered allowing road salt to build up along with the cheapest bolts you can put on a car. People always telling me that German brands are less reliable than Hondas but I rather not have to deal with rust buckets.
"Reusable" or "Unobtainium" metal gaskets can be whetted with Permatex Ultra Copper Anti-seize to drastically aid in sealing and lightly add to fastener threads, to achieve a proper torque, without risk of galling or snapping studs. That was a decent MIG plug, I would've rather brazed. You could've cut the flanges off, get 3/4 copper pipe and carefully bend for replacement. Install flange, then flare or braze. If you can find scrapyard parts- are always better than a "repaired" part, in your case it worked fine. Thank you very much for the video, Ray. 😁
Since cats often get red and even orange hot brazing might not be a durable repair for that pipe. I know they don't get that hot when operating normally but sometimes, for whatever reason, they get really hot. Usually from an engine miss.
@@utidjian It is the nature of a catalyst to get hot- that's part of how it works, the chemical reaction. Long periods of misfires can poison a converter- it's catalyst gets soaked with unburnt fuel. 450℃ (842℉) is the brazing temperature; the EGR tube would (hopefully) never get _that_ hot.
@@HUBBABUBBADOOPYDOOP Yeah prob not these days with all around EFI and coil packs and whatnot. Back in the day when they slapped cats on carburetted cars with single coil - distributor - ignition wire ignition systems it was not unusual to see cars come in with cats glowing bright orange. They used to have warnings on the visors and in the owners manual to never park over dry grass. Thes days for reasons already mentioned an orange yellow glowing cat is far more rare occurence. My point still stands... brazing a patch over that hole will not be as durable as welding.
@@utidjian A $65 new pipe is best, take it as collateral damage. Ray did do a fantastic MIG job. We serviced the vehicles with the "Electric carburetors", and yes I remember the warnings on the visor- where SRS advisories are now. I was an Apprentice in my Uncle's Shop at 10, Bay Mechanic at 15, Service Writer/Bay Mechanic until 23. Not getting into a pissing contest here. Neither of us is uninformed, ok? I'm done here. Cheers.
Oh that was a easy one lol, we are built different and can remember what goes where a lot of the time by size and color (as in the color of the rust lol)
Nice save Ray ! I usually go for the cheapest part replacement first. Last time I had a problem with wife's Nissan I had the same P Code. Swapped out the sensor first and it solved the problem.
Just make sure it is open enough inside. I remember taking exhaust off my daughter's car and finding where someone probably at muffler shop welded exhaust tube and inside I could see it was only open about 1/3 the normal ID. Right off the manifold, I was amazed it still ran as good as it did. All the exhaust going through a 3/4" hole.
I have never seen so many crusty rusty cars getting repaired before watching your channel. This car has 243 000 Km on the clock. Resale value would be nil in Australia. Also not sure how you knew it was the converter that was faulty and not the sensor. Keep up the good work. 👍
I can’t weld. Firestone won’t let their technicians use any open flames, although we may have snuck it in a few times. The last comment summed it up, calm under pressure. Facing the same obstacles, I know too many techs that would cry and say they can’t do it, or the car just won’t be done today. I stand by my statement that you would be my leed any day of the week. You are a damn good tech. Nobody’s perfect, but we try to do our best for the customer/car.
copper pipe or a piece of copper on the inside of the hole will give you a fast cooling area that you can weld over. It must be thick so even a copper bar. As a boilermaker i used this method many times when the gap was way to wide to bridge.
You and I both said or 3 at the same time. You working on this van brought back memories of a job i did on a 07 Sedona without a lift replacing the Alt. short answer it sucked. They shove giant engines in these things and working on them is like an after thought by the engineers.
The unmechanical person: It's just a little part! Why charge me so much labor!?!? Not a mechanic, just a customer of them. I love these. As a woman who has met mechanics that clearly think I will be a cash cow for them. I thank you for helping me learn how to appreciate a good honest mechanic and how to tell when I find one.
Thanks for another great video, Ray. One small correction though, the downstream sensors on these Hondas with A/F ratio sensors (and some other makes) actually do affect fuel control. They are definitely doing more than ONLY monitoring the cat and I have seen these sensors skew. While not the case on your vehicle in the video, I've seen fuel trims off on these that were not corrected with replacement upstream sensors but finally corrected after new downstream sensors. So, on a 150K mile Honda with a cat code and on the original sensors, I'd definitely recommend replacing the associated O2 sensors (and probably all four,) as well.
@@davidtryon1205 Yeah, cats don't usually just fail on their own. Something takes them out. With no obvious issues showing as to why the cat failed, I'd be real suspicious of the O2's. I have replaced them on these Odysseys that are thowing cat codes and had the cat codes not come back after replacement. If the customer has time I usually recommend a pair of O2's and if the code returns, then replace the cat. If the customer/shop just wants a one stop repair and cost isn't the issue, just replace the cat and the O2's.
@@johnaclark1 yea def u are correct, just like ecms, back in the early 00s working at Napa people would lots of times condemn the ecm. And I would warn them, something else has to cause the ecm to fail, have u figured that out yet? Because once u plug in the new ecm if it does the same thing, I'm not taking that electrical part back. Theres so much inter communication in cars now that it usually ends up being the cheaper part that in some way interacts with the major part. But yea i agree with u all the way.
Depends, I replaced the cat and the O2 cat sensor on my 02 Honda Accord due to the same code. I never replaced the other fuel trim O2 sensor because it was only a couple years old. It is a OEM part and expensive as heck. That one upstream sensor cost more than the cat and cat O2 sensor combined. The code has never returned yet and the engine has over 323,000 miles. Sometimes the cats just go bad on their own, but it is always a good idea to replace the downstream O2 sensor with the cat every time.
@@garyr7027 Yes, it depends on the year of the vehicle. On the 2002 Hondas they used standard O2 sensors for the upstreams, not air/fuel ratio sensors. In that case, the downstream sensor is just for cat monitoring. On later models, they went to air/fuel ratio sensors and the downstream sensor is involved, to some degree, in fuel control.
It's great that you show the problems you run into and the solutions to those problems. Things don't always go to plan and showing how you overcome issues is one of the factors that makes you a fantastic technician.👍
Usually when the nut is that bad the bolt threads itself aren’t gonna be much better. Extractor sockets with some lube and heat is about the only way besides liquid. And this is coming from someone who loves his PWZ’s. I have all the sizes from 0-4
@@sensatec13 they are a cross between multi-grips and stilsen wrench, Ray often used these in other vids, send him a message, he's really good at answering questions, there's probably a link in the description.
Glad to hear your a Non Morning Person. I managed to work at One job for 13 years on Continuous Late Shift as a Printer. It was Bliss, and when all the Knobs with Ties and Suits went Home it was Bliss..! Shame I wasn't unable to Do that all my working Life. But its all 'Swings and Roundabouts..!' Great Video Thx for your Efforts. Cheers from Downunder 😎
A nut splitter ain't going to fit in there. If I were to tackle that, heat it up cherry and remove with a stripped nut extractor. If that didn't work, cut the nut with a torch and open it up with an air chisel (or spin it off then).
Where are all the welder “ professionals” when you need them late on a Friday @ 3-4:00 pm ? Great job, will it last ? Exhaust guys deal with this every day ! It’s when exhaust shops start doing life saving brake jobs ! Again 👍👍👍 Happy Friday !
Nice job on the welding. Keep up on the content. I believe it is very clear and thorough. I've been wrenching for 20 years myself and have learned a few things I didn't know by watching your videos.
My dad preached about how a real man never loses his temper. In all your vids I’ve seen you keep incredible composure despite complications from tools, hardware, customers, and even the bosses. Now when I’m shade-tree wrenching and hit a diagnosing wall, smash a finger, or snap a bolt, I just make your little doobily-doo phone noise to remind myself and keep going. Your failures are just as good to watch as the successes.
How to patch! Grind away destroyed metal, cleaning up inside. Heat form a patch to go on outside. A piece of pipe the next size larger is a great donor. Then Tig or torch weld or braze is my favorite.
@@phillipdewitt4454 I've had great luck using screen door screen to hold it together. Cloth for little holes and metal for exhaust. Once I patched the side of a lawn mower block. On boats I've used a similar product called Marine tex.
When the cat control sensor reads that the cat isn't working as it wishes, you could just install an extender for that sensor so you fool it as it reads less carbon.
@@descent8275 He's in Florida and could do it, but the customer would probably rather install that themselves and a shop isn't going to suggest a $20 repair over a $600 one.
Technically that’s illegal a reputable shop won’t put those on and the whole point of a catalytic converter is to save the ozone and at inspection time they look for those spacers now since everyone wants to cheat
I've plugged in my fair share of scan tools, but never on the first try. It's like plugging in a USB the right way on the first try. It's nearly impossible.
Unrelated aside: USBs have the network 'symbol' on the 'up' side. I never knew that either until one click-bait YT of the 'things you didn't know' kind, enlightened me! has proven consistent except on one rechargeable Chinese flashlight I own... It would be nice if car makers put all DLCs in facing the same way!! (IIRC they are different on different cars, correct?) I don't see any advantage for any particular orientation, they are all on wire harnesses (as opposed to module mounted), so they should be able to be standardize I would think. How about narrow side towards the foot-well car makers?? (as some are vertical)
"It can't be stuck if it's liquid" - LOL I'm a Handyman by trade, and YOU emulate my favorite saying, "Fix your mistakes so no one knows it was a mistake and had been fixed."
Everything under a car that age looks like those nuts in snowbelt areas. Snowbelt mechanics learn real fast to get good with a touch. We had a mech from Arizona come into the shop looking for work. He moved north for a girl. At any rate, he was almost in tears his first two weeks. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't believe what he saw. He was also young. He studied all the "old" guys and is doing well
"Shall we make the exhaust components accessible?" "Nah, they'll never need to be replaced" "Um, ok, well shall we make the fasteners corrosion-proof at least?" "Hmm.... nah"
Haha its hard to not feel good when you get every thing right on a really hard job. My '96 GMC PU is right on the edge of my patience scale. Why do engineered folk believe you gotta fill every inch of space around the motor compartment of a huge compartment of a full size truck?
Are you thinking that some of that stuff is optional? The problem these days us that in order to get all the features and capabilities out if modern engines, including reliability, efficiency, and emissions, there is just so much STUFF: hoses, wires, probes, sensors and sending units, bypass tubes, sometimes turbochargers, etc etc etc ad infinitum. My dad ran a busy shop up into the late 70s. He used to say he decided to call it a day when one manual on pollution control systems on a single vehicle was larger than the previous manual covering the complete mechanics on a whole line of vehicles. Wee bit of exaggeration, I suspect, but the principal stands.
Agree. Just how it is. My first car was a Mercury Capri with a 1600cc engine. Small engine in a large space with no a/c and no power steering. Everything was easily accessible and simple to work on.
Ray Ray there's no such thing as I'm not a morning person, your a strong person to overcome that. Just be a morning it's easy if you put your great mind to it
I like it when I see someone else talking to the parts as if they are not inanimate objects i.e. "Get in there you bastard" etc. My neighbors all go inside when they see me working on the car! Nice job done under pressure.
Ray, you deserve to have an "ego" your not just a repair man that works in a shop on the side of the road, you're one of the VERY few out there that goes by the saying "if you're gonna do it, do it right!" Not many people are like that, well. more specifically more "repairmen" aren't like that. you know the trade all too well, and you know how do turn a shitty job into a good day!
I totally understand the case of the five o'clocks. Screw mornings. Especially Monday mornings. I got rained on today and the shop has crap doors and was wet and cold all day. Grrrrrrrr. Even after a nice hot shower I'm chilled.
If you have a piece of copper tubing you could insert it into the small tubbing hole and weld fill from the outside then extract the copper as the carbon steel weld filler will not weld to the copper tubing, it may spatter and have some bead impingement but it won’t be welded to your weld filler material or tube.
The more I watch your vids, the more I like driving my vintage cars. No cats, no computers, no problems. I open the hood and can see the ground. 56 yrs old and parts are still easy to get, and cheap. I quit wrenching when they started putting computers in cars. You have my respect for your patience with the BS.
Having watched many of your sessions, I do believe that you are a little to oxy\acetylene happy. a more gentle heat without the melting bit could be a bit less destructive. Working on Land Rovers for many years in my own business I had many times found myself in similar positions, but never did I resort to such aggressive means.
I wonder if one of those inductive heaters would have worked on those bolts you torched without damaging the egr tube? Maybe not worth the price unless you’re working on cars in the rust belt.🤔
Next time Ray cut a small piece of tubing or patch, slide inside damaged pipe, and you will have something to weld to. Also clean your work before and during welding and things will go well for you. Just trying to help...
