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Fletcher, OH | Driving to the Lincoln farm show from Ohio and I hear a ticking noise (exhaust) coming from the engine area of my '06 Duramax. It's 10:30am.
Pull off at the last rest area in Iowa and hunt around but can't find anything easy. Thought, OK another manifold or up pipe gasket starting to blow out. Just make it to Lincoln and we'll fix it there. I had a meeting before 3pm and a show booth to set up.
Pulled back out onto I80 and climb the hill and it gets real loud.
Boost goes to zilch along with the power. Stop at the US 6 exit, and here the convoluted SS flex pipe below the EGR elbow is cracked (EGR was previously removed for routine maintenance, so there was extra space to inspect). The elbow flopping like a bobblehead on top of the crack. Wiring loom nearby is starting to melt. All the exhaust to spin the turbo was leaking out the crack.
Luckily I had this thing called a smart phone and googled welding shops. R&N Welding was third down and the closest. Called them up and was told to bring it by.
Once there one easy twist and the elbow pulled off and I had a hole big enough to stuff a ping pong ball in. Rich (owner) said, how the he11 are we going to fix that!
Now being from a farm backround, my thought is weld a plug on the hole and motor on.
Rich looked at it, made a cap, and proceeded to TIG weld it shut with many four letter words about how difficult a spot to weld in (I couldn't believe he was TIG welding it in). My thought was to glue it in with the MIG even if it was all chicken poop. The stainless steel was very thin.
So a big thank you to Rich who fit me in with no notice when I was 800 miles from home in a big jam. | |
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Big Thanks to R&N Welding, Council Bluffs
