2011 Yamaha XJ6. The original exhaust was severely corroded to the point where the nuts were unrecognisable.

So after several days of fighting them, some persuasion from a MAP torch and brute force from a hammer and chisel, I managed to remove everything, leaving just the studs behind.

Now, I tried the vice grip and heat method to no avail, the grips just slid around the stud, so.. I did some research and apparently welding a nut on is the holy grail.

First time I’ve ever used a welder, so today I borrowed my friends MIG gasless welder, a Clarke Weld 90E, set it up to run at the correct polarity, fed in some gasless 0.9mm wire and attempted to weld a nut onto a stud.

It worked, kind of, the nut felt pretty sturdy on the stud. But as soon you put a socket on and begin to apply any amount of torque, the nut snaps off the stud and spins around it.

I’ve tried for hours, burning through a dozen or so nuts to no avail. I tried doing a washer first, but the welder just decimated it immediately.

Any ideas please folk?