Why would the EGR pipe be cut in half on my Nissan Maxima?

I also noticed my EGR Valve is welded on...?



I recently bought this car out right, and not even a month later my exhaust is super loud! I had a friend look at it and its coming from under the hood. Its the EGR pipe he said. Apparently the prior owner had cut the pipe in half for some reason and then put a piece of heater hose and clamp on it, that didn't hold up to the HEAT, and melted off. Now I have called around and its a dealer item for the pipe and I have to replace the EGR valve also, they want like $300.00 for the parts then I gotta pay someone to put it in. I cant afford that right now, so a friend suggested using JB weld, tried that didn't hold to soupy. Then another person said try the exhaust tape tried that, melted right off! Well finally someone suggested to use what they call Quick Steel! That worked awesome for like a week! Now it has melted off and is louder then ever again. I am wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions that may help me until i get the money and can afford to buy the new parts. My friend was thinking about welding it, but its such a tiny area to get to it would be impossible! Its down behind the intake manifold with everything in the way! Its hard enough to get our hands down in there to mold the quick steel on. Honestly i thought the quick steel was perfect..but guess not. Maybe someone out there has a suggestion on how to get the quick steel to hold any better? I dont know. I just know I need a quick in expensive fix! Its killing my gas too! Also I am very curious as to why this would have been Cut in half to begin with????. SO if anyone has any ideas, advice anything, i would greatly appreciate it! Thanks in advance!!!



*also I live in Maine so gotta take the COLD weather into consideration!Why would the EGR pipe be cut in half on my Nissan Maxima?
EGR stands for exhaust gas recirculation and is very prone to carbon build up. This build up can and often does back up into the transfer tube and block the tube. This makes the EGR non functional. The temperatures can reach 1200 degrees and not much can with stand that temperature. This is why they use stainless steel for that tube. You might be able to find one at an auto dismantler for a much better price. Use lots of liquid wrench when you do take it apart, this helps in the disassembly. Good Luck