Hi Moustachio,

Yikes !! It doesn't really look like a weld there to me.

I think some of these gland nuts are made in 2 pieces. The top gripping part, a hex plate or whatever, is resistance welded to the lower threaded part.

I think what you're seeing is the lower threaded part having lost it's mate. I can only guess at how that came to be.

One scenario I can imagine is that the weld might have been defective and/or the mechanic replacing the strut leaned a little too hard on his 3 foot pipe wrench and sheared the weld. Facing the ire of his customer, or maybe his boss, he opted to get his torch and remove the evidence that might rattle and attract attention, and then button up the job. The strut worked fine and everyone was happy until now, 10 years later.

regards,
Peter