Ando - good stuff. Try a dental mirror or a spoon and see if there’s visible condensation/water.
Unless I’m mistaken, if the boiler is at full temp and approx. 2 bar pressure, then if there’s a hole in that pipe water should be squirting out of that as it has otherwise nowhere else to escape.
I’m not saying there isn’t an issue, but you might be barking at the wrong tree.
