Beware: I had an attempted theft of my cat-converter over the weekend. I live in a very quiet nbrhd but my truck was in the driveway as I have a project going in the garage. After some searching, this seems to be a hot topic again with our trucks targeted specifically due to the value of the cat and the ease of removal. Keep your trucks in a safe spot! Anyone else have this happen? The fix is easy (remove and replace the part) but what a PITA.
2014 catalytic converter theft
- Thread starter MNBighead
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blakjack23
New member
Damn, I hate to hear about this again in less than 2 weeks! A guy at my work here in White Bear Lake just had his stolen off his Tundra in broad daylight while he was here at work. Pretty crazy and ballsy!
He took it into Maplewood Toyota to get it repaired and they said its the 3rd one they have had in this month with the Cats stolen.
Lowlife scum...
He took it into Maplewood Toyota to get it repaired and they said its the 3rd one they have had in this month with the Cats stolen.
Lowlife scum...
yotantexas
Member
I had mine stolen from a 2008 Tacoma back in 2009. Hit me at work along with 2 other vehicles. It was a 4cyl so only 1 cat. Cost to replace was about $1500.
The fix is easy but expensive. I would have a muffler shop weld the spots where they started to cut. A skid plate would be a good step to prevent this.
The fix is easy but expensive. I would have a muffler shop weld the spots where they started to cut. A skid plate would be a good step to prevent this.
Engineer
New member
Sad to hear, I thought that laws were passed that made these extremly hard to get rid of/ upped the fines for those accepting them etc as I have not heard of this in several years. Unfortunate that there are people in this world who feel this type of behavior is acceptable. Curious if my RCI skids make this job any more difficult, will check this evenning but trucks/tall SUV's are the perfect targets.....hard to crawl under a camery. :tsk:
oljedi11950
New member
idiots/tweekers/vatos whomever are stealing gas here , drilling holes in the tank for a cpl gallons , ruining the tank obviously & forcing owner to get a new tank ! Get a y-pipe so they can't get easy cats ?
blakjack23
New member
Anybody have a good recommendation for a budget friendly skid plate that would help secure the cats?
flyrv9
New member
There were cat thefts around here a few years back. Haven't herd of any lately. People were sawing them off in big parking lots at night. I'd think the absence of a cat would be noticed by the computer oxygen sensor readings and cause issues.; as there is an oxygen sensor before and after the cat. On my Tundra there is a pair on each side. Plus you would not pass an emissions test, should you live in a state that requires them each year.
mtomaro
New member
The absence would be noticed immediately when you start your truck...
marshal
New member
the comment is directed towards the person who suggested getting a y pipe, which would mean no cat at all
i don't know about yours, but i don't have post cat 02 sensors
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DesertCanyons
New member
Catalytic converter heat
I don't have my T4R yet but from what I see of the skids by shopping on line is that they don't cover the exhaust system. The muffler and tailpipe is exposed. The cats are forward, below the engine. And they are out to one side. Is it possible they aren't covered by the skid plates?
One of the problems with a skid plate below the cats is that they have to be able to dissipate heat while driving and when parked. They get very hot while driving, around 1200 degrees F as I recall. Notice the cat has a heat shield under the body to reflect the heat away from the floor and firewall and dissipate heat.
One solution might be an open cage of steel rods that are hard to cut. The challenge would be to make it removable for service but also hard to remove.
hwell:
I don't have my T4R yet but from what I see of the skids by shopping on line is that they don't cover the exhaust system. The muffler and tailpipe is exposed. The cats are forward, below the engine. And they are out to one side. Is it possible they aren't covered by the skid plates?
One of the problems with a skid plate below the cats is that they have to be able to dissipate heat while driving and when parked. They get very hot while driving, around 1200 degrees F as I recall. Notice the cat has a heat shield under the body to reflect the heat away from the floor and firewall and dissipate heat.
One solution might be an open cage of steel rods that are hard to cut. The challenge would be to make it removable for service but also hard to remove.
hwell:
ScoMey
New member
Hope a muffler shop can get you fixed up cheap, without the expense of replacing the cat.
I too live in what I would describe as a nice neighborhood in Saint Paul... and yet you can just never be too careful these days.
tristero
New member
I had 2 OEM cats stolen from my Tacoma. After the second one to replace I just went to a straight "test" pipe. When it was time to smog I just went and got a magnaflow from the muffler shop I had the work done for the test pipe. The guy who ran the shop told me that the magnaflow cats do not have rhodium or palladium, and only trace amounts of platinum that are not worth stealing.
wfo9
New member
Looks like they were trying to steal the post cats. Not the actual cats.
The post cats are not necessary.. and do basically nothing (besides start up ). There is no 02 behind the post cats.
Can''t wait to remove mine. :moon:
If someone stole mine, it would be the perfect excuse to get a new performance Y pipe.
The post cats are not necessary.. and do basically nothing (besides start up ). There is no 02 behind the post cats.
Can''t wait to remove mine. :moon:
If someone stole mine, it would be the perfect excuse to get a new performance Y pipe.
Thus guy must have been really desperate because junk prices and converter prices have been down for a while now. Most people don't know this but the front cats aren't even worth that much. It's the second cat that's worth all of the money. European vehicles usually have gold and platinum inside their cats making them worth the most and most desirable. A few years ago I junked a mid 90s BMW and I got a little over $300 for the cats. That's each cat. On that BMW there is two smaller cats running in parallel. They supposedly have a high content of gold/platinum inside them as most European vehicles seem to have. Btw sorry to see your truck got harmed. It looks like you can throw some weld on the cuts and be ok.
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