My neighbors had their catalytic converter stolen. Since my fav has a high ground clearance vehicle, I went to get her for OTC, cause I was afraid they'd hit her vehicle too, if it was parked in my area (so not totally OT). She doesn't live far, so not a huge problem. I'm just wondering if anyone's figured out a good deterrent to catalytic converted theft.
Catalytic Converter
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Couple things:
One: there are anti theft devices for cats, you can get them from the parts store.
Two: get high temp spray paint. High temp only. Very bright color. Spray it in a conspicuous spot on your cats and let cure. Etch your VIN into the paint. Shops will not buy these bc they are obviously stollen and thieves know this and will usually avoid.
Best of luck 👍🏼
I've heard of this before. Most ordinary cars are not that high off the ground. Not that easy, need to pick the right place to park to get a converter off. But with a high ground clearance vehicle it could be easy.
Deterrent? Just ordinary access controls
SJG
The VIN etchings need to be highly visible or you're going to get your converter cut out of your car but not stolen.
One of the anti-theft devices are metal plates they can put across the converter which would also need to be removed in order to remove the converter.
I think any shop that would buy a used cat off some hoodlum or shady organization would already know it was stolen. The paint is probably effective only because his customer might figure it out!
Another theft going around is drilling a hole in your gas tank and draining it. You not only lose a tank of gas but you have the cost of replacing the tank. I'm happy that I live in a safe neighborhood and park my car in my garage.
Low ground clearance is not a hindrance to a two-man team with a jack. I have read that a experienced team can remove a catalytic converter from a Prius in less than 2 minutes. That is a concern of mine having a bad ass Prius.
Cat thefts are at an all time high in Denver. These cats get sold to scrap yards for the rare metals inside them. Toyota Prius, Jeeps and Ford trucks are the most stolen. There are videos on YouTube of people jacking up a Prius and cutting the cat off and being gone in 30 seconds, in broad daylight.
Someone in Broomfield approached a cat thief a d was shot at by an armed lookout recently.
I did have a cat stolen off of a Ford truck last year. A mechanic shop near me said painting etc doesn't seem to matter much. They had been getting in 3 to 4 cars per day with stolen cats. Painting with bright colors or etching vin numbers only works if a thief takes cars to a reputable scrap yard. They are getting melted down anyway.
I looked up everything I could. There are alarms you can get that would work well. There is some kind of contraption you can put over it that is like a Chinese finger trap, where if someone cuts the cat loose, they can't get it out. There is an option of welding a steel cage around it, or a giant skid plate under your vehicle.
I ended up getting a 50 ft steel cable at Home Depot and looping it around the frame, then wound it tightly around the cat from front to back and then some. The cable will be hard to cut through, and they will have a hard time getting the cat out if they cut the exhaust pipe.
The best defense is to make sure your cat takes more time to steal than the next person and hopefully they move on.
This is happening a lot around where I live. A car repair shop client of mine has been doing a lot of installations of plates and/or cables that are supposed to prevent catalytic converter theft.
^ I agree, I thought it was more about desirability than accessibility when it came to choosing which ones to steal. And the defense options probably depend what your risk factors are. Painting and etching might be a pretty good defense for models that are popular, their desirability is based on ability to easily resell which is hindered by that approach. Even more so on accessible ones since its obvious sooner. But on a LEV like a Prius it's nearly as valuable to recycle it. Those shops tend not to be particular about the source of the material since the evidence won't be on site long. In that case, a security device might be a better choice.
I didn't know this was a thing. But the Internet says it's a big deal.
Happened to my mother-in-law. I put up a camera and a sign that says "Smile, you're on camera." The camera isn't actually hooked up, but the potential thief doesn't know that.
Rhodium is about $620. per gram and an average Catalytic converter has 2-3 grams Palladium is about $75. a gram and an average catalytic converter has 2-7 grams Some have platinum there's some money is that part, if you can grab it quick and extract those metals.
I'm not aware that VIN's are on CATs.
Some cars have a heat shield under the cat, to not start grass fires.
Maybe a lock could be added to this heat shield.
SJG
Some models are getting hit, and other models don’t. Not sure if it is determined how easy it is to saw one off or if certain models have different materials in the CAT.
Replaced a CAT once, 6 bolts.
SJG
I had the catalytic converter stolen off my car several months back. The guy who put a new one on told me that he used to replace three or four a year here in Indiana but now it is more like three or four a month. It's becoming a nationwide problem. If the problem continues to increase at some point car manufacturers will start adding something like plates or cables to prevent theft. I never had one stolen previously but the night I did my car was parked in a poorly lit area away from my apartment building that I parked in only because I came home late from a strip club when there were no parking spots left in front of the building.
Explaining to the wife how the CAT got stoolen, and that it was because of going to a strip club.
LOL!
Many cars have plates underneath the CAT so that they don't start grass fires. A lock could be added to that plate.
SJG
Hopefully in the near future a few people stealing converters will be discovered, shot, and killed. That might put a damper on it.
'got stoolen'
Stool? There you go expanding on your anal fetish, now you want to get feces. Get some help you sick perverted fuckhead!
Ski - or take an old George Carlin suggestion and hook their nuts up to a car battery. That might be a deterrent...
My cats on my cars have platinum in them. I have replaced the cats with an alternate exhaust component for more air flow and more sound and I sold my cats for $900 per pair. That is why people are stealing them. And it would take me about 5 minutes to get them off.
Twin catalytic converters for my Charger R/T Hemi cost me a cool $3500. Not stolen, just worn out.
Skibum, you’re quite the hardliner on private property rights!
Wow I didn’t realize huffy bikes had catalytic converters SJG.
I installed a motion activated strobe light over my driveway to protect my truck. If the dogs barking wouldn't wake me up, that flashing makes it impossible to see what you're doing. Large cats, stray dogs, and the occasional gator set it off sometimes but totally worth it.
This is crazy stuff! Can’t you get your cats microchipped?
Anyone selling cat parts is a demented and sick fuck!
^
How about goat parts? That seems worse to me.
They make alarms for them. Not sure how well they work though