Catalytic Converter Theft. Toyota Truck/SUV owners beware!

[Dayton Ohio]

Btw, '98 Toyota 4Runner

[Sacramento 4Runner]

Sacramento, California. My catalytic converter was stolen off my mid-90s Toyota 4Runner from my house driveway on Monday night, 5/12/08. Loud roar the next day on startup next day (and trouble starting up). They left two bolts (bless their hearts) on the ground with the cat exhaust clamp piece dangling underneath the vehicle. Haven't determined if they cut any exhaust pipes yet (maybe it's so easy to steal they don't need to). What a hassle! Now I have to look into the "cat clamp" or custom steel bars welded over the cat. I can't park my 4Runner in the garage cause the garage is too full of "other stuff" (what do I do, move the stuff into public storage at a monthly cost or get rid of it which takes time)?
Question: Does anyone know if vehicle alarm really deters these thefts? If all it takes is unscrewing two bolts, maybe they won't jar the vehicle enough to set off the alarm. Any comments, people?

[Gary]

I have read posts that said they were stolen while alarm was set.. never went off, and these were cut off the truck! On my 07 taco, cat clamp e-mailed me and said they only make one for the passenger side cat, said the driver side cat was harder for the thief's to get to, doesn't look that much different to me. Going to a off-road shop to see if the can fab some skid plates or weld on some re-bar. Putting your vin# on the cats can't hurt. Post your thoughts on what your thinking of doing to prevent this from happening again.

[Armoniks]

Dizzle wrote:

i paid $150 and walked out of the door. this was last year around october.

Dizzle, can you give me the phone number of the place where you bought your CatConverter...mine was stolen from my 01 Tacoma this afternoon at the metrolink station...

[Sacramento 4Runner]

Here's my second post to this message stream. The 4Runner has a catalytic converter with an O2 sensor assembly on the input pipe to the cat converter and a boltable flange at the beginning of the input pipe that bolts to the engine exhaust manifold flange. The output side of the cat converter has a pipe that ends in a two-bolt flange. This two-bolt flange is connected to a 6 or 8 inch rod that connects to a rubber-damped bracket bolted to the carriage underside (and is used to "float hang" the cat converter and downstream exhaust pipe/muffler under the carriage. This cat converter output two-bolt flange connects up with an exhaust pipe flange. On the exhaust pipe downstream of this flange is another O2 sensor assembly before the exhaust pipe enters the muffler (and beyond the muffler is the exiting tailpipe). OK. On the input side to the cat converter the thieves cut the cat converter input pipe about 2 inches from the actual input to the cat converter. They used some sort of pipe cutter (probably the rotating type) that cut the pipe fairly cleanly. There were NO metal shavings on the ground to indicate usage of a Sawzall reciprocating metal-cutting blade or hacksaw. Lucky for me, they left the O2 sensor assy in place (those are $40 to $80 cost at dealer I'm told). On the cat converter output side, they just unbolted the two flange bolts and easily removed the cat converter at that point. The downstream O2 sensor assembly wasn't disturbed. I was quoted a Toyotoa dealer OEM replacement cost of about $1307 for the cat converter. Suggested replacement of input-side flange gaskets (qty = 2) at about $11.50 each and output-side flange gasket (qty = 1) at about $11.50 also. Add sales tax of 7.75% here in Sacto, CA. Non-OEM cat converters have less platinum in them and thus function for I'm told 5-10 years vs. 15-20 years for the OEM version. The non-OEM cat converters are supposedly welded in place (rather than bolted in place) by, for example, the muffler shops who do this work. To my mind, there are no fool-proof ways of stopping a thief if they really want to get the unit. Given enough time, they'll just cut through any metal bar, plate, or shroud. The hope is to make the task so time consuming that the thieves will be discouraged and go look for an easier target elsewhere.
For Gary in Bend Oregon - All I can say is after I get a new cat converter installed, I have a local metal fabricator shop lined up that will work with me to create a "discouragement device" and then weld it in place under my vehicle. Call me paranoid, but why discuss the details when theives (even drug addicts) could be reading these message posts for their next meal?

[Gary]

Sacramento... Just make sure you have some type of venting for the heat from the cats. Like you said, if it will take more time for them, they hopefully will move on. Good luck!

[Sacramento 4Runner]

Gary, Bend, OR. Thanks for the advice on venting the device so the cat can "breathe". Your message timing is good. I'll work it into the design. Looks like I'll have my metal fabricator work on creating and installing the device "soon". Thanks for the "luck". We all need it!

[jlk]

My coverter was stolen off my dodge ram today. I parked my truck and boat trailor at a Des Moines Iowa park and when I came back from fishing it was gone. Cops told me it happens quite a bit.

[TrojanMan51]

My wife's 99 4 runner was hit in our driveway last night. Lucky for us our deductable is only $150.oo but we still feel violated.

[Sacramento 4Runner]

Here's my third post to this message stream. To Gary-Bend, OR and everyone else: I had my local metal fabricator create what I call a "discouragement device" (to discourage thieves from yet again stealing my cat converter) and then weld it onto my 90's Toyota 4Runner. This simple device captures (but does not completely enclose so air can circulate and cool the cat converter - GARY - BEND,OR) my catalytic converter and is made of 1/2-inch thick CRS (cold-roll steel) flat stock and bar stock. It took about 2 hours for my metal fabricator to design, cut and bend the steel, and then weld in place (NOTE: For safety, we disconnected the positive lead from the 4Runner's battery and stayed clear of gas lines (and gas tank) before doing the MIG welding). The cost to me for this "discouragement device" was $150 plus a $10 tip (total $160).

I strongly urge all of you to find a local metal fabricator to design and install a "discouragement device" on your high-sitting vehicle (even low-sitting vehicles like Acuras are at risk I'm told due to their nice, heavy cat converters). A device for a couple hundred bucks sure beats paying the replacement cost of $1680 or so shared by me and my auto insurance company (not to mention the hassle and time lost to make a police report, coordinate with the insurance company and their local appraiser, find out parts costs, get the repair work done, find a rental car, juggle existing appointments, deal with the that depressing feeling of "being violated", etc., etc.,...).-- 4Runner in Sacramento, CA.

[Pissed-off Man]

I didn't see any sawzall marks on my exhaust pipe. I think they used a tubing cutter...
I"m going to spot weld some "L" bar and obnoxious brush guarding along the entire stretch of pipe to discourage theft. Also weld a plate on my cat that says, "this cat was stolen from .... ME"

Anyone think of a better idea?

[First me Now my Mom]

Might as add me & my mom to the Stolen Catalytic Converter Club. My Cat was stolen off of my '02 Taco Aug '07 at the Park n Ride in Lakewood, CA.
I was so peeved, bc I just started parking there and now this. Before this incident, I never knew the Cat thefts were an epidemic. I drove my Dragster home.
I deciced to go through my insurance and had theh dealership handle it, so essentially it was $500 out of pocket. Otherwise it would of ran me very close to
$1500. 00. Today, I just learned that these "-- ckers" also stole the cat off of my mothers '89 Toyota Pickup in Buena Park, CA. They did it so fast, they left the plate and screws.
I intend to get my cat welded, I know it may not do much....but I hope it will deter these effers to move on to the next target, and hopefully these teams will get caught. I just dont understand whoever buys these parts, must know there stolen. Cant the police work with these recyclers to catch these S.O.B.'s.

[WEEE WEEE]

This is funny. Only in America!-:)

[Sacramento 4Runner]

Sure, WEEE WEEE. It's funny until your OWN vehicle is targeted and it costs you a lot of time and money to repair the damage. By the way, how do you know this catalytic converter theft (or the way we respond) is an "only in America" phenomenon?

[Gary]

Hey Sacramento.. Good to hear you came up with something! I am takeing your advice, and stopped by a fabricating place today. I am designing a couple plates (my toy has 2 cats) to hopefully deter theif. I am still undecided as to how I am going to mount them. Would your design be difficult to remove if nessesary? I'm thinking possiobly clamping mine on, and making clamps difficult to get to. I am hopeing they would not want to spend too much time under the truck and move on. Half inch crs...Your not fooling around!

[98 Jeep Owner]

Jeeps are not safe. Mine was taken this afternoon between 2-4pm in a parking lot in a small tourist town in Southwest Michigan.

The repair shop said mine was the 4th Jeep they've dealt with this week. The police said it's relatively new to the area, but picking up as the metal value rises. They suspect it's because of the easy access to the cat (I'm a big guy myself and didn't have much trouble getting under to inspect what caused all the noise).

The repair shop mentioned the new one they were putting on didn't have the same street value as the original. I'm still a bit paranoid.

The question isn't "why would they steal a catalytic converter?" as much as "What wouldn't they do for drugs?" There isn't much they wouldn't do. It's sad they happen to know what to look for and have the tools to do it - and a community of people who mind their own business to operate their sick craft.

[Sacramento 4Runner]

Hi Gary-Bend, OR. Thanks for your support and original encouragement! I'm glad your working on your solution proactively too (I wish I knew about this thievery ahead of time). My version where my device is welded on to the 4Runner frame cross support (about 2.5" welded on front and back side of frame support) will definitely be hard to remove (Yup - 1/2" cold-roll-steel is not fooling around - I wanted a psychological deterrent and a physical deterrent)!. It would require a cutting torch or an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel and some time to remove. So it's basically permanent. I wanted a quick fix so I opted for the welding (without the cat converter, my 4Runner really couldn't be driven - sort of like the proverbial "paper weight", so I said to myself "just weld the device on"). My metal fabricator guy and I talked about creating a "bolt-on" device, and even the idea of tack-welding the bolts in place or tack welding the device to the cat converter, but ended up rejecting those ideas (wasn't confident in a bolt-on design that was very thief-proof and didn't want to disfigure the cat converter by tack-welding to it). I like your idea of clamping the cat converter if you can hide the clamps and make them hard to get to. Perhaps if you could clamp the cat way up high and then tack weld or spot weld a small sheet metal box around the clamp (the theives would know there was a clamp inside and just see the box. Later, if needed, you could chisel or easily cut off the sheet metal box to get to the clamps). Another idea I just had was to create two flat "tongues" of flat crs (1/8" thick or so) with a circular hole in each one. One tongue is welded to your frame high up underneath. The second tongue is welded to your "discouragement device" and with the "discouragement device" in place, this second tongue matches up with and lies next to the first tongue. Then you take a nice sturdy Master Lock or one of those circular key locks and pass the lock "u"-shaped shaft through the two holes in those tongues and close the lock. If the lock is high up with little maneuvering room surrounding it, the thief will find it impossible or very difficult to get up there to cut off the lock (they would need a blow torch or micro blow torch to cut it off - how many quick theives have this or want to spend time doing this). With the right spot, even bolt cutters might not get to the lock.
Good ideas, Gary. What ever you decide to go with, think through your concept and placement once, twice, three times. Think like a thief and ask yourself "if I designed the device this way, how would a desperate thief try to cut through your defenses. What are the weakest points in the design and try to strengthen those points.
Let me (us) know if you find an approach that let's you sleep at night! You might not want to publish the nice details (if you know what I mean), just let us know you came up with a solution.
By the way, I'm beginning to think these thefts are done by a crime ring of sorts, not your average independent drug addicts. There a just too many reports from all over the country to be a wayward group of copycat rag-tag druggies.

[I Was Hit Too]

Well, after two weeks of dealing with insurance, repair facilities, rental car and completely clueless adjusters (Yes it took two guys!) I'm get my 4Runner back on Friday. The biggest hit was in my wallet. I recommend checking your insurance policies on this one. Apparently my policy has some funny math where they only end up paying 25% of the parts after my $500 deductible. I know my first problem was taking it to a dealer for service. Yea yea yea but at least I'm getting factory parts. The work is being done by Hanlees Toyota in Davis, CA. For the most part these folks have been really chill in dealing with me as I'm dealing with my insurance company.(California Casualty blah blah)

Anyhow, most policies have a betterment clause. If the part that they are replacing is better than the original they'll use a mileage matrix (not listed in the policy) to determine what they're share. Well at least the next time some tweaker steals my CAT it'll be covered in full.

Anyways here's what the rate is with cheap-o insurance like California Casualty.

Catalytic Converter $1300
Muffler $380
Hangers & Clamps $120
Tax $140
Labor $260
_______
Adjustments (AKA what I'm the hook for)
Deductible $500
Muffler 75%$285
Catalytic Converter $975
Hangers, Clamps $90

In the end (seriously in the end) I pay $1850

California Casualty pays $350

__________

Bummer

[I Was Hit Too]

Hey if anyones knows a recycler that's buying these catalytic converts please kick them in the nuts for me.

[Pissed-off Man]

see my solution here...
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php...