Seriously? At the least you drive around and annoying cel on . And how do you plan on passing the yearly emissions test?
Catalytic converter theft
- Thread starter OilStained
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- Jan 16, 2023
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I’d find a new neighborhood….
I'd bet there's a few "less reputable" scrap yards where the thieves are taking their loot to. They probably get a piece of the action.
Some years ago, there were a bunch of school busses stolen here in Chicago..... A large number, like 6-8. Turns out, each one was equipped with a GPS tracker and by morning they were all traced to a scrapyard that was operating 24 hours a day.... And they had been reduced to so many piles of scrapmetal. The cynic in me says there's NO WAY that scrapyard didn't know they were stolen!
One day back in May of 2015, I was visiting my parents, when I heard a brief buzzing sound, and then my 3rd gen 4Runner alarm going off. I ran outside to see a little hispanic dude with a Sawzall, scurrying out from under the 4Runner and running down the driveway to a car which was running with the drivers door open.
I was yelling at this worthless punk, in an effort to get him to stop so I could get my hands on him. But of course he was a coward. I called the local PD, and gave a description when the officer got there. The scumbag was driving a Subaru with a temporary registration. According to the Officer, it was common for these low-lifes to steal a car with a temporary registration, as it draws less attention than a plated car, when they go out stealing.
The officer said from the description it was likely a gang member of a gang that is known to be based out of the city about 20 miles away where a car matching the description of the getaway car was stolen earlier that morning.
The officer said these gangs are usually mostly made up of illegal aliens.
Fortunately the 4Runner only suffered some light scratches on the exhaust pipe. I sold it a little over 4 years later, with it's stock catalytic convertor still in place.
These at least 3 different ways to defeat the cel and don't live somewhere terrible enough to require vehicle emissions testing.
Driving around with a cel on is far less annoying than having to pay several hundred dollars to support someones drug addiction a second time.
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Would be near the bottom of my list. Los Angeles has become unbelievably bad. I'm from there and don't even like to visit.
Not so easy to pick up and move become some clowns passed laws that we dont like
I would too....I live in a relatively nice part of town....1500sq/ft house built in the 40s that's worth north of $1M. The plan is to move to out of state, as soon as the kid finishes high school in a couple years. Can't come soon enough.
With so little precious metals, wouldn’t a whole intact cat be worth more to someone who had theirs stolen?
They would learn and get a security shield installed.
I would think so. But you can just imagine "meth math" in the head of some thieves, "if I steal 10 cats, thats 100grams. 100 grams is a lot of meth so that should be a lot of metal too"
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Priuses definitely do not have 4 converters. I have worked on many 04-09's, 10-15's, 16-22's and they have a single catalytic converter.
Maybe it was meant as 4 times the amount of normal converters. 2004-2015s supposedly had a higher concentration of precious metals and were most targeted. 2010-2015 do have two converters integrated into the front pipe though.
Those others are probably resonators, which can be mistaken for cats. If stolen, still cost a pretty penny to replace.
I have a 23 hybrid Sienna, the cat is higher up near the engine bay firewall area. On the underside, there are 2 exposed resonators that can be easily cut.
Only you would know what it was meant as you are quoted as saying it was 4.
FWIW, people that reported converter thefts would be told they had 4 converters and the insurance bills for replacement were over $3000. Take it however you want, I just took the reports. I wasn't replacing them.
https://alshnedauto.com/products/20...2DFQPFglx9n-0NoFolILMk1TGzJa7VHm7aja1alCbbSYV
There's a liquid-cooled exhaust heat exchanger system built into the catalytic converter system that is probably driving confusion.
They go bad, too, and leak coolant into the exhaust stream, looking for all the world like a bad head gasket.
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