Catalytic Converter stolen from my truck.

I went to start my truck and it sounded like a dam race car!! Ilooked underneath and there were bolts laying on the ground and my cat was missing! Has this happened to anyone else? Whats the best choice for replacement etc... 49 or 50 state legal... Should I have it welded to prevent future theft? will it trip the ecu if it is not 50 state legal?

 

That sucks. People are going around and stealing the cats to sell. There was a news article on it recently. The theft ring got caught. I will try to look for it.

 

thats been going on for over a year now...

almost happened to me, but a neighbor walked out to his truck and interrupted the thieves after they jacked the cat from the truck next to mine and were crawling under mine to hit me next...

 

Houston area bust:

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7306288

 

I have the 3.4L and I removed both cats. I replaced it with a magnaflow high flow cat that was guranteed to be 49 state legal and would not trip the CEL. It did like 2 weeks later. I asked my exhaust shop about it and he said he sold like 20 of them and they all came back bad. When he tried to get the warranty filled for them he was denied. I figured if a reputable shop was denied then I had no chance. It has since started rattling real bad. I gutted it and bought URD's rear sensor simulator. No CEL.
BTW I didn't remove both cats at the same time. I removed the front one first, the one on the bend after the y pipe. I replaced it with straight pipe. I never had the CEL come on. I'm guessing the second one was stolen from yours (easier to access) but maybe you can just weld a staight pipe in its place and not worry. Keep in mind if a shop does a thourough visual emmissions inspection (not sure of your laws out there) they will see you are supposed to have 2 cats and can fail you for not having them.

Also the stock cats have an inlet outlet of 2" while the rest of the exhaust is almost 2.5". The stock cats are highly restrictive, thats why i removed them.
hope this helped. ask any questions you have. And sorry about your cat.

 

I saw this on the news too. Aparently 8 cats over in china is worth a couple million dollars after all the precious metals are extracted. Almost make me want to steal a few. You can sell your old junk ones for at least 35 a piece on ebay. I sold both my good ones from my truck for over 100 on ebay. (it is illegal to sell used cats for use. they must be sold for scrap only) just so you know.

 

If I'm not mistaken, my 07 has a total of 4 cats, the aft 2 being the most accessible. I do alot of fishing, and didn't want to come back after a day on the water and discover the cats had been cut off by some assholes having a party under my truck. I decided to go to a metal fabrication shop to have a custom plate made to protect the cats. One thing you need to keep in mind is to make sure you leave alot of room for the cats to breath...they get very hot. Also, wrap the 02 sensor wires with additional heat retardant wrap. My plate was made to be removable, but had a few extra pieces welded in place to where even if they were somehow able to cut the pipes leading into and out of the cats there's no way they are comeing out. I incorporated a master lock into the design, and used some bolts that need a special key to remove. Generally, if you can have something made that will slow em down a few minutes they'll look elsewhere. From what I've read welding them in place won't work, they either unbolt the cats, use a sawzall, or a cutting tool they just run around the pipe kinda like a glass cutter.

 

It does suck dam bastards LOL! thanks for the reply!

 

I wish someone would have caught this guy! I especially wish I caught him!!

 

Thank you for the info man greatly appreciated! So did you notice any change in performace running just a straight pipe with the urd sim? I hear to much flow can cause a loss in power.

 

LOL thats a lot of money dam!! Dont they have platinum or something in them?

 

Thats a bad ass idea man! Thank you for sharing! hah hah I can just inagine how funny it would be for one of those theifs to get under there and see a plate and master lock blocking their precious cat scrap!! Thanks for the deatiled information I greatly appreciate it!!

 

I have a pipe in place of my cats, It's been 400 miles and I haven't seen the CEL come on yet.

 

by CEL do you guys mean MIL? just wondering?

 

CEL = Check engine light.

 

malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) = correct term

but thats just me i guess

 

Yes, its all the same. Check Engine Light, Malfunction Indicator Light; Toyota, Ford, Etc...

 

I believe they do actually. I think thats what the reporter said. I'm guessing the extraction process is very complicated.

 

better gas mileage, slightly less torque. There are many very long threads on back pressure. My basic understanding is less back pressure = less torque but more hp. If you went to a 6 inch straight pipe it would be noticeable. I have not had any trouble removing my cats in the power area.

 

this happend to a guy i work with that has a 4runner, 86 or 87 i think. same story, went outside and started the truck to the sound of a drag car. he bought a in line pipe from napa for like $30.

that sucks man. hope that guy gets whats coming to him!!!!