Catalytic converter theft deterrent options?

I'm thinking of getting sliders and I saw that they mount on the frame rails, so that's why I'm wondering if this cat security shield will still mount either after sliders are bolted on or will they interfere with mounting bolt-on sliders. Just asking because I don't know..

 

I installed this on my 07 Prerunner without too much difficulty. I did have to waller the predrilled holes on the skid plate circled in red. (their picture from instructions-my red circles) Wallering the predrilled holes allowed me to better align the predrilled holes on the skid plate and the existing hole on the front and rear crossmembers.


I believe the difference between a 4WD and my 2nd Gen Prerunner is the rear crossmember located at the rear of the tranny pan. This difference (IMO) is one of the reasons I decided not to use the other attachment points. The rear crossmember on my Prerunner is not flat straight across. Because of that I would have had to "scab" on a metal plate across that gap in order to drill holes for the revnuts.(my picture-my truck)


What I see in the picture from their included instructions is that rear crossmember is flat straight across.(area circled in white) Note the 3 red circles are the non-drll attachment points on the crossmember for the skid plate.


Now I'm not positive that crossmember is actually different, but looking at their picture it looks different. Even the two round holes (just to the inside of the two circled in red) appear to be positioned different than how they are on the crossmember on my truck.


This (their) picture shows where the holes in the crossmember need to be drilled for the revnuts. Indicated in red. I have marked the 3 preexisting holes in white.



Hope this sheds some light on "what could be the difference". Maybe some 4WD owners will take a picture of that rear crossmember to clarify.

 

I don’t know the difference, not sure if you saw my shield, but I’m hoping to test it on a 3rd gen 2wd very soon.

If you wanted to PM me I could get some pictures and find out if it works.

 

Yes, I have seen pictures of your shield, one a 4Runner and a Tacoma. The shield looks well made and stout. The shield that I put on my 2nd gen truck turned out great, even with the different crossmember. The three mounting points that I used and the method I used, made for a very tight and secure fit. It's not going anywhere and to remove is going to take some time and patience. Gonna be fun when it comes time to change the trans fluid.


The 3rd gen 2wd or Prerunner may have the same crossmember shown in the picture from the instructions. Maybe a 3rd gen owner can help you out with that.

 

Yah CA lawmakers and ones who vote them in are “special”

 

@Knute did you ever end up implementing this or was this just a suggestion to those in the thread? Sounds like a solid idea. Like the low cost of materials, but would be interested to know how much additional work is needed to install with a good fit.

 

If I was going to do this, and keep in mind I own a CNC plasma table.....

I would use carboard to make a cutout for the area you want, and use a angle grinder to cut the stainless steel expanded. Cutting it out wouldn't be very hard. I wonder how you would work around the transfer case braces. I could see this being done in a day without too much difficulty.

That being said, I would be very very surprised if you were able to get stainless steel expanded for less then 150-200 a sheet. Stuff is Pricey!

 

So I bought my truck in New Mexico, drove it into California. Verified, weighed and smogged in Ca Are you saying that I have a different cat because my truck came from out of state?

 

Thanks for the recommendations! Was definitely thinking angle grinder for cutting, but hadn't thought to template with cardboard.

I checked McMaster Carr like Knute mentioned. Depending how big of a piece I'd need (I haven't actually gotten under the truck to eyeball this myself yet) it's $80-180 plus maybe $30 for security bolts and bit. I also know a theatre in town that did a show with an absurd amount of hole-punched stainless sheeting in the set. It was years ago, but I'm pretty sure they still have some kicking around.

I was also eyeing the plate you make. It looks good and that's the route I intend to go if the stainless ends up looking like more than I want to take on.

 

If you planned to get a piece around 32x48" that should be large enough.

My plate is something around 30x34 IIRC.


The key to being able to do this cheaper then buying my plate, is going to be buying either a drop, or finding some material around scrap price.

Before I started doing this as a side gig I would always walk the surplus, and scrap yards looking for usable pieces of material.


I will say, I HATE working with expanded. I always manage to cut myself a ton!


What security bolts are you pricing out? You are getting them cheaper then I can!

 

Anybody know if any company is offering a Labor Day promo code for catalytic converter protector?

 

There are 3 different ways the auto makers handle their vehicles (that I know of)

1. They make a "California emissions" version and a "49 states" version of the engine. California was granted by the federal government (I think signed by President Nixon) the right to set car smog standards tighter than federal standards. Other states are allowed to choose to use the federal standards or the CA standards. I know that Washington and Oregon have chosen to require the California standards. I believe there are 13 states that have adopted the California standard.

2. They make one version of the vehicle engine, the same in all 50 states. However, they choose to certify the the engine under each standard and sell it as if it where 2 different versions. At first that doesn't make sense, but part of the California smog standards is the requirement for lower sulfur gasoline. If a CA certified engine is run with non-CA gasoline for an extended period of time the extra sulfur in the gasoline will reduce the efficiency of the catalytic converter and make it not pass the CA smog test before it is allowed to fail. Part of smog standards is how long, in time and miles, an engine must pass the smog test or be fixed at the manufacturers expense.

3. They make a version of the engine that they have determined can meet the California standards even with higher sulfur fuel. They certify it to meet the CA standards while feeding it federal standard gasoline and sell it in all the US. This is clearly harder to do, or else every manufacturer would choose this route.

 

Oh yeah, expanded is a pain for sure. Thanks for the rough measurements! Good to know. I will definitely be poking around to see if anyone has scrap if I end up going that route.

McMaster Carr makes these neato security bolts with their own proprietary head. You can only buy the bit from them. I thiiink I saw they were like $10/pack and then $20 for a bit? Not sure what size bolts I'd need so that would obviously impact the price. Didn't do much digging, just skimmed the first couple sections which were the little 10-24s and stuff. Their torx head ones are like $7-10/pack of either 5 or 10 depending on size. What's the size and length on the bolt set you sell? I was looking at your listing but didn't see specs for them.

 

I just googled it, cuz that’s how we answer everything. New Mexico adopted California emissions in 2019.

 

Nope. If you have a 49 state epa sticker youre good to go

 

I read that all tacos are 50 state emissions.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/california-emissions.536541/

 

50 is what i meant. Good to go. Hopefully you got a pretty sweet deal for buying your truck that far away

 

Gtfo. Love it.