Catalytic Converter stolen :(

oh i saw that story of the jack failed and the prius smashed him lol

 

Damn. I'm moving just south of Denton near the speedway at the end of the month. Looks like I need to do some shopping.

 

The trucks in Phoenix are a bit safer now:

 

Stories like this are why I had the Cat Security installed a few months back. I had a local shop in Mansfield Tx install it. It helps me sleep better at night knowing it's there.

 

My RCI skid plate wings are in route, going on this weekend.

 

RCI cat shield wings installed.

 

Why cant the police bust the places where these thieves are taking them to? These guys are borderline retards with a saw Zaw but they still managed to find a place to unload them. I have a friend who owns a auto wreaking yard and I pretty much grew up in the yards but never saw anything like this going on. It has to be scrap dealers.

 

The main plate is powder coated steel from RCI and the wings are raw aluminum. Since the wings won't rust I left them raw and being so close to the cats you would need a high temp paint.

 

Legit curious so don’t take this wrong, but how do these provide protection against theft? It looks like they bolt on to your transmission skid plate. Presumably these thieves are unbolting things to get at these catalytic converters in the first place, so I wonder how this will stop them, other than adding more bolts in their way?

 

On our trucks, you just slide under with a sawzall and cut it off, nothing to unbolt - unless the 3rd gen access is different. Yes, they still could unbolt the protectors, but they'd have to remove the skid plate since RCI's stock hardware is flush on the outside. Its a deterrent (and a significant one at that) but nothing is theft proof. I'd also wager that they aren't bringing along a full set of wrenches/sockets to spend additional time committing a crime vs. going on to another truck.

 

The supplied bolts have round heads and I used two security bolts and two supplied bolts. You have to remove the plate to remove the wings which would be easier. I'm going to replace the bolts holding up the plate with security bolts next. I haven't been able to source them locally yet and was trying to avoid paying $6 shipping on $4 worth of bolts. One more place locally that should have them but they are closed on weekends. Once I replace those you'll need a specialty tool bit to remove them.

 

That makes sense. Thanks. I’ll probably get a set for when I go adventuring into the cities.

 

You really only need to replace the two bolts were the front and tranny plates meet.

 

Security torx aren’t that uncommon. I know most thieves aren’t carrying them but you can get a $10 bit set at harbor freight that has them included.

 

Yes, I just bought that set. $7 lol

 

Fuggin' thieves

 

I'm going to an industrial fastener store tomorrow after work, I'll ask them if they have something less common they would recommend. They specialize in nuts and bolts.