Second time my Catalytic converter stolen !

Maybe the thief just needed money to pay his California state taxes...

 

They could argue it was a booby trap and in most states those are considered illegal. I blame Home Alone

 

California is definitely safe……for the criminals

 

Your response tells me everything

 

Thanks for the inspiration. I just ordered some shields today.

 

ya I meant just fix the exhaust… and run Catless

 

I don’t live there

 

We could swap cats amongst members to put them on for inspection purposes. Just like we do with the ECGS tool.

 

Thanks, I’ll proceed with deliberate vigilance every time I enter a public space.

 

fake news... change the channel.

 

Well that's extreme. While my sarcasm was excessive, the intent was to paint the picture that security devices, like a cat shield, do greatly reduce your chances of being a target.

Sarcasm aside, I live in Portland Oregon, one of the hotbeds for catalytic converter theft in the country. I installed a cat shield from Talon's Garage a few months after I bought my 21 Tacoma. Obviously I can't confirm if a thief has poked their head under my truck since install but I do park my rig in the driveway at home, and in a highly targeted hospital parking garage while at work. I still have my cat, and still have the shield.

Theives don't want to steal a shield, they want the cat. The shield makes getting to the cat a HUGE pain in the ass...so much so they'll likely move onto the next target.

Just my 2 pennies and apologies for being an ass.

 

Maybe they thought you a tweaker and gave you going rate… Considering that salvage companies aren’t allowed to buy or sell catalytic converters, it’s unsurprising that the offer was low. You’re better offer posting it up for sale here for someone like OP to fix their unfortunate situation.

And all the cat shields should come with stickers that say things like “fuck you, you fucking fuck!”

 

In BC the thieves are inventive, they back up to your truck in their $500 shitbox ,hook a chain to your exhaust and drive away doing thousands of dollars in damage. But they get your cat.

 

Dropping my RCI transmission plate is the easiest way I can tell to remove the cat covers as only part of the bolts holding covers to transmission plate are exposed. The plate is 3/16 steel and the covers are 1/4 aluminum. I am betting $350 that thieves do not want to deal with that just for the two front catalytic converters. I guess they can take the rear one, but losing just 1 is better than losing all 3.

 

Totally. They aren't going to want to bother with your cat when there are easier to find cats out there.

 

I guess I should have originally asked these questions on tw;

Can thieves cut right thru Cat shield?

Would they easily be able to unbolt cat shield? If so how much longer would it take?

 

Good. I will be in San Diego in August.

 

Dropping the transmission shield quickly is noisy, quiet need two people and time. I assume thieves prefer 4 quick cuts, drop the cats into a bag to CLAAAAANNNNGGGGG!

 

That varies depending on the brand you purchase, or whether you go with a shield or actual "armor." Most shields are made of thick guage aluminum while armor tends to be steel. Could a theif cut through an aluminum shield? Absolutely. Would it be easy? Not at all.

Also, most all of the shields come with overly threaded hardware or security hardware. So a thief would need to have a "security tool" on them, and/or spend a LONG time wrenching out several bolts. Again, not easy and not quick.