Solved: Loud Rumbling & Tailpipe Smoke (3rd Gen 2017 Tacoma)

Locally dealership (actually a pretty good one) has a large display when you walk into the parts department.

It's cat theft deterrent plates for all model toyota.

Says a lot.

 

Just needs to be regulated where you can't sell a cat w.o a paper trail, and only shops can. One shop has tons of sells? Flags go off and investigations start. Nationwide ofc.

Won't stop the problem, as people will still ship overseas at that point, but it makes it more difficult to get rid of the car, which makes it less likely to happen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWRjcNOg9GE

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/protecting-my-catalytic-converters-help.175294/page-2

 

You can also process the cats at home and sell the raw honeycomb. You can then mix in illegal with legal cat sales. Or if you own your own junk yard you have piles and piles of cats (we had our cat bins locked inside the shop)

 

Yeah, elk grove (specifically the "recycle road stretch of shops") is a massive hotbed of organized crime in the Sacramento area.

Most of these places are being actively investigated, but laws aren't the friendliest at the moment for LE for take these places down. LE had to play by the rules

 

Ok ...... if you say so ( you don’t know me )

 

But we know the State you live in and if you went out and shot someone stealing something off your truck, you’ll likely not be protected under NY laws. Same thing here in MD. Might be worth weighing your options there bud.

 

Gotta find the body first

 

scumbags! Glad you’re truck isn’t shitting the bed. (I’d file an insurance claim)

 

At least they were kind enough to only take one cat.

Kinda like only stealing one kidney I guess? Idk.

GL with that OP

 

Filed a police report. This occurred 2/7 sometime during the day in the office parking lot between 6:30 AM and 6:30 PM (when I was at work).

 

They tried to attack me with the Sawzall.......Nuff said

 

Can anyone tell me why my driver side cat being chopped off would cause thick white smoke to come out of the tailpipe? The passenger side cat seems fine.

 

Moist air from cut side mixing with exhaust from intact side? Just guessing.

 

Probably this.

Still would just have your insurance take care of it, just in case electrical was tagged by the sawzall or if the other cats are damaged.

 

You will always get some water vapor on start up due to the cold start enrichment. It should smell a bit rich like you noticed. If it is billowing white stuff that smells sweet, like coolant, well, that's coolant.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. Those have definitely been on the rise in my area as well. Glad you solved it though!

 

...as it turns out...

 

You’d think so. Some states you’ll face more time for defending your property than criminals get for stealing your property.