Stolen CATs (1 Viewer)

[Patron100LC]

Hi all.
Stayed overnight at an hotel in Orlando, FL 300 miles from where I live in Hollywood, FL, woke up this morning to go to the parks with the family and as soon as I start the 2005 LC I hear the sound, the culprit, stolen cats.
Labor Day, 300 from home, called police and hotel management to see what they can find, not holding my breath on what they can do.
Called the closest Toyota Dealership to see if they have them in stock and they’re still trying to source them.
No idea of the costs, no idea if I’ll find an open exhaust shop to get the job done..
Any ideas from the forum?
Can I even drive to like this? Needs to be towed? Those rats Messed up my day.

 

[saucebox]

Similar story from the 200 series section, somewhat recently: Catalytic Conv. stolen. Stuck 2000 miles from home in “Limp Mode”! - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/catalytic-conv-stolen-stuck-2000-miles-from-home-in-limp-mode.1287347/

IIRC he installed aftermarket parts store cats to get it home, then insurance paid out to restore it to OEM. The first exhaust shop did a crap job and screwed up the O2 wiring and put him in limp mode for a bit, but I don't think our 100s do that. Once it was all resolved he installed a skid(s?) to hopefully prevent a repeat experience.

I'd think you could drive short distances (like to a nearby exhaust shop), but I don't think I'd push it for 300 miles.

 

[awesomeissquid]

Sorry this happened to you. Can also probably find someone to weld in a straight pipe where the cat used to be until cats can be sourced.

 

[Patron100LC]

Thanks for the replies, today everything is closed, the only place I found open is the Toyota dealership that can have them by the morning and get the car ready by afternoon tomorrow for $4400!!!!!! Great!

 

[Patassa]

Sorry this happened to you. Can also probably find someone to weld in a straight pipe where the cat used to be until cats can be sourced.

This seems like the path of least resistance. Buy a hacksaw, some muffler piping at Autozone and some muffler tape, patch it together to get home? Maybe someone more educated on if this would put you into limp mode can confirm or shoot this down if that wouldn't work for some reason.

 

[saucebox]

Thanks for the replies, today everything is closed, the only place I found open is the Toyota dealership that can have them by the morning and get the car ready by afternoon tomorrow for $4400!!!!!! Great!

Any chance you can file a claim with your insurance?

 

[97 AZ LC]

Did they get one side or both sides? They got my driver side about a month ago. That seems to be the more accessible side. You could fix this yourself, temporarily or permanently, but you probably won't want to tackle it 300 miles from home while on vacation with the family. For temporary repairs a lot depends on exactly where they made their cuts - how close to the O2 sensor, on a curved or straight section, etc. In theory auto parts stores have what it takes to straight pipe it without welding - but inventory is a mess in a lot of stores.

 

[2020 Rocks]

I'd get some universal cats from an auto parts store, go to a family run muffler shop in the area and have them weld them in. $4400 out of pocket is a lot of cash and that is the stranded tourist price IMHO.

Some good tips in this video.

Cliff notes:

- engrave vin on converter, helps leo
- high vis paint, helps leo
- cage around converter, deterrent, slows them down
- after market converter not as expensive, if legal in your state, not as valuable for them to steal again (they want the original converters that are worth more)

 

[Patron100LC]

Thanks for all the replies.
Ended up renting a car for today and tomorrow to be able to “enjoy” the rest or the day with the family, organizing a transporter to pickup the LC and ship it home, that way I’m not dealing with repairs at 92deg heat in a parking lot with limited tools available.
I guess when I get home I’ll try to figure the best and most economical way to get the car repaired.

They stole both cats, didn’t have a chance to look much on the location of the cuts made, the security guard at the hotel snapped a couple pics and sent them to my phone while I was dealing with the police.
No idea if the hotel is gonna be stepping in to compensate anything, not counting on it, will contact insurance company when I get back to the hotel this evening, hope they respond as they should.

When home and in front of a desktop I’ll be able to search a bit better and more relaxed on pricing and labor to do the job correctly.

Thanks again, and if you’re still considering a passive security form to protect your catalytic converters, do it Now, don’t wait till you’re in the middle of a vacation with little kids and temperatures reaching the red hot levels to remember that you should have done it earlier. Thieves be damned!

 

[Patron100LC]

 

[awesomeissquid]

How nice of them to unplug the oxy sensors. Must have been a mechanic in their past life.

 

[DuckLN]

Arkansas is one of the states that doesnt perform vehicle inspections and ive always wondered if i could delete the cats without developing codes.

There was a thread covering this topic a few years back but i can’t recall the details.

 

[Africaster]

How nice of them to unplug the oxy sensors. Must have been a mechanic in their past life.

… and nice clean cuts too

 

[Patron100LC]

So the budget rental I went to get a car for a couple of days had only a few compact sedans and one mid size suv which I took.. lucky me, it’s a 4Runner, let’s see if it’ll have it’s cats in the morning..

BTW, awful car next to the 100. Uncomfortable hot vinyl seats, has the trd package so it’s vulgar, it’s a 4wd that squeak in tight turns, it has 30k miles and it already needs front bearings, doesn’t have spec to put stuff like sunglasses cause it was taken by useless buttons.
Got spoiled by the LC I guess.
My wife liked it obviously since it has a big screen.. well.

How nice of them to unplug the oxy sensors. Must have been a mechanic in their past life.

Yes, would love to meet him to thank him personally.

… and nice clean cuts too

They left a saw blade on the floor, quality one too, the police officer that came in wasn’t interested in taking it to CSI for prints. I guess it’s true that tv is better than real life.

Arkansas is one of the states that doesnt perform vehicle inspections and ive always wondered if i could delete the cats without developing codes.

There was a thread covering this topic a few years back but i can’t recall the details.

Personally I like to keep my 100 as original as possible, but with Toyota charging $1800 per catalytic before labor it’s not easy and very tempting to straight pipe the thing, wonder what obstacles one has to go through to do that, and long term longevity complications if any.
Worth a search though.

 

[slopppy75]

If I were you, I'd call around all the muffler/welding shops around town and get a quote for welding up aftermarket cats. They go for probably around $400 - $600 a side installed depending on the damage. And enjoy the trip in rental car a few more days. I've lost my share of cats and none of the police did any help. I even got a parking ticket afterwards. City gave zero F when I contested

 

[retrofive]

@98 SNAKE EATER has a shop in Orlando. Maybe?

@UltraFJ40 You know anybody else up there? @PhrogsPhorever ?

 

[Patron100LC]

If I were you, I'd call around all the muffler/welding shops around town and get a quote for welding up aftermarket cats. They go for probably around $400 - $600 a side installed depending on the damage. And enjoy the trip in rental car a few more days. I've lost my share of cats and none of the police did any help. I even got a parking ticket afterwards. City gave zero F when I contested

That’s one option, and that’s also an internal debate I have, go OEM or aftermarket?
The price difference is huge! I’m still waiting to hear from my insurance company to see what’s what as far as estimated settlement.

Getting back home tonight and getting the 100 towed home in a couple hours, we’ll see.

@98 SNAKE EATER has a shop in Orlando. Maybe?

@UltraFJ40 You know anybody else up there? @PhrogsPhorever ?

Thanks for the heads up retrofive, but already got a transporter lined up to pickup the cruiser from Orlando sent to Hollywood in a couple of hours, I’ll get home tonight with the rental and tomorrow my search for the next step begins,: insurance, estimates, and decision on shop taking the repair and what parts are going to be used, if OEM or other.

 

[retrofive]

That’s one option, and that’s also an internal debate I have, go OEM or aftermarket?
The price difference is huge! I’m still waiting to hear from my insurance company to see what’s what as far as estimated settlement.

Getting back home tonight and getting the 100 towed home in a couple hours, we’ll see.


Thanks for the heads up retrofive, but already got a transporter lined up to pickup the cruiser from Orlando sent to Hollywood in a couple of hours, I’ll get home tonight with the rental and tomorrow my search for the next step begins,: insurance, estimates, and decision on shop taking the repair and what parts are going to be used, if OEM or other.

GL! If you ever are over in Naples hit @UltraFJ40 or myself up.

(BTW you bimmer in your avi?)

 

[Patron100LC]

GL! If you ever are over in Naples hit @UltraFJ40 or myself up.

(BTW you bimmer in your avi?)

Will do! Nice quiet place, I like going there to relax once every few months.

BTW you bimmer in your avi?
Just my personal experience, one of many I dealt with. Made me laugh when I saw it so I kept it..

 

[clrussell]

With the price of cats I’m tempted yo cut my own off, sell and put aftermarket on. Probably still be $500 ahead