Someone stole the catalytic converter off my 1995 FJ80 - What protection works? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Mar 30, 2017
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12
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49
Location
Alameda, ca
Parked at the Alameda Seaplane Ferry terminal last week and someone cut the catalytic converter off my 1995 FJ80. My insurance guy didn't think there was a foolproof solution to prevent another theft.
* Does anyone make a shield that protects the cat on an FJ80?

If not, I'll have the muffler guy install the cage that they use, and maybe add a steel net, and some other anti-theft device like bar stock welded along the length of the muffler
* Any suggestions?
 
There was a report here in the local region FB group just last week that someone was awoken by what sounds like a car crash about 3 am in the morning and they found someone under their petrol ute using a grinder to steal the cat-converter. Apparently took like 5 minutes! As the owners ran out the thieves did a runner with the cat off their ute. Which of course makes the ute totally undrivable as the exhaust system is not only missing the cat but has a massive gap in the pipe where it once was.

There have been reports of people getting them stolen in public shopping centre carparks!

Apparently there's no way to trace them (like a stamped on serial number) and the value of the metals inside (platinum, paladium, etc) makes steal them en-masse a very easy source of illegal money for the gang of thieves.

I wonder if electric cars will start getting stolen to take the battery modules because of all the expensive cobalt, lithium, etc. in those?
 
A set of rock sliders with a cat skid plate will seriously discourage this. They can still be stolen, but the thieves will have to work harder. Most of them want to cut and run quickly. No matter what you do, if someone wants it bad enough, kiss it good bye. :mad:
 
Does the insurance company come to the part for cat converter thefts?
 
There's a whole thread on exactly this in here.

Do a quick search.
 
A set of rock sliders with a cat skid plate will seriously discourage this. They can still be stolen, but the thieves will have to work harder. Most of them want to cut and run quickly. No matter what you do, if someone wants it bad enough, kiss it good bye. :mad:
I saw some rock sliders like the White Knuckle, which does appear to make it more difficult to remove the cat. Do these rock sliders in general need to be removed to remove the cat? I get the impression that someone might be able to wiggle a cat out of these. Maybe it would be more protection to have the mechanic build a cage that is specifically for protecting the cat
 
There are multiple threads regarding this on MUD (and other sites). I found this one quite helpful when mine were stolen in January. It includes my own contributions….

 
I saw some rock sliders like the White Knuckle, which does appear to make it more difficult to remove the cat. Do these rock sliders in general need to be removed to remove the cat?
Unfortunately not.
 
I saw some rock sliders like the White Knuckle, which does appear to make it more difficult to remove the cat. Do these rock sliders in general need to be removed to remove the cat? I get the impression that someone might be able to wiggle a cat out of these. Maybe it would be more protection to have the mechanic build a cage that is specifically for protecting the cat
If the sliders are welded on - well, you can draw your own conclusions. Most are designed to be bolted on, but some folks weld them on for their own purposes. I'm not trying to suggest either way, just make your plans to suit your use. My question is, why would you hire someone to "build a cage" when a tried and proven system (rock sliders) for off road protection will do both jobs - discourage thieves and protect off road? If you park in the wrong area or your rig gets targeted, sh**'s gonna happen...
 
Had a guy in my club weld a rebar cage around the cat in my 93.
Seems it's not so much about preventing the theft outright but making it: 1 - more difficult, 2 - more time consuming, 3 - more racket-generating affair than just sawing through the exhaust pipe itself.
Not sure I could ever find another 2in/1out cat that fits the space.
 
I have the WKOR sliders with cat protectors, it will slow them down and possibly make them think twice, however it wont stop them. I'm going to have the slider cat protector modified and eventually get cables welded or rebar welded on the cats
 
As above in the thread I referenced, sliders with “cat protectors” do NOT make the task of removing cats any more difficult for a thief. 2 sawzall cuts, one on each side of the WNOR slider and the cats slide right out the back. However, the cat protector (from rocks, etc) part of the slider could become a component of the cat protector (from thieves) with some additional add-on’s/welding, as suggested by @calokie.
 
The slider might make a thief more hesitant to steal, but cutting them I could slide them right around my WKOR cat protection.

I don’t know if our cats are super sought after, unless the thief doesn’t know what they are doing. Most have dealt with 25 years of exhaust gases, I believe newer vehicles and the Prius are much more $$ and the heavy metals are more pure internally. I could be wrong but an exhaust guy told me that
 
The slider might make a thief more hesitant to steal, but cutting them I could slide them right around my WKOR cat protection.

I don’t know if our cats are super sought after, unless the thief doesn’t know what they are doing. Most have dealt with 25 years of exhaust gases, I believe newer vehicles and the Prius are much more $$ and the heavy metals are more pure internally. I could be wrong but an exhaust guy told me that
OEM’s tend to be favs. And for the 80, 2 cuts=2 cats. They love em…
 

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