Friend's wife went to the local grocery store and went inside to shop. Two guys pulled up behind her car jacked it up and sawed off the exhaust catalyst and then left within minutes.
This was reported to my friend's wife by an employee that was outside having a smoke break. The employee called the cops, but the guys jammed out of there so quick that there was no chance of the cops getting there in time.
Didn't realize the Prius was a target for this sort of thing, but sure enough.
https://www.newsweek.com/toyota-prius-biggest-catalytic-converter-theft-target-us-1650471
Prius = the biggest target. I have been lucky to no yet suffer the fate.
I have not yet done a cat replacement. I almost did but sold it in its cat-less state. I'm eager to learn how they run on aftermarket cats. Will the O2 sensor be satisfied? If unsatisfied and throwing a code, just how badly does that affect mpg going forward?
Prices for Prius, bolt-in-ish aftermarket cats are all over the range. Amazon has one for $80-ish. RockAutos start at $300 and go up from here.
I guess we will see because the thieves cut through the O2 sensor harness so he got a new aftermarket cat and an aftermarket O2 sensor. Just need to remove the rusty remains of the front flange of the old cat. Gotta put the lift in before he gets here.
I have not but they may want to...
https://catshield.com/
Amazon too
I realize the good cat is gone now but the cover might still reduce future hassle.
I have considered making a small vinyl sticker to put near the Prius jacking point that says, "aftermarket cat". Could this be enough to stop the bad guys from taking the risk of even jacking up the car?
I see this on Etsy but I'd rather not warn them it might be hard. I'd rather like to warn them it might not be worth it.
I drive an Element which are big targets since they sit so high, No jacks are required. To stave off thieves I installed a cover, but if it does get stolen I'll just go aftermarket. I've never had an aftermarket converter not satisfy the rear O2 sensor in my experience.
if i was a thieving POS and i ran across a cat protector plate on a vehicle i was trying to thieve from, i would take the extra 30 seconds to cut their tires because i'm a spiteful motherberkeleyer. but that's just me.
In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :
Subarus and some GMs do not tolerate non OE converters.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
if i was a thieving POS and i ran across a cat protector plate on a vehicle i was trying to thieve from, i would take the extra 30 seconds to cut their tires because i'm a spiteful motherberkeleyer. but that's just me.
Id rather loose 4 tires than a factory cat.
Our Ford F450 box truck lost its second one 3 weeks ago. Back ordered at Ford forever.
We have two welders and a bunch of stainless steel convoluted metal hose for industrial braided metal hose assemblies and I suggested until we get the Cat in stock we install a test pipe. Maybe illegal but we're not renting a Uhaul for 6 weeks.
Everyone in the meeting looked at me like I suggested we rip off the fuel injection and drop on a set of Holley carbs.......
I also sent my boss that multi cable cage that might slow them down next time. I'm sure I'll be ignored again.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :
Subarus and some GMs do not tolerate non OE converters.
And one must be clear- OE catalysts are designed to last 80-150k miles (depending on the certified standard) without an emissions drop off that triggers the light. Not likely that an aftermarket cat that costs a fraction of the original will do that- just based on how much metal is put on them.
In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :
There has to be a metal that just chews up the blades they use.
In reply to alfadriver :
There is a difference, however, between making the computer happy for 80-150k miles, and failing the catalyst monitor the first time it runs.
Subaru in particular!! iATN is full of help requests for Subarus with P0420 even after replacing the converter, and the fix, if posted, is always "installed OE converter, monitors passed".
Now. What happens when someone steals the cat from a vehicle and OE is not available and aftermarket won't cut it? I saw a Chevy Astro get scrapped after the cat was stolen, aftermarket was all that was available, would not pass emissions after that. Insurance company covers a converter (if you have theft insurance) but they do not necessarily cover a total loss if the replacement converter leaves the car unusable because it cannot be registered.
I also had a customer with a California emissions Grand Prix where we had to replace the converter for physical damage. Aftermarket only thing available. Nope, fails monitor. Smoke tested, found pinhole leaks in rear exhaust manifold and air injection plumbing (that were due to manufacturing defect!), replaced those. No dice. Around and around. He lived in a non emissions county, but the remote start would not work with an illuminated MIL 
I even looked into HPT for a quasi legal "fix" but they did not support that particular car.
This was before CARB cracked down on cheapo converters. It is also why I am all "Yay California!" because crappy converters are heartbreaking to have to deal with.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
Now. What happens when someone steals the cat from a vehicle and OE is not available and aftermarket won't cut it? I saw a Chevy Astro get scrapped after the cat was stolen, aftermarket was all that was available, would not pass emissions after that. Insurance company covers a converter (if you have theft insurance) but they do not necessarily cover a total loss if the replacement converter leaves the car unusable because it cannot be registered.
I'd be hunting for a higher quality aftermaket cat (even if not vehicle specific and would have to be adapted to fit) or an OE cat from something else that could be adapted to fit. Wouldn't pass in a state that checks for CARB numbers on the cat, but otherwise it'll likely be possible to get a high enough quality cat in there for the computer to be happy.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
Now. What happens when someone steals the cat from a vehicle and OE is not available and aftermarket won't cut it? I saw a Chevy Astro get scrapped after the cat was stolen, aftermarket was all that was available, would not pass emissions after that. Insurance company covers a converter (if you have theft insurance) but they do not necessarily cover a total loss if the replacement converter leaves the car unusable because it cannot be registered.
Someone needs to bring this up to CARB and the EPA. Especially the insurance companies- they are out a lot scrapping a car for something that should be replaceable.
But as I know emissions, the whole part about early fails on aftermarket cats is mostly down to the metal, some may be due to the catalyst cell density and ceramic weight- but since the monitor is run when the system is fully warmed up- much of the quick light off benefits are muted, other than the amount of metals on them.
An anti-fouler is a pretty reliable method of working around check engine lights due to a converter. You're trying to lower the cross counts and spacing the number 2 sensor out of the exhaust stream usually accomplishes that. Costs less than 10 bucks.
Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) said:
An anti-fouler is a pretty reliable method of working around check engine lights due to a converter. You're trying to lower the cross counts and spacing the number 2 sensor out of the exhaust stream usually accomplishes that. Costs less than 10 bucks.
That works fine for an individual. But it's totally illegal for a repair shop being paid for by your insurance.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
if i was a thieving POS and i ran across a cat protector plate on a vehicle i was trying to thieve from, i would take the extra 30 seconds to cut their tires because i'm a spiteful motherberkeleyer. but that's just me.
This. Or cut the brake lines, or any of any number of things.
Has anyone seen a story of where the stolen Cats are sold and what happens to them ,
there was a story on the radio of them being put in shipping containers and shipped overseas to I guess be dismantled and the metals separated.
the container story sounds logical if you are on a coast , but not in the Midwest etc
Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) said:
An anti-fouler is a pretty reliable method of working around check engine lights due to a converter. You're trying to lower the cross counts and spacing the number 2 sensor out of the exhaust stream usually accomplishes that. Costs less than 10 bucks.
Modern computers will fail. I do not know the precise strategies everyone uses, but they watch the response time of the rear O2 when they do things like go into deceleration fuel cutoff or power enrichment, and something that deadens the response like that will get noticed and set a fault. They also do fuel trim off of the REAR sensor, and calculate the front sensor's drift from ideal, so you can cause all sorts of other issues.
*mumble mumble* and the lack of airflow past the sensor will cause it to get carbon fouled after a few thousand miles
In reply to californiamilleghia :
For the most part, the ceramic part would be ground down into a powder, and then it would be melted down with a flux to separate the ceramic from the rhodium, platinum, and palladium. There's a channel on Utube that refined some catalysts. But he was disappointed with the output for the inputs.
One can also use specific acids to take the metal off- which would make more sense in countries with no protections for workers or human life.
But it would be a massive waste of space to move the entire catalyst when all you want is the ceramic part.
Datsun310Guy said:
Our Ford F450 box truck lost its second one 3 weeks ago. Back ordered at Ford forever.
We have two welders and a bunch of stainless steel convoluted metal hose for industrial braided metal hose assemblies and I suggested until we get the Cat in stock we install a test pipe. Maybe illegal but we're not renting a Uhaul for 6 weeks.
Everyone in the meeting looked at me like I suggested we rip off the fuel injection and drop on a set of Holley carbs.......
I also sent my boss that multi cable cage that might slow them down next time. I'm sure I'll be ignored again.
There's a lot of holes in that frame!
In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :
Pretty sure he lives and works in Chicago. Holes too clean to be rust so must be bullets.
Stampie said:
In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :
Pretty sure he lives and works in Chicago. Holes too clean to be rust so must be bullets.
Perhaps he's another fan of the "shotgun" method of removing stuck lug nuts.
I just changed out the eBay one on my Prius yesterday. Swapped it out with a Walker Exhaust exact fit model which is supposed to be one of the nicer direct fit ones. About $300 on Amazon if I remember right. It was way easier than I expected and the entire job took less than an hour. The cat included a sliding collar that slips over the existing exhaust which I then welded on both ends. Super simple.
In reply to WillG80 :
What was your car doing that caused you ro swap out?
How long had the ebay cheapie been on there?
What year Prius?
