Catalytic Converter Theft

It looks like they only got one of your secondary cats, right? You could easily throw a basic resonator in place of that to help with the sound, then also have the secondary cat on the other side cut off too and replaced with the same resonator. If I'm correct, I can see the downstream O2 sensor in your picture, which means that your truck shouldn't be throwing any codes since you still have the primary cats, and you should still pass emissions (if you have them in your state).

Buy two of these, https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vpe-1792 , take them to an exhaust shop you trust, have them installed where the secondary cats go, and you should be right as rain. THEN buy a Valhalla shield which will protect your primary cats. I had my secondary cats removed completely and it is a bit louder (I already have a Carven TR muffler), but really isn't too bad. If you don't want your truck any louder, throw the resonators on there.

Can you take a few more pictures showing more of the exhaust? I think you'll be just fine, but seeing more will help make more sense of how you can proceed.

 

Dont want to install cat plates. No worries, remove your cats now and just put in a pipe between your flanges. Next year before inspection install cats. I live in Houston and have 3 vehicles insured with $1,500 deductilbles (comp and collosion), 2017 4 runner limited, 21 tundra and lexus. My 6 month premium is $700 total. The moral of the story is with the low deductibles are you paying $2K a year insurance for 1 car, if not more, probably? If so you are paying for damage you never experienced. I would rather keep my $700 premium for 6 months coverage and throw $450 cat shields on once then pay for high premiums every 6 months. Truth be told might jump to $2K deductibles....

 

In the infinite wisdom of my employer's loss prevention department;
They now have temporary cameras put up at 2 of the parking lot entrances.
You know those solar-powered trailers with lights and cameras on them.
One of them is right next to a stationary camera, I guess that it means it doesn't work.
Problem is, there are 3 entrances, so thieves just go in and out the one that isn't monitored...

 

A driveway camera is of no concern to cat thieves. There was a video posted a few months ago out of Texas. The guy pulled up to an automotive shop ( I believe) in broad daylight, parked next to a truck, crawled under it in his socks, and stole the cats. The funny part.....you could see that he had a front license plate on his car.

 

I read and caught up. Everyone’s circumstances are different. Here is the reality for a Tundra owner, especially one who has to park in East Portland, day or night, and one who lives in Multnomah or Clackamas County:


Once your vehicle no longer qualifies as “new” you’ll need to go through a state sponsored DEQ station that records your inspection in the state database. The inspection is a visual inspection of the exhaust, a wand measurement of fumes under the vehicle and at the pipe(s), and they plug into your OBD. You cannot register your vehicle without doing this in the two most heavily populated counties in Oregon. If you can pull or omit a cat or two and still pass this process, more power to you. The tech/equipment may not notice (…?)

I operate a large skilled nursing center in SE Portland. I installed all new (and more) digital surveillance cams when the shit started to hit the fan.
As stated, the cameras prevent nothing, they just allow you to watch the crime take place the next day, or in the afternoon hours if the craven, impotent, useless pieces of shit strike during the early day. Police aren’t interested in responding or reviewing footage. The footage I have captured wouldn’t help anyway. Normally, a car with no plates pulls into our lot and parks near a car that has a space next to it. Then, you see very little movement, maybe catch a door opening. Then, maybe a second person moving between the cars, and then doors or trunk opening and closing on the perp car. After 7-10 minutes, you might get a glimpse of two figures getting into the perp car and then the perp car just pulls out of the lot.

I have watched a gas tank get drilled and syphoned, a motorcycle being shoved into the back of a suburban, and about 8 cats being stolen, 1 armed car jacking, and all instances basically looked the same.

These are criminals who DONT CARE.

They have left my truck alone, and I imagine the pricks have eyeballed it and just moved on.

The $650 I spent on plates was a no brainer for me. Hearing the bullshit that people go through to have their cats replaced, $650 is a bargain. It positively decreases the chance of me being victimized, and lessens the chance that my truck will sit, inoperable, while I wait for the supply chain to rebound.

I am now looking at erecting a card-operated chain link fence and gate system for my staff.

 

Maybe it's time to start sleeping in our trucks, and when we wake up to the sound of cutting metal, quickly fire up the truck up and drive off... bump, bump; what the heck was that?? (better check on that weird noise); reverse; bump, bump; park; check on that weird sound my truck made as I started to drive off... and now decide whether or not to call it in!!!!!

 

I would highly recommend cat plates whatever the cost, I paid $450 for mine and would pay it again.
My co-worker got his cats stolen and got aftermarkets plus FlowMaster muffler $1200, cause Toyota said it was going to be 4-5 month wait.
The next day they got stolen again while grocery shopping.

 

I’d like to see more of these thieves shot

 

I’m sorry, $6000 for the cats and O2 sensors? That’s 1/6 the cost of an entire new Tundra SR that would come with those cats. $800 a cat would be $3200. Where’s the $6000 going?

 

They stole both the driver side cats out of my Wife's Sequoia while we were in Dallas for Spring Break. Was parked at the lit hotel parking lot with cameras. Had a local muffler shop install new ones so we could get home (6hr drive). Cost $1100. But, insurance took care of all but my deducible. From what Dallas PD said when we filled the police report is that they are just gutting them and sending the metals south of the boarder to get recycled.

 

this was my bill from toyota in february 2021. geico covered all but my deductible.

 

Thank you! That is crazy expensive! All so some ass hat can make a couple hundred bucks.
Thank you @Classy63 for your shields! I can sleep now.

 

You know they always say follow the money…..what if it’s the manufacturers who are paying these gangs off? I mean, they get to bill customers $9400 for cats of street value of $150 each??

Just like manufacturers earned record profits with inflation, while claiming they simply passed increased cost. Its all a game

 

They are replacing everything from the manifolds back.
In other words, returning everything back to stock.
Do I need all that? Maybe not, but it is only costing me a $200 deductible.

In your $3200 quote, you are missing a few things:
1. Labor. That's a big part of it, why the fu(k would I fix it? I have insurance.
Do you think the dealership would have given me a free loaner for 5+ months if I just ordered the parts from them?
2. They destroyed my heat shields
3. They cut my aftermarket BAM muffler and I have a BAM rez on the tailpipe.
So the dealer needs to replace the muffler and the tailpipe with stock parts
Keith @dirtydeeds already told me he would fix my BAM for me.
4. They destroyed the wiring and took the sensors
5. They nicked my fuel line so it is possibly getting replaced

The dealership will return anything they remove off my truck back to me; (minus the fuel lines)
BAM muffler, existing tailpipe and rez, and my fairly new Interstate battery since they are replacing the battery as well.

Anything else I need to justify to you?
I sure am glad you aren't my service advisor, you would suck at it.
Besides that, who the fu(k would buy an SR Tundra?



So there will be a stock muffler, tailpipe, and Toyota battery for sale in the coming months...

 

Holy crap, that's more thievery than cutting the cats in the first place! New ones must be made entirely of rhodium

 

Sorry someone swiped your cats, that sucks. You missed the point of the question about $6k. It’s sad that $6k for some metal tubes and canisters doesn’t seem expensive or unreasonable anymore. It’s sad that thousands in labor for some exhaust work doesn’t seem expensive. And lots of people buy SR tundras. They need them to do work, and don’t want the expense of the bells and whistles. The same cats that come on the expensive trucks come on the basic ones too. The cost of them is disproportionate to the overall cost of the vehicle. The whole thing is dumb.

 

Anyone know of any plates that are not 8 weeks or more lead time?

 

Got mine from CCM https://www.getcatsecurity.com/ in 2 days.

 

Awesome I'll give them a call. Thanks

 

as I have stated earlier in a post weeks ago on this subject.

If my truck had to sit outside @ home I would park it over some heavy metal fencing and water it down, and electrify that fencing and secure all the components so that no one could crawl under it at night and do bad things.

A person could do this on the cheap and every night sleep well knowing their cats are safe.

Thoughts..?

 

Nope.

You're going to fry some kid delivering late night or early morning flyers.

 

What about at the grocery store, Home Depot , ballgame, dentist or doctor office???

 

Yea and there is nothing to say they wont be stolen again next week or the week after. Another $200 deductible and premium increase and PIA. Get the cat shields and give even a slight chance they wont be stolen.

 

If you can't get the plates in time, try this.

https://www.catstrap.net/

cat thefts is happening in Canada too, now these a-holes are targeting hiking trails, since they know you won't be back for a while.

 

That's what I got for the wife's car, I'm going to send it back and go with a Cat Clamp https://catclamp.com/product/catclamp-standard-security-kit/

 

Just ordered from CCM. They had them in stock and shipped the same day. This is another problem we have had at boat launches in state parks. they know you won't be back in 10min so they have plenty of time. It's enraging that I have to spend $600 on something to keep my truck drivable when I could have used the money for gas or food. F**king Savages

 

So glad I don't worry about this crap on my Tundra. Yeah I have to inspect every year but my local shop doesn't do a visual and I pass every year.

Just need to watch over my Sequoia like a hawk.

 

Got my truck at Home Depot yesterday. I am displeased.

 

Make sure that you put the back piece in place before you tighten everything down, it'll save you having to loosen everything to get it in place. Ask me how I know

 

I don’t think it’s that at all.

The metals in the converters are all trading at increased value, so they are a target of thieves, who can get away with a (normally) non-violent and non-confrontational theft. They are selling the cats to uncaring and unscrupulous scrap and metal traders who are (up to now) enjoying a windfall based solely on their own willingness to accept stolen metal that they then sell on the market at an inflated value.

Oregon has finally passed regulation (yes, the dirty word) that will attempt to stop the scrap metal barrons from doing this.

But it will only stop them from doing it LEGALLY.

The problem is not based in politics (let’s avoid a ban or thread lock) but how our society has created a population of animals who have no respect or concern for anyone but themselves and their own selfish greed. It’s now almost endemic in our large population centers.

These individuals have no interest in politics, policy, politeness, and know no appropriate boundaries. They have no compass at all for behavior.

This will get much worse before it gets any better, and it doesn’t matter one bit who is in office.