my cousins cat just got stolen

[bryn]

so monday morning he started his toyota p/u to go to work and, with a thunderous roar, he realized. someone had cut the catalitic converter out of his exhaust overnight.
i guess a lifted 4x4 was too easy a target to resist.

mostly i just wanted to rant, but does anyone know where to get a aftermarket cat for a 92 toyota p/u 4 cyl? oem cost more than the truck did.

also any way to prevent this from happening again, short of sleeping under the truck with a shot gun.

[SVOboy]

Prolly no good way to prevent it, but I thought this was a live cat for some reason,

Sorry, theives suck!

[bryn]

well maybe a rabid bobcat would be just the ticket.

[sdprius858]

This has been a problem in Socal for about 2 years. When i had my Tundra, i had mine stolen twice. Trucks are the easiest targets, specifically Toyota trucks for some reason.

I've bought things from these guys before.

http://www.yotayard.com/home.htm

[Red]

Put a skid plate across it?

[taco]

the best awnser is either test pipe or treble hooks.

[Johnny Mullet]

Run 10,000 volts through the exhaust while the truck is parked at night

Check out this device for cat crooks................
American Welding, Inc.

[wagonman76]

Get an aftermarket off ebay. The ones they make today are not worth much for scrap. Unlike many from the late 80s and early 90s, they are worth a fortune in scrap. With some you could scrap your old one and buy an aftermarket replacement and still come out ahead. Scrap metal theft is a big problem here.

[Daox]

I was just talking about this at work the other day. We were on the way back from a lunch meeting and saw a pickup drive by on the highway just full of cats in the back. I made the comment about them being legit hah.

[MazdaMatt]

I don't understand how the American Welding product will stop someone from using their portable oxy torch to steel the cat. I think it will just lead to a cut frame AND stolen cat... its not going to take long to cut it out looking at those pictures. I've seen news reports of 5 being stolen from a subway parking lot in one day... these guys have time on their hands.

[Katana]

Problem over here as well, mainly (thought not exclusively) stolen by the gypsies or the more pc term "travelling communities" so they can sell for scrap, they have platinum or something in them which makes them valuable.
Now the price of copper is going up there are even reports of people cutting water/gas pipes off buildings.

[bryn]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

Run 10,000 volts through the exhaust while the truck is parked at night

actually we do have an electric fence to keep deer out of the garden, i will see if we can just conect the exhaust with a simple plugin overnight

[wagonman76]

Originally Posted by Katana

Problem over here as well, mainly (thought not exclusively) stolen by the gypsies or the more pc term "travelling communities" so they can sell for scrap, they have platinum or something in them which makes them valuable.
Now the price of copper is going up there are even reports of people cutting water/gas pipes off buildings.

Apparently the ones worth a lot used platinum. Today I believe they use ceramic, which isnt worth much of anything. Ive already taken mine in, since they long since rusted out and I just had them laying in a pile of parts behind the house. I put on stainless aftermarket replacements, along with the rest of the exhaust.

Yeah copper theft is a big thing here too. Some have gotten the darwin award though since they tried stealing the copper wire from transformers at substations and fried themselves.

Lots of aluminum boats getting stolen too from peoples yards.

Gone are the days of a super cheap car. Even up to a few years ago, I got one of my cars for $50, another for $30, another for free. Now the scrapyards advertising that theyre giving $350 for a car with title. More for heavier vehicles, like some people have gotten $450 for vans.

Scrap is a huge business here, since northern Michigan is one of the top places for unemployment. Lots of people with lots of time on their hands to go dicker and scavenge. Earlier this year we went around to all the spring cleanup piles on some of the back roads (all the main roads were long since picked clean) and grabbed all the metal stuff that people were throwing out. More than paid for the gas to haul the trailer around so it was worth it. We usually go anyway because people throw out lots of goodies. This year we got a perfectly good Philips/Magnavox surround sound system with subwoofer and speakers.

[Will]

If anyone asks tell them my cat was stolen off my car, too.

[TrikeKid]

Toyota pickup cats have more platinum, or so I've been told. It hasn't gotten that bad around here yet, but I do tend to make sure I park my truck where I can see it. MazdaMatt, I have yet to see anyone stealing scrap with a torch. They're too slow and bulky to get away with it. Also, fire, sparks and dripping molten steel draw much more attention than a Sawzall.

[MazdaMatt]

Trike, the report of 5 stolen cats was a portable oxy torch. You can get them at CT small enough to carry in one hand and cut with the other. Takes only a moment to cut through an exhaust pipe and it is much quieter than a sawsall... and requires no plug-in.

[greenitup]

one thing that people do now is they get it welded on, it makes it too much work for the size.