A fight to protect my catalytic converter

[ShuttlePilot]

I'll share the thought process we've had in industrial facilities about preventing theft/break ins at unattended locations.

#1 best method of protection is to make your location more time consuming to steal from as compared to your neighbor. The thieves will move on after scouting it out.

#2 The best invention that has ever been invented for thieves is this. It's cheap, hides in a backpack and cuts through metal like butter. Plan your protection to defend against it.

- Eric

[simplesez]

Originally Posted by BrianW

How hard is it to cut 1/4” wire rope with a Sawzall? Seems like it wouldn’t slow them down that much?

It gets in the way of a quick pick. Just like a red light on the dash works from a psychological perspective. Thief moves on to easier target.

[rt66paul]

That angle grinder would be a PITA to cut exhaust pipe that was routed near the floor or frame of a vehicle. A sawzall would be much more effective. You might need both or a bolt/cable cutter and sawzall to do the job. Those cables would make the job take 4 times as long, so most thieves would go for easier pickens.

[TheLetterJ]

I've honestly been concerned with this issue for some time now, especially after some ******* siphoned a tank of gas out of my van while it was parked in my driveway, then a year later, my neighbors had 3 cars ransacked (video certainly made it appear that they may have been left unlocked?)

Soooo... belly skid? 1/8" stainless steel with some beads rolled in for rigidity (or 1/4" aluminum) with countersunk bolts (of different sizes, both metric and standard... might as well throw a few torx on there too!) would be a huge pain in the butt to cut through if you had to cut a couple feet to gain access, and likely not worth the time/noise/risk of being caught if in a visible area. If there was an exhaust hanger or 2 added directly above the cat, you couldn't reach it from either end of the skid with a sawzall, even if both sides of the pipe were cut.

Too bad there's so many drivetrain/accessory variations among these vans, otherwise a precut belly skid would be a good business opportunity for a hobbyist vendor. If I were more able bodied, that's likely the approach I'd take for mine, and it would serve double duty to protect the transmission (and t-case for those of you with 4wd) from offroad mishaps.

[86Scotty]

The humidity and rain in Tennessee are looking so much better lately.

[BoxterRocks]

I would think all they have to do is make one cut in one cable and the convertor would slide right out between the cables or just cut one of the clamps.

Somebody needs to make a circuit using a cable to the convertor as a ground signal wire. If they cut the convertor or the cable it interupts the ground signal triggering some spikes that shoot down out of the frame preventing the would be thief from making a clean getaway. JK

[Kibo]

Intended for carjacking prevention, but you could repurpose this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLhWzMOccTg

[ctb]

Originally Posted by boywonder

Since this thread is titled "protect my catalytic converter"...


Let's come up with some innovative solutions......


...spring steel 3/4" wide strips riveted across converter areas....really difficult to sawsall....esp when loose flappy.



....bike cable lock (without plastic) wrapped around converter/exhaust...


.......weld/bolt steel plate across frame members.......


......weld rebar longitudinally down exhaust in a couple of places.......


.......chicken wire across bottom of chassis.....mulitple layers........floppy



Since this is brainstorming no idea too dumb......

Boywonder, I bet even YOUR dumb ideas are smarter and more logical than most, yet I haven't seen one dumb one yet lol

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by JabberBox

I would think all they have to do is make one cut in one cable and the convertor would slide right out between the cables or just cut one of the clamps.

Somebody needs to make a circuit using a cable to the convertor as a ground signal wire. If they cut the convertor or the cable it interupts the ground signal triggering some spikes that shoot down out of the frame preventing the would be thief from making a clean getaway. JK

Nobody is going to stop a determined thief..just trying to get them to move on to a softer target. You have to be able to access and cut both ends of the converter to get it out so that was the thought here. You either need to cut two clamps off and do your best to get under the cables or cut a few of the cables.


There are lots of youtube videos with DIY ideas....One guy welded rebar across the frame on his E450 based RV.


Another guy in England welded angle iron to both sides of the pipes at both ends of the converter.


There's also a product that looks like a thick belt that you adhere to the pipes across the cat and that gets wired to a siren under the hood. When you cut through the material the alarm goes off.

[BCam]

Here's one city's approach to theft prevention:

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/0...th-spray-paint