Posted on 05/08/2022 9:29:37 AM PDT by real saxophonist
The thief cuts several inches ahead of the converter, cuts the O2 sensor and the hanger, the takes the whole tailpipe including muffler.
Smog check doesn’t jack up the car or look for welds. They use a mirror and flashlight to look for the OEM markings on the casing of the converter itself.
I watched them smog check my Prius, which by the way had the new OEM catalytic converter spliced in from exactly where the sawzall had cut out the original. The mechanic dressed the end using a pipe cutter, then used a sleeve.
30 seconds and all trace of sawzall use is gone. Thanks for playing!
Estimate may be high, but these things are getting stolen.
https://www.autozone.com/diy/exhaust/catalytic-converter-theft
Why would the thief take all that extra crap that just takes more space and for which they won’t get any extra money?
And one some vehicles you ain’t getting whole muffler and cat out with just one cut ahead of the cat, because it’s blocked in by suspension components or an axle.
So they gotta make two cuts.
You’re right, some vehicles it’s more practical to make two cuts. My mechanic says he’s seen it all with Priuses. Some of them get taken off at the manifold flange, some just the converter, some like mine with one cut.
Almost like someone puts in an order for what the customer needs.
The fact they are taking extra crap means that it’s not just dipsh!ts looking for precious metal.
It could just mean that it’s dipsh!ts who have no idea where the cat is actually located.
We’re probably not dealing with very smart people here.
Ummm, yeahhhh. A massive and growing sector of not very smart people. Definitely not organized crime. Just a bunch of random idiots sawzalling random objects at random that coincidentally are worth a fortune to random theft victims and those who have had their random object fail.
Sure Jan.
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that the “big lump in the exhaust pipe is worth a lot at the scrap yard”.
You do have to have SOME smarts to know whether the big lump is a resonator, a muffler, or a catalytic converter.
And if you don’t have some smarts, you take it all.
Scrap yards in Colorado and California call the cops at the first whiff of a catalytic converter not on a vehicle.
Penalties are harsh, and a sting is too easy.
Not in Indiana, from FOX 59 news:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOLgy6dWFFY&t=5s&ab_channel=FOX59News
“Police sting in Johnson County targets businesses and individuals who purchase stolen catalytic converters.”
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