Aftermarket Catalytic Converter Install

- $124 ebay Cat
- $77 Denso O2 Sensor
- $100 Mechanic Install

Man, I was too slow in removing the OEM Cat or Cat Sheild myself so I missed the $1000 +/- profit on the OEM Cat

$301 Total for a Cat Replacement after theft is fine by me!
Thanks for the ebay link @rogerthat

 

He used the clamp.
I got a glimpse of him using that mandrel bending and cutting machine he has, which he used to taper the end of the tubing on the new Cat so it could slide nice into the end of the exhaust pipe that was cut...and he did use the clamp.

This kit wonderfully includes the clamp and bolts and spring bolts for the install....the old springs and cut bolts are still on the ground in that school parking lot.

Last I heard from the police that they've tracked it down to a known Vietnamese Cat Theft ring from Chapel Hill driving around in a white Toyota Camry with obscured plates...yeah I don't expect to get that part back at all now...

 

Welp.
It only took six days for my original catalytic converter to be stolen off my just-bought-last-week 2008, 2nd Gen Prius (AKA the most sought-after one on the market right now with the highest value), right on the corner with security cameras, in a "good" neighborhood (Williamsburg BK).

I'm in NYC. Any suggestions? Is it safe to drive or should I have it towed? I haven't spoken to Geico yet to see if this is covered but I do have comp/collision.... hopefully this will be covered?

I didn't even get a chance to make a happy post about my new (to me) car to share with ya'll
It has 206k miles so I'm comforting myself by saying that it probably needed replaced soon anyway, I do not know. Argh.

 

Damn that sucks. It will be covered with geico since you have comp.

 

you probably already handled it.. but i would just leave it home and order the cat and install myself if you have basic mechanical skills.

Driving it is loud AF.. so that's up to you.. I would slap on any kind of muffler up in there and rig it to stay up over driving it as is.

BTW that cat sells on amazon for like $90 sometimes. if you see it at 130 sometimes you can wait and the price will drop back to 90.

I've purchased 2 of them at $90 now.

 

BTW thanks for posting this thread.. it probably saved me some time.

I ordered a 6 pack of dewalt metal cutting sawssall blades and it cut through pretty quickly. Make sure you cut from the buttom to the
top so the the pipe doesnt cave in on the blade. i found that out the hard way. it probably would have cut through in like 5 seconds or less had i started from the bottom. it cut through from the top but hung up at the bottom as it caved in.

I probably saved myself some time/hassle by leaving the factory donut in and reusing the bolts. (thanks to the tip from the op in this thread). I did find that even though my 1/2" electric battery impact wrench didn't break them free, I think it kind of did.. because first i tried using the impact no go.. then i tried the breaker bar.. then i tried the impact some more.. and then the breaker bar seemed to work. Kind of sucked doing that from the ground..

It's probably just best to let the mechanic put it on the lift and straight pipe it.. the 2 muffler shops around here wanted like $180.. one quoted me $80 but i lost the contact info.. of course now i found it again afterwards..

the other tip i'd say is to get some card board to lay on. i used the U clamp supplied with the cat.

 

BTW if you live in a big city or CA.. Sell your gen 2 and get a prius C you'll lose some interior space
but you'll get better MPG, easier parking, a more reliable car and a better looking car..
and not have to worry about your cat theft.. I was suprised some people get their cars ripped off more than once.. i guess the idiots doing the work might be newbs not realizing the second cat isnt' worth jack until after they take it..

 

Mine was just stolen 2 Sundays ago from my 2008 Prius at 9am! I gave a question I’m thinking of going aftermarket on my replacement and putting a cat security shield over it. The plate is made fir make model and my year and all Gen2 years I believe.
Wondering if anyone has put the cat security in their Prius.
Thanks

 

Sounds like i have an exhaust leak.. or i'm wondering if it's just louder because this fake-azz cat is probably mostly a straight pipe.
maybe i'll pull it up on the ramps today to investigate.. i didn't use any paste.. then again maybe i'll leave it like this. it's not too loud and i kind of like knowing when the ice is running so i can get off the gas pedal lol

 

You think theft is new?

I know right? People think Trump is a hero and savior. LOL

 

I’ve been driving since 1972, got my 2001 Prius in 2008, living in a low crime neighborhood for over 30 years. Guess what… for the first time, my original cat was cut off the bottom of my Gen 1 five days ago. I did not think it was “statistically likely” either, especially with a 21 year-old car. Wrong.

 

I really really really wish I’d done this BEFORE my Gen 1 had the cat converter cut off it and stolen. Thanks for posting.

 

I wouldn’t fret about it. Probably wouldn’t have made any difference.

 

That's not how probability works. The probability of event y happening don't change just because it happened to you. If there's a one in a 100,000 chance of something happening, it's going to happen to 3,300 people in the United States. If one or all of them were to pop on to a message board and say, "You're wrong! It happened to me." they would be incorrect to say that it's not true that the probability of said event is 0.00001.

You yourself are testifying that the probability of having a catalytic converter stolen on any given day has been about 1 in 18,000 in your experience.

 

This is seriously way above my brain-width!
Since it happened to me, seems that probability just shot up to 100%. I suppose I’m just myopic, though!