Stolen catalytic, need advice

There are about a million threads in the last year about this already.
And now there are a million and one.
Please search for the answer to the question before posting it yet again.
Please.

 

You are lucky that the thief was a professional. He or she cut out the cat exactly where it should be without destroying the engine exhaust preheater coolant lines, so there was no damage to the car's cooling system. The thief apparently used an exhaust pipe chain cutter - the cut being clean and round.

The one on eBay will work just fine, however, you might but one from another vendor that includes a gasket and the spring loaded bolts that hold the cat to the exhaust manifold for not much more.

The new cat will need to be welded on, which should be inexpensive at a local muffler shop. The muffler clamp that many eBay vendors include will not work.

 

^ That.
You live in a somewhat freer state than those who are legally compelled to use an OEM replacement.
Even in Bellevue this should only be a few hundred dollar fix.

Get some quotes from local talent....with and without you supplying the parts.

 

I recently purchased this one for a friend who had his cat stolen,

Catalytic Converter For 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Toyota Prius 1.8L EPA | eBay


It work just fine on his Gen 3 2012 Prius. He had it installed and welded at a local muffler shop for $89.

Since he had comprehensive insurance with a $500 deductible, he did not want to make a claim.

 

Available at Autozone;

https://www.autozone.com/emission-control-and-exhaust/catalytic-converter?filterByKeyWord=catalytic+converter&fromString=search&isIgnoreVehicle=false

 

available at Advance Auto Parts.

Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

 

These dirt cheap Cat's cant actually be nearly as functional as an OEM cat, correct? I am assuming they are "fake" and dont really have any of the rare earth metals or internal makeup of an actual Cat?

 

They work,but with the minimum amount of precious metals needed to turn off the CEL light. If your state has emissions testing, it might not pass.

 

Most G2's will pass 49 state's emissions standards even without the catalytic converter.
Toyota went overboard with the cat to meet some kind of goofy super-duper-ultra-REALLY-FREEKIN-LOW emissions standard.

A "how low can you go" kinda thing.
Ultra-low-emission vehicle - Wikipedia

Priuses IIRC are SULEV whose emissions are 90% cleaner than the average new model year car...(with the cat)
I'm pretty sure that even without the cat they would be close to meeting most states standards if you could (as some people DO) find a way to spoof the 02 sensor inputs.

Fortunately.....in 50 out of 52 states relatively inexpensive cats are widely available for those who just want....."low emissions" so it is actually easier and less expensive to just obey the law and meet reasonable federal standards.


Unfortunately, relatively innocent people are getting injured and relatively sleezy people are profiting by a law with unintended consequences, and the local dot.state.dot.gov is fresh out of rats to give about.
Fire season is starting back up, rolling blackouts are right around the corner (again) and certain economic woes are present, along with non-trivial parts of the tax base looking to become ex-pats, and a recall election is on the horizon - something that, curiously, REQUIRES actual names and actual signatures to be verified against a list of for-real, legal residents....
(who knew?)

Me?
I have people at car auctions looking for PRC exports.

 

Basically the same shield at a better price;

CAT DEFENDER™️ 2010-2015 Toyota Prius Catalytic Converter Security/ Protection | eBay

 

Andoo, Hi; I'm in your region, so if you can d/m me re your repair, I would appreciate.
I'm a little confused: do all cat c repairs require welding?

Also, could I get some input as to Miller Shield - has anyone had another theft after installing one of these?

Do they really take 2 hrs to install? And do they require any welding?
Thank you!

 

There is no straight section of pipe between the stolen converter and the preheater exchanger. The end of the exchanger is tapered and will needed to be welded as it was with the original..

The new cat will need to be bolted in and aligned and fitted with the heat exchanger and tack welded on the bottom, where it is accessible.

Then the converter with the exchanger needs to be taken down to complete the weld at the joint all around.

After welding, the whole assembly is reinstalled just like with the factory original.

 

The piece is a heat shield. It is fastened with 7mm plastic push in rivets. See it installed in this photo.



If you installed the Cat Shield, you do not need to replace it,