Hello, My son received advice to install a catalytic converter shield from his college advisor who had hers stolen from her Prius last month. I found one on Ebay for less than $50, except I would have to install it myself. Can this be installed even if you do not own a car lift? I only have a couple of HarborFreight ramps that are high enough for me to get under the front of the car. Thanks for your help.
Not sure how high your ramps are, just make sure you have enough room under the car for the riveter and the drill you use. I did it myself using 2 small jack stands and a 10" riveter.
You can on ramps, but it's a little tight. You will need to make a clearance cut for the cat on a Prius v. The photo shows the cut needed.
I installed the cat shield myself using jackstands at 4-corners, but I would not like to do it again. There was very little clearance to get under the car for the install, and I'm not a big guy. It will be very tight work if you only use ramps in the front. Unless you have a right angle drill, you might not have enough room to fit your drill + drill bit under the car to mount the rear shield, if only the front is lifted. FYI, use some oil (motor oil is fine if you don't have cutting oil) on the drill bit when you drill into the rails for the back fasteners. It will keep the drill bit from overheating due to friction, and help the bit bite into the steel, making the drilling go much faster. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
I installed mine with a harbor freight 1 ton jack and two small harbor freight jack stands. I did not use the rivets. I used bolts from the local hardware store with grip tight nuts, the ones that can’t be hand threaded on or off. That way I can remove it if I ever need to. Theoretically so could a thief, but it would take him 30 minutes under the non jacked up car to remove all of the nuts.
