Catalytic Converter Stolen - Parts?

California, land of dreams. Paradise lost.

 

And this helps people how? Please move out of California. Did you ever live in LA in the 1970's, you know what Smog was like?

 

Just had mine taken on a 2001, OEM part replaced only 1 1/2 month ago, i want to do a claim to progressive but not sure they'll drop me for a claim after just having the insurance about 2 months or not? Does spray painting the cat do any good?

 

I'm putting a $85 gen2 one from ebay in one of mine right now. I'm gonna post a video on how to prevent it from getting stolen.
Painting them bright orange header paint. I changed the bolt heads to wheel lock lugs. Weld some thick steel rod to the pipes
so a rotating cut tool won't work, and even a saw will take a long time (too long). Put your license plate number on it grind it into the cat, put lettering "WARNING HIGH VOLTAGE -- Death to cat thieves" and run a 300v wire across the pipe...ok, still working on the 300v part..

I've also worked on a detector that notices when a flashlight is shined under it, when it is raised up by a jack,
and then it texts my phone with pictures and I can reply with "kill them".....

 

So I bought a gen2 cat on ebay, priced at just $80. Well....it gets a P0420 indicating that it is a fake cat..I did get the code to go away with the 02 spacer trick. It won't be used for smog checks, so ok I guess, I don't want check engine light on so far that wil work.

 

Header paint is rated to 2,000F which is what I used. Seems to have held up so far, including I used nail polish to write on the pipe "Danger High Voltage" and wrapped bare copper wire around the pipes to run 3000 v through.

I also added a razor sharp saw toothed sheet metal under the car screwed into the 'frame' rail hanging down with "Warning High Voltage You will Be KILLED"

 

LOL, well, I bought an auction Gen 1 thinking I'd keep the battery and sell the cat/exhaust then scrap the rest to get my money back. However, when I went to pick it up, it didn't have the cat. Dang owner stole it after wrecking the car. But, it starts and runs great, and has leather seats - all the Gen 1s I've had and never seen one with leather seats.

So, I'm thinking I'll just replace the cat and have one more Gen 1. Will still need to find another to get a battery for my 03.

So, I'm reading these threads. Can anyone confirm...

Mine is missing both of the first two "components" - the cat that bolts directly to the exhaust manifold and then the next component that has the HCAC valve - IDK, is that a cat too?

To do the aftermarket replacement with actuator hack, am I essentially only replacing the front component? That's what the cats I see look like. From it's rear outlet, I just weld straight pipe to the original exhaust system behind there? They cut the rear O2, do I need to replace it by splicing in a new one? About to order the cat and want to make sure that's all I need.

Without the cat, when I start the car, it fires right up but barely moves. Will simply installing a replacement cat fix whatever makes it not have power? It's not throwing any codes, although I only limped it for about a half mile so maybe there's not been enough time - I had to replace the 12v so it probably lost all the codes in memory? Or does the HV power that memory?

 

-Wait a minute---you bought a car and the owner wrecked it? And it starts and runs great? Please explain!

-AFAIK, leather was not a factory option on the Classic; must be after-market.

-Without the HCAC valve, mileage will suffer, and you'll get the CEL constantly. Ask me how I know....

-Don't know about Texas, but you might not pass state emissions inspection (if any) with the set-up you propose, even if it works.

-As soon as you replace the 12V you'll get the codes set again for whatever problems remain. When I replace my 12V battery, I keep power supplied to the system through the accessory socket, which I jumped at the fuse box to be always live. That way I don't have to reset all the radio presets, etc.

-When the HCAC valve finally failed on my '02, after almost 20 winters of road salt, I had my mechanic replace the entire exhaust system front-to-back with Toyota OE parts. Not cheap, but I love the car and want to drive it another 20 years!

 

Yeah, that's what I see as well in the diagrams. So, replace the sensor, bolt on the cat, straight pipe to the original exhaust, hack the vacuum actuator, and I should be good. Looks like under $500. Only deal is whether it affects my MPG. Does that HCAC valve actually affect MPG, or is it just like an afterburner for pollution? Not sure what it could be doing to reduce MPG.

 

Hey Trombone, how do you know?

I've replaced a stolen cat + HCAC with an aftermarket cat + vacuum hack to silence the HCAC codes. Mileage has dropped to ~35 mpg. I don't know whether the efficiency loss is related to the non-OEM exhaust or something else. Apart from slightly different sound, the car drives/feels/performs fine.

 

It happened to my '02, that's how. Fortunately, it wasn't due to a stolen cat, but to a rusted flapper(?) in the exhaust line that made the vacuum actuator crap out. Expensive repair, though---had to replace the entire exhaust run from motor to tail pipe. I was fortunate that my service guy obtained an OE replacement. I understand that these are hard come by anymore. Good luck with your problem!

 

Thanks for replying.

So maybe the valve was stuck in the "divert" position?