One day, my wife called me to complain about the unbearable engine exhaust noise coming from her vehicle as she attempted to leave her work place parking lot...
Instantly, I knew what the problem was...and told her to call the police. I informed her that her catalytic converter had been cut off, and STOLEN. There was paperwork that needed to be filled out for insurance purposes, and I would be there to pick her up shortly.
I knew this because at the time she drove a Honda Element and it just so happened that one of our friends suffered three separate thefts to their Element in similar manner...
Honda Elements, it seems... are TARGETS for converter thieves.
After dealing with repair costs and transportation inconveniences...and the overall feeling of being some crack heads bitch...We were left with the same reality that all Element owners faced...We were easy targets...
A catalytic converter should last the life of a car.
Catalytic converters are valuable because they contain PGMs ( platinum group metals ). Every car has a converter and some may contain higher percentages of platinum than others.
Thieves are able to sell stolen converters to scrap metal dealers for up to $200 a piece, but first...they have to cut them off of unprotected vehicles.
Any vehicle with a high ground clearance is an easy target and thieves use battery operated hand saws to quickly cut the converter free. They care not for any other damage caused because speed is the key. The entire process can take less than one minute.
As you can see from the picture below, only two cuts were required to convert our platinum to crack cocaine...
So I decided to find a solution prior to returning the vehicle to service.
After doing some research, and being advised NOT to devise some lethal electric shock that would kill any unsuspecting platinum miner, it became obvious that the solution was some sort of physical barrier around the catalytic converter.
I chose a product called the Cat Clamp...
The Cat Clamp is basically two metal clamps that allow aircraft grade wire rope to be fashioned into a cable cage that encases the catalytic converter. While this device does not prevent the cutting of your converter or pipes... or limit serviceability, it prevents a thief from fast removal and serves as a major deterrent.
After paying $160 for the standard universal kit, I began the process of installation...
The overall installation took about forty-five minutes...and should be within the reach of anyone with average mechanical aptitude.
Once the outer clamps are in place on either side of the converter, the entire length of wire rope must then be laced carefully through anchoring points on the vehicle frame, then through holes in clamp , through another anchor point on the frame on the opposite end of the converter , and then back again through a hole in the clamp until a cage is formed.
Care must be taken to avoid any drive train components and clamps are provided to ensure that wire rope ends can be secured.
As I created a protective shield for this valuable and actively desired intimate part of my cars naked undercarriage, I could not help but to compare this contraption to some sort of modern vehicular chastity belt...and this at least gave me a chuckle.
Finally the wire rope must be pulled taut prior to tightening the bolts on each main clamp as well as the smaller wire rope u-clamps. Main clamp bolts may be welded or otherwise rendered non reversible if desired. The end result should look something like this.
Our insurance deductible was $500...and the price of the head ache involved with a catalytic converter theft is hard to quantify. Considering the high rate of converter theft among certain types of vehicle, I found the cost of the some sort of converter shield a wise expense...but one that most...including me...wouldn't absorb...until they have to.
If you drive a vehicle with high ground clearance or a Honda Element, you may find these old stories I've linked below to be of interest.
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