Catalytic converter Anti-theft

[12Bravo20]

Brother in law took the wife's 97 Cherokee to a shop in Columbia, MO and the thieving meth heads took all of the catalytic converters that they could from the shop parking lot. So it isn't just St Louis.

Here in the last 6-9 months there has been a rash of cars stolen from around my area (half way between Columbia and St Louis) and most end up in chop shops in St Louis.

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[VAMike]

I am from St. Louis. St. Louis has become the next Detroit. Crime and poverty is killing the city.

As opposed to the good old days, when St Louis hosted mob wars and race riots?

 

[Trigganometry]

I searched for this and found a thread that says to hold lock for 3 seconds on the fob to engage and that it should honk. It didn't honk and I rocked it pretty good and nothing happened. Window sticker says I have perimeter alarm. Do I need to go to dealer?

Hit the lock button twice. Horn should chirp twice. Alarm will be active. Now try opening the door and or shake the truck. Should trip alarm if you have it.

 

[Grooge]

As opposed to the good old days, when St Louis hosted mob wars and race riots?

How old are you? LOL

 

[12Bravo20]

As opposed to the good old days, when St Louis hosted mob wars and race riots?

Yes I remember the mafia car bombings in the mid to late 80's. Especially in South St Louis and around "The Hill". My dad and older brother were working on a house when a car bomb went off a block away from them.

 

[VAMike]

How old are you? LOL

Old enough to have been around in the 80s.

 

[Radioman]

Opinions of "bad" may vary, but maybe you do?

Roseville, CA- Roseville is once again named one of the best places to live in the United States, ranking 45th by Money.com in its 2020 survey. Roseville is the only California city in the rankings.Sep 22, 2020

Maybe it's the scum from other areas near here.

 

[D Fresh]

isnt that what this thread was about?
taking steps?

Yes, this thread is about "steps."

But most of the suggestions are far from common sense. Welding, rebar, razor blades, etc.

Common sense steps would be normal things like lock your doors, arm your alarm if parked outside, garage your vehicle, put a conspicuous camera on your place, things like that.

Roseville, CA- Roseville is once again named one of the best places to live in the United States, ranking 45th by Money.com in its 2020 survey. Roseville is the only California city in the rankings.Sep 22, 2020

Maybe its the scum from other areas near here.

Umm, Roseville is part of the Sacramento Metro area, right?

Sacramento's crime rate is 65% higher than the national average.

 

[Bludrok]

I don't know much about anything but aren't the cats on our trucks the downpipe off the turbo? I don't see how anyone could hack that out. A friend of mine had his stolen years ago in his E150. He was a trucker an all the trucks on the lot had theirs stolen because they were high off the ground an downstream from the engine bay. I would think they would look for ones that are not right against the block for easier access. Just guessing.

Ohio mandates a photo ID to turn in a cat for cash an the business accepting it has to keep a photo copy on file. This seems to have really cut down on the problem here....at least I haven't heard of any widespread problems.



Love the old trunk monkey

This is absolutely correct. The Cat is in the downpipe, which is a B***H to get off. I don't think you could get any cutting tools up in that area, but even if you could, cutting the downpipe would render it useless. I am replacing my downpipe and tried for an hour after having the exhaust removed and couldn't get my downpipe off. Although I didn't have any swivels, which supposedly are a must to accomplish the removal.

Thieves go for the cats they can just cut out real fast and get out of there, which you can't do with the ranger. They simply cut a piece of the exhaust both before and after the cat and run off with it. Unfortunately, I have had a cat stolen before.

I don't think you have anything to worry about at all. I would be more concerned about the truck getting stolen than the cat, honestly.

 

[Radioman]

Yes, this thread is about "steps."

But most of the suggestions are far from common sense. Welding, rebar, razor blades, etc.

Common sense steps would be normal things like lock your doors, arm your alarm if parked outside, garage your vehicle, put a conspicuous camera on your place, things like that.



Umm, Roseville is part of the Sacramento Metro area, right?

Sacramento's crime rate is 65% higher than the national average.

Roseville is in a different county about 20 miles north of Sacramento. Yes, Sacramento has a high crime rate which is why I stated the scum are perhaps from out of my area.

And I believe attaching rebar makes sense if you must park outdoors. Arming your vehicle and having a camera will not stop the thief of a converter in my opinion.

 

[D Fresh]

Roseville is in a different county about 20 miles north of Sacramento. Yes, Sacramento has a high crime rate which is why I stated the scum are perhaps from out of my area.

There's a reason the Sacramento Metro area is also called the Sacramento-Roseville CA Combined Statistical Area. Different county or not.

I'm fairly familiar with the area as my wife's entire family lives in Northern California.

And I agree, probably urban blight moving outwards. Even some criminals know not to shit where they eat.

And I believe attaching rebar makes sense if you must park outdoors. Arming your vehicle and having a camera will not stop the thief of a converter in my opinion.

Thieves look for easy targets. Obvious cameras and alarms will move them down the road.

Your neighbor accross the street has presented an easy target somehow. The trucks' construction, where he parks, something. And somebody remembered as they came back again.

Anecdotally, we had some douchebag kids vandalizing houses in the neighborhood. Caught them walking by our house on the camera, could hear one remark to the other, "not this one, they have cameras."

Are methheads/junkies as smart as teenagers? Probably.

 

[Apples]

If you do a bit of searching on the net, you can find catalytic alarms and other anti-thief items. Of course, the best solution is to garage your vehicle, but that isn't always possible (work parking lot, etc.?). All this said, the cat on a late-model Ranger is a whole lot harder to steal, than say a 2015 Ranger (placed where it is, obviously). Just thank your stars you don't own a late-model Taco!

 

[jthompson48]

This is absolutely correct. The Cat is in the downpipe, which is a B***H to get off. I don't think you could get any cutting tools up in that area, but even if you could, cutting the downpipe would render it useless. I am replacing my downpipe and tried for an hour after having the exhaust removed and couldn't get my downpipe off. Although I didn't have any swivels, which supposedly are a must to accomplish the removal.

Thieves go for the cats they can just cut out real fast and get out of there, which you can't do with the ranger. They simply cut a piece of the exhaust both before and after the cat and run off with it. Unfortunately, I have had a cat stolen before.

I don't think you have anything to worry about at all. I would be more concerned about the truck getting stolen than the cat, honestly.

Thanks for this. This forum is really an amusing and helpful resource. I'm looking into using ford pass points for the perimeter plus just for general security. I have the perimeter system, but that doesn't seem to have the motion alarm according to the manual.

I have a parking pad on the new place but I don't know if I can afford a garage right now with the cost of everything way up. Waiting on a quote, but it's hopefully something I can do sooner than later.

 

[Tracy Bowman]

Hi everyone, I've been lurking for awhile but this is my first post. I did a search and didn't find anything. I'm moving to a place where cat theft is an issue and I'll have to park outside for awhile. I know Rangers aren't well known for being targeted, but it sure would be easy to get under. Does anyone have anything they recommend?

My Ranger is a stock 2019 Lariat with about 14000 miles. I added side steps, an ATC topper, and of course the damper. pic is before steps.

Unfortunately, Habitat for Humanity‘s vehicles have recently been targeted in our area. What a shame.?

 

[Tracy Bowman]

Is it really an issue?

Or do the local news stations hype it up and pass the same bullshit story around the nation?

Despite the news saying it's an issue here I've yet to hear of 1 individual I know who has had this happen.

A quick Google search shows Denver had 15 stolen in 2019, 257 in 2020, and so far this year 108.

Not something I'm going to waste my time worrying about.

It is an issue unfortunately, D Fresh. Just maybe hasn’t “caught on” in your area. Hopefully, it never will.

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