Catalytic Converter Theft Deterrent Easy and Cheap 

Bought a kit from a company that had 25" of stainless braided cable and two anti-theft brackets that the wire went through , and looped around the converter. Our company liftgate lasted two weeks in the parking lot before thiefs cut off the wire and the converter (again). All these devices moderately supply deterence . What is needed is fed laws sending scrap yard owners to prision if they purchase non-vin number converters. Spend 5 minutes today and contact your state reps and senators.

"Thieves don't like work. That's why the steal." FACTS

I'd prefer a hydraulic system that lowers the frame to the ground when the circuit is cut.

Car manufacturers need to start making cars with cat protection as standard, or completely plated up.

We need tougher laws on this. Something like "If a cat is cut you'll lose a nut".

Your sister is lucky she has you as a brother. You rock

Mark is one awesome uncle. Kudos for coming up with this deterrent.

"Thieves don't like work, that's why they steal!" Perfect Quote!

Honda Element owner here. I've been brainstorming deterrents for about two weeks till my parts come in. This is very similar to one of my ideas. I was gong to braid three lengths around all the way to the muffler flange. Another idea involved a Co2 cartridge and some glass shards.

I like those handheld propane torches. Turn it on, aim it at thief's foot, listen for the theif to hit his head on the bottom of the car. Affordable and handy, I keep one in my car for unexpected events.

You have a good idea but it "might" only deter theft not prevent it. Along with sawzalls, thieves also have cordless cut-off wheels which make quick work of clamps and steel cable.

State law needs to prohibit the sale of cat converters. Period.

There needs to be a law that requires manufacturers to install protection devices for catalytics **immediately** (under 'safety recall') and continue to do so until they redesign the cars to make catalytics impossible to access without a full on garage.

I have a Honda Element. I wrapped it in 50ft of 5/16 steel cable. Used a few U nuts on the cable and some JB weld on the threads. It would take 10 or 15 minutes to get the cat off with a Sawzall. Been 2 years..still there.

I do think it's a great deterrent but I see holes which would still allow them to steal the cat. What you have done is still very good and looks quite intimidating for a thief which is the point really!

Thank you for the video, I just had mine stolen out of my 7th gen Honda Accord so I’m looking into ways to secure my new one. Unfortunately in New York we’re forced to get OEM parts to pass emissions tests so it’s at least a $1500 expense each time JUST to replace the cat converter. After calling muffler shops all over Long Island, only one was willing to weld pipes around the new cat. Most shops were more than aware of the theft problem but didn’t seem to want to help someone that didn’t have access to a car lift or welding equipment/experience. Besides making plans to get a really good car alarm system plus cameras around the house, I want to make it as difficult as possible for these scumbag thieves and make them think they can never get to my new catalytic converter

So Innovative; thank you. My catalytic converter stolen off 2005 Hyundai Sonata LX; around four weeks ago. As of the moment, I am talking to an exhaust shop/repair shop about the above (a deterrent (before replacing it)). [You are right; my estimate for fix and oxygen sensor replacement is $1400. + mental stress + insurance phone/e-mail + police report + added vehicle security]. I am thankful that this is repairable. 🙏

This is great for do it yourselfers but if a person had to pay 5 hours at 110 dollar shop rate it will get expensive quick. Luckily I did a home welding course. Great tips , great info, great vid, thanks, thumbs up.

If a person can't weld, just rivet to the clamp. Also instead of welding cable to clamp can also use JB weld exhaust wrap to wrap around cables as well, just some more ideas. Weld nuts on clamps or use JB weld on the threads.

Just an after thought, welding a flat washer to the heads of the bolts would make them unable to be removed. Later if needed to remove the bolts you could weld a nut om top of the washer, and remove bolts with a socket or a wrench.

We need the death penalty for the thieves and the people buying these catalytic converters.

Buy a spool of hardfacing wire for your welder and run a few heavy beads along the length of everything you don’t want cut by a battery powered sawzall . The bead will quickly gnaw the teeth off the saw’s blade before it cuts through.

Wow this set up is very good it will take the thief about a year to remove the Cat.

I would have gone a single step farther by coloring the cable a bright highly visible color like orange or red so it shows, "hey, I'm installed here!" so it would even deter thieves even more! Mind ya, I would use an engine paint or another high heat type of paint designed so it wouldn't catch fire! Nice video and helpful!

Thanks for the video. I was thinking about doing exactly the same thing. I was reading up on the Catstrap and figured I've got some extra cable and exhaust clamps are cheap, so plan to fab my own solution like you did, including welding the nuts. The Catstrap just has cables inside of it, which are a pain to cut with a saw as they want to move around a bunch. Good job!

Fantastic job on securing the exhaust system. It’s a shame how people don’t have respect for others property..they really don’t thing someone will come out of there home and stop them , causing a lost of life for a lousy catalytic converter..But there not cheap and so people take matters into there own hands. Thanks

Nice job. Thanks for Sharing....and Thanks for taking care of your family!

Damn good work...And even a great show of family and a brother.

You probably could get away with not welding the nuts on the clamps. They don't carry wrenches and wouldn't wanna take the extra time anyway. They pretty much just carry a sawzall and search for specific converters that get the most 💰 and are easy to cut out in a few minutes. They see all that crap under the car, and will just go to the next one. Most important thing is to not give them an easy spot to cut.

Modern cordless grinders are really good these days. With a cutoff wheel I’m sure it will slice right thru the cables

Good job. It is a great deterrent. And that is all you can do with thieves. 👍

I was thinking that something like loosely-secured braided kevlar ropes might be the best option rather than steel cable. They would not be cut cleanly with a sawzall and if they tried to use a cutoff wheel it would be a huge tangle. You might even be able to just spiral wrap it around the whole section of tube with adhesive at strategic points, making it even easier.

Most helpful video I've seen so far thanks! Just did this myself pretty easily and used some JB Weld.

This is how I protect my catalytic converter. This works 100%. First I remove it and then store my catalytic converter in a safe place. When I need to take my car in for a smog check I'll briefly re-install my catalytic converter. With this method no thief will ever steal my catalytic converter. Problem solved!

What kind of world do we live in anymore...People stealing Cats...Its really so crazy..

I saw several pictures of similar product (Catstrap) on Amazon feedbacks, where cables being cut and catalytic converter stolen. I'm not sure what they used maybe sawzal, maybe grinder, maybe cable cutters. Also people reported that cables and Catalytic converter rusted due to electrolytic corrosion between them in few years, so they had to replace catalytic converters.

The exhaust system is grounded. You can tack weld a micro voltage sensor downstream of the converters and send a micro voltage signal to ground. The sensor harness plugs into the O2 sensor and the O2 sensor plugs into the back of the sensor harness to complete the O2 circuit. The anti theft sensor voltage can be used by the O2 heater voltage circuit. When the exhaust pipe is then cut the ground to Batt will be cut and the sensor capacitor will charge and then release charge to a read and write CMOS chip programed to your Key Fob Panic button signal. Alarm will sound. A secondary run capacitor can be integrated into the circuit and can be used for tripping the alarm if harness is unplugged. Simple circuit design. I don't know what's wrong with people today.

They usually will not steal an aftermarket converter because it doesn't have as much palladium as the OEM. And most people that steal them already have a sawzall with them.

The main thing going on here is it's a visual deterrent. Many cat crooks are now using a hand held grinder / cut-off wheel and that will go through cable in a heartbeat. A grinder will also cut through the u-bolts and release the cable. Reading between the lines, this looks complicated but will only take another 30 seconds to cut through, if that.

THis might work... Typically wire cables can be cut in like 4 seconds. Just about every bike ever stolen was secured with wire cables. However, these cable cutters are big and they are not likely able to get the cutters into the 90 degree position while under the car. Not enough room between ground and car chassis to extend the cutters.. Thus, they would likely move to an easier target. You could also just up your "comprehensive" insurance coverage...

That cable will cut right off... they just have to cut right next to the ckamp. The clamp will keep it from flooping around and cut it right off.....

I made this mod 5+ years ago on my 4Runner. I didn't use the U-clamp, only the steel rope clips. I plan to add a few more steel ring clamp. Weld all the nuts is overkilled I think. Thief don't have time and patience to remove all the nuts.

I remember the good ol' days when thieves only stole the car stereos.

I followed your lead mostly. I swapped out the exhaust clamp nuts with 3/8-16 tri groove nuts - the nuts and tool will set you back a 'nut'(!!!).

Thank you for explaining everything the thieves need to do to defeat this. LoL 😂 But really thanks for sharing. I’m doing an 04 for a friend

Great idea thanks

Your one hell of an uncle!!

Welding directly above you with exposed skin. It's a bold strategy Cotton, let's see if it pays off for him.

I just leave my pet honey badger tied up under my car every night...

It has been a year since you did the instalation which btw, it is brilliant. Update us the same Cat is still in your niece's car!

I think all vehicles should come standard with a lock-on Full Vehicle Body Anti-Splash/Theft Skid Plate. Just enclose the entire bottom of the vehicle and be done with it.

Cable is very difficult to cut with a reciprocating saw, all it does is rattle back and forth, a cordless cut off saw would work but how much time do thieves have and how much noise do they want to make. Make them work for it. This is a great deterrent, it will work against the tubing cutters the frickin thieves use too. My neighbors was stolen using the tubing cutters that you clamp on and rock back and forth, no noise.

I guess this might slow down a thief for a couple of minutes and maybe they would just move on to another car but all of those muffler clamps look like they could be cut in seconds with a sawzall and then move the cables out of the way and cut the converter off. The manufacturers are going to need to develop a system to prevent this plus law enforcement crack down on the metal recovery folks for accepting what they know are stolen converters.

I hooked a spare battery straight to the converter, so it's hot. I flick on the switch after my truck is turned off. The converter is now hot, go ahead, and lay on GROUND and apply your saw.

Just weld a piece of flat stock or some rebar across the cat. You can also spray it a heat resistance bright color too.

Thieves don’t like to work that’s why they steal…that line was golden

Anything is better than nothing just like an alarm or a club on the steering wheel Easy to make fun of or try to come up with reasons why not. That is until years have clicked by and vehicles all around yours got messed with while yours was left alone. Not lucky, just a little CYA . A little protection goes a long way 😄

You are an amazing person, take that thieves, "they don't like to work"

The thieves also look for SULEV stickers on windows which my 7th gen accord has that makes it a prime target so a small extra step is scraping that off on your back left window. First priority is securing your cat like this guy said. The crime only takes 3 minutes top so make it look like they want nothing to do with it. Plus get a car alarm, when the thieves took mine they kicked and shook my car to see if an alarm would go off and then almost left when someone drove by and saw but this citizen of the year didn’t even stop or call the cops🙄Always run defense, I know that more now👊🏻

You're a good brother and uncle. Nice work. It is ashamed what one must do to keep their stuff from scum. It would be interesting to see the video if the scum came back after the previous scouting mission.

I wish you would've taken the time to weld some razor blades and sharp nails on that cat, maybe a few bear traps 🤔 You know I'm playin, keep it goin bro!!

SHORTCUT......JUST WELD THE CABLE TO THE PIPE......put a clamp on the top part to make it hard to reach the bolts. FYI a cut off wheel would go through that cable in seconds.

Do the cables rattle against the exhaust? Looks like they might cause some extra noise in the areas not secured by the u bolts. Looking to try this out.

There are companies that make a multipart skid plate for many cars, the 2006 honda accord runs about $360 and could be self installed for those who don't weld. Probably a better option for those who can't fabricate like the video presenter can.

After I seen the thief on camera I would live wire my truck to 240V and plug it in every night...

Very good! Cheap and easy way to protect the cat.

You did a nice job ..... Bravo !!

Maybe an extremely loud motion detecting alarm installed under the car that activates when it’s parked

I'm surprised they unbolted it. Most I've seen the thieves just cut the pipe on either side of the cat. Unbolting takes too long.

They'll just steal the whole car next time & return the downpipe less cat for a laugh 😂

If manufacturers are able to put covers on the engines, they should at least put a cover over the cat. Charge extra if they must for heavy duty theft device but they dont bother at all. Tells you something how lazy car manufacturers are.

I'm thinking the best idea is to buy a vehicle where the catalytic converter(s) are tucked up in the engine compartment where they are so hard to get at that thieves don't even want to try.

Since this is a big problem why can’t the police put a tracking device inside a converter, let it get stolen and then follow it all the way to the buyer. Bust them all.

This is amazing. Thank you for the awesome video

It's great that we're all screwing around with "anti-theft" crap while there's little or no real prosecution for this. Go ask your local law enforcement just how many cases they've actually closed.

nice work! But what is to stop the thief from cutting through the clamp with the sawzall?

Very nice I'm going to do that to my truck asap.

Why not just ding the clamp threads? Nice job and nice that you helped her out.

Amazon sells a motion detector kit for 40 bucks that has a 115 db alarm that goes off when they first look under the car

I've painted the Cats on my 2023 Silverado put on a sheild and attached a loud vibration alarm to it. I'm hoping they will just look at it and think its too much trouble.

I easily installed a U bolt with a one inch chain link to one end of exhaust and wrapped chain around and clamped with u bolt at other end where they need to cut with sawzall

local TV stations should show pictures of people stealing your cats or even scopping out your car to plaster their picture for everyone to see.

THANKS FOR SHARING I HAVE A BRAND NEW ONE I'M GONNA MAKE SURE IT IS PUT ON LIKE THIS

So when a cat burglar uses an angle grinder, bolt cutters, or even a jigsaw or sawsall, what metal/positioning are you using to prevent using those quick-removal tools? I'm confused because the cable looks like steel and with the right tool it'll come off easily, just like the steel muffler pipe.

Do u disconnect the battery when welding on the vehicle? Car computors are pretty pricey.

Helpful video thanks, dig the xr in the back 👌

Nice work and good attempt but wouldn't a battery operated cutting wheel get past all of what you did within minutes?

I used chicken wire, several wraps; they can cut through it but it will be a big mess. Most will move on to easier targets.

Good idea and well done. Thx for the idea.

They need to go after the scrap dealer, the men who buy these stolen converters asd they turn a blind eye to the thieves as they bring in 3 , 4, 10 converters a day.

Make scrap yards responsible for identifying where each converter comes from. Driver's License, SS# and signature. Prosecute to the fullest. If that doesn't work, I have a backhoe and lots of lime.

This kind of theft has come to India too.BEWARE!Ask your Service provider to render this service plz!~

Hello there I just wanted to know if you can do the catalytic converter protection like the one you did in your video. And were is your place at do I need to buy the stuff for you to cover my catalytic converter.thanks

just wondering if it will rattle at all? Great idea though

Meet in mind that an oxy-acetylene cutting torch with baby tanks is portable and quiet. I’d rather just put on a remote paging alarm system.

If one were to spot weld a few feet of steel tubing along the length and on the top of the cat, what type of metal do you think would slow a Sawzall down the most?

Idk, if the cat is valuable, cable cutters would would add only a minute to the theft or a grinder with a cutoff wheel. There needs to be a thick plate covering the whole area, say 1/4" steel plate with enough weld to drastically increase any attempt at cutting it off. But where to attach.

Was that a Honda XL 250R that I saw in the background? I put a lot of miles on one just like that one.

Can you weld the cables to the pipe and cat in addition to what was done?

Cats should last many years. Having kept trucks for over 19 years and never replacing a cat -- that is a very true statement. These thieves are taking way too many cats to the scrap dealers for them not to be very suspicious. A legit repair shop probably replaces less than a half dozen of these things a year. Anybody who brings in a half dozen of these things week after week is a thief. So the big problem is the scrap dealers are in on it. Scrap dealers that handle these things are few and far in between. Something the cops could easily stake out. Bust the thieves and the rogue scrap dealers at the same time and it will put a huge dent in this crime.