Cat thieves

[827Roverman]

Originally Posted by haymitch

I had a visit from the cat thieves last night who managed to make off with the converter Really gutted as I've been really worrying about it happening following reports on here. My neighbour disturbed them in the process of trying to take my alloy wheels just to add insult to injury.

Just thought I'd let you all know - if you're lucky enough to have a garage or secure off road parking then I think it's time to start using it

Sorry to hear you have been a victim of this rampant crime which seems to be getting worse nation wide, hope you had some locking wheel nuts on, it would be a good thing if the scrap yards that take in the cats could be clamped down on in some way, these scroats don't care about the upset and cost it causes.

[ASt85]

In theory off-loading the cats should be detectable.......ie entry in the scap metal dealers "buy in logbook" with a recorded bank account number for payment.......yeah right and there goes another flying load of horse manure which only applies to people who legally want to sell scrap!

Unless the local constabulary make an effort, nothing will change unfortunately - even if it gets to the courts, metal theft convictions are few and far between and unless the perpetrator has nicked railway or HT power cable and find themselves parboiled/burned they are unlikely to be caught.

IMHO the only way to stop it is to stop the purchase of the stolen metal....the law is still wanting in that respect - too little accountability plus the legacy of insufficient resources to do the job properly.

[Foeux]

Is there method in the madness if removing your own cat to sell, covering the cost of a cheap new one and leaving you with some pocketmoney instead of the plonkers with cordless grinders?

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Foeux

Is there method in the madness if removing your own cat to sell, covering the cost of a cheap new one and leaving you with some pocketmoney instead of the plonkers with cordless grinders?

Sadly more lunacy than logic in that idea, for the 7/9xx cars at least.

First stumbling block is the Lambda sensor, generally screwed into a boss on the cat inlet. Removing a Lambda sensor usually results in a large physical shock as they normally release from the threads with a bang - that can and often does kill them, sometimes not immediately but certainly damages them so they don't last long after.

Second problem is that the cats tend to be integral with the front pipe - of necessity you'd have to cut the front pipe to remove it. Then you either need to find some universal flanges to weld onto the front pipe and intermediate pipe and the new el-cheapo cat or find a cat with inlet and outlet pipes the right diameter and use service sleeves to connect it.

Then a new Lambda boss needs fitting to the front pipe, upstream from the cat. Once drilled and welded on, a new Lambda sensor fitted.

In short, you'd have to do the rectification work necessary from having a cat stolen just to fit a cheap cat to "protect" your good cat. Unnecessary expense at this point and may (not necessarily) cause an MoT emissions failure from a cheap cat.
You may also find you don't get enough for your "good" cat to cover the cost of all this.

In the meantime, try to park "defensively" so the scrotes have less chance of getting under your car with a trolley jack or fit a cat guard.

[Forrest]

Perhaps an even better idea would be to replace the cat with a straight pipe and refit it once a year for the MOT.

[Piet22]

Going selling price for a 960 cat in the Netherlands is now 850-900 Euro cash in hand.

[griston64]

Is the Lambda sensor further up on 940's as mine is on the downpipe ?

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by griston64

Is the Lambda sensor further up on 940's as mine is on the downpipe ?

I believe some later cars had the option to have it further up Mark, usually if that's the case there is a Lambda boss on the downpipe and one on the cat with a blanking plug supplied to cap the unused one.

[baggy798]

The one on mine is a cheap 3" cat from ebay, about £90, so not much of a target and easily replaced.

Originally Posted by Piet22

Going selling price for a 960 cat in the Netherlands is now 850-900 Euro cash in hand.

Same here in the UK. Seen a couple of original cats go for £650 each.

Originally Posted by griston64

Is the Lambda sensor further up on 940's as mine is on the downpipe ?

They're all on the dp. The port just up from the cat is a diagnostic port.

[derek vivian]

If it helps to know, my 1997 V90 has a tilt sensor as part of the alarm system. Worth checking if yours has this and also ensure the alarm is working with a good loud horn. If it does then always ensure it is switched on!