What!!! is there an aftermarket for drive shafts or are they creating one? I know they use to steal the converters but a drive shaft???

Have to say I hate em also. That initial realization sucks ass.
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I'm trying to understand that one as well. Unless they have the exact same car (with a bad drive shaft), how much market is there really? What can you do with it that I'm not understanding? Precious metal from a cat I understand, but not this one.

I came in expecting to hear about pin flippers or retailers charging more than suggested retail on hard to buy pins.

Have you reported the theft?

Do you have a fence up? Is the area well lit or have a motion activated light? Cameras? Guard dog?

Sounds like you need some cameras.

My internet fix-it guy said there was a big rash of catalytic converters thefts in So Cal, they stole one outta his work van.

Round the bolt heads holding the shaft. Only way to remove the shaft would be an impact wrench.

Yep, happening all the time. Several right in my neighborhood, including one in the house just behind us. They do it even if the car is in the driveway. Takes less than one minute, they have some type of sawzall and they just go under, make 2 cuts, throw it in their car and drive away. I’m going to have some anti theft guards welded on soon, hope they don’t get me before I get around to it.

I had the uhaul truck on camera along with the people stealing my quad. The police and uhaul did NOTHING. It was as easy as who rented the truck with the distinctive Oklahoma tornado scene on it? Uhaul protecting the f'n criminals. An actual tornado rolled through a year later and flattened the uhaul store that rented it. True story, no shit.

is it for the aluminum ? drive shafts are made out of aluminum

Aluminum scrap isn't really worth much.

Catalytic converters supposedly have pretty good scrap value, especially for the low amount of effort it takes to swipe one.

Maybe with the shafts it's a similar situation to truck tailgate thefts where the tailgates have a significant resale value? Who knows.

I couldn't agree more. I had a Chevy Blazer stolen once when I went to a Steelers game. Three and a half hours from home. 911 put me on hold. I was shocked. I turned to my friend and said: "911 JUST PUT ME ON HOLD!!! WHY DOES 911 HAVE A HOLD BUTTON?!?!?!" A cop came a half an hour later and gave us a ride to the bus station. We caught a bus to Breezewood and I had someone pick us up there. I called around Pittsburgh the next day and found it at an impound yard. I went back down and it was stripped. I went to the police station to file a stolen vehicle report. A cop there told me there was a parking ticket to be paid. The ticket was issued after it was stolen. I ask the cop where they put the ticket since there was no windshield or windshield wipers. Not only where they thieves they were immoral parkers also. I could have beat the ticket but it would have been another trip to Pittsburgh. No thanks... I paid it.

Never heard of a stolen driveshaft, converters, wheels, transmissions, stereos yes. Those are steel which isnt worth much

We had all the catalytic converters cut out of our work trucks a couple times

I clicked in to see if this was another ASOA / Jonathan Demare thread lol

When I was a kid, I went shopping at a mall on Christmas Eve. As I parked, I saw someone who I thought was admiring my Jeep.
Yep, came out and both sides of the soft top were pulled up and my surface mount sony speakers were gone. I felt like such a sucker, and gained a new mistrust of people. I was in there for about ten minutes, and I couldn't believe someone would do that on Christmas Eve. People really do suck.

yeah I would have always been afraid to live the Jeep lifestyle man...people are always fucking with those things.

I always assumed that was the cops!

It's like it would totally be worth it happening, just to catch them in the act.

I think it's platinum, pallidum, and rhodium.

A darn shame! And Police don’t have the man power to investigate theft crimes. All they will do is submit a Police report.
Check with your insurance companies!..... Your home owners and vehicle insurance you may be able to get reimbursed for some of your expenses after you pay for the deductible. It won’t hurt to call them and ask!

Yes, I had one stolen out my truck in front of my house in the late 90's. The cops knew who it was since he was breaking into cars all over town and were trying to nail the guy. The dude came back in the middle of the night and an officer was hiding in our front yard and caught him in my dads truck. The only thing my dad could find missing was a pack of cigarettes and a lighter so my dad had to go to court over a pack of cigs since they caught him in the act. That officer ended up becoming the local police chief not long after all that.

Im in Wisconsin small towns, we are seeing more cars with Cat Converters stolen.
Last one was a prius, $900 to fix.
I had a 2015 Duramax, sold the old converter for $1200

Cameras are now all over my shop and my home.

10 years ago when I worked at a Dealership near Milwaukee, the thieves had cinder blocks placed under frame rails, then removed valve cores and stole wheels, no jack required.

Around the Detroit area Hellcats are being stolen at an unbelievable rate. There is plenty of video of them, but the only time they get caught is when they wrap one around the telephone pole fleeing from the cops. I hope they all die....2 of them did 2 weeks ago. Its a start.

A friend of ours got hit recently. We were amazed at how silent they were as it was on a very busy street. His attitude was that they may need the $ more than he does....pretty healthy way of looking at it.

Electrify it. Bzzzzt.

Thats false, newer vehicles set a P0420 code when the downstream O2 sees a steady fluctuation in voltage. Downstream 02 should be 400 to 500 milli volt any more fluctuation it knows the Cat has failed. Some companies sell a spacer to pull rear o2 out of exhaust flow to fake the ecm.

This is what they are using, I have one for honest work.

chaincutter (resized).JPG

The crazy part is you may have bought your old drive shaft back for $250?

Only problem is that if someone is killed by a Booby Trap, the person creating and setting the trap are liable for up to murder.

I was so pissed when I had an expensive radar detector stolen, I thought about putting black powder in the case and wiring a model rocket engine to the power connector of an old unit. And then placing it on the dashboard for a thief to see.

My dad had one of the Judges he knew at the criminal Court call me to discuss my idea. Needless to say I came to the conclusion it was not a good idea.

It is becoming very common here too for the Catalytic Convertors to be stolen.
Never heard of the driveshafts being stolen though.

At least here now you have to show your ID, and plate number is taken anytime you try to sell one to a scrapyard.
Of course all scrapyards are honest and will report them all.

It was called "Midnight Auto Parts" here in the late 70's.
Rogue Mechanics with a list of desirable parts.
Only when you Total their ride it ain't so desirable.

Absolutely not true. I ran an off road x pipe on my mustang for years, and the error code would pop up in about 30 miles. Had to turn off the rear o2 sensors with a hand held tuner.

This is offensive to me, and in my experience very innacurate.

Not cheap but put up a tall chain link fence with barbed wire, locked gate, bright overhead lights, cameras everywhere.
Maybe a dog. Dog has to be out of poison range of bad guys. You have to make it a pain to get in your car lot, at least slow them down.
Isn't it against the law for scrap yards in Harris County to buy the stolen converters ?

I am thinking you need a camera with a motion detection sensor and a baseball bat. The motion sensor alerts you in the middle of the night, grab the bat and greet the victims, I mean thief’s.