...deleted diesel.

I have one from BudBuilt and it's the same thing. A million bolts and you have to take the damn thing off if you want to change the oil. I took mine off a few years ago when I changed deer leases and wasn't worried about Hill Country rocks tearing out my oil pan. The wife keeps telling me to put it back on, but I just can't get motivated to go back to taking the beast of a thing off and on every time I have to change the oil in the truck.

I bet thieves have them tamper proof bits, a full set is $7.49 on Amazon

I bet they do along with a cordless drill too.

Wouldnt it be easier to just grind them off? Seems like it would take less than 60 seconds to grind off the heads, rip the aluminum plate off. I keep thinking about getting one of the plates but seem gimmicky.

Probably, but like BP stated….thieves want to be in and out, minimal exposure time. Hardware is countersunk into steel plates. Gotta grind 11-12 off to get exposed to cats. Quicker to cut cats off without any deterrent. You have a nice Tundra too. A little protection is better than no protection. YMMV

I agree with the Dude. Using a grinder makes an awful lot of noise and visual effects. They carry a sawzall and want easy access.

Buddy of mine had his stolen a couple weeks ago in the parking lot of Fieldhouse while he was inside for a volleyball game. They hit four in the same parking lot all at once, and I think he said they were all Tundras. Cops told him they use a sawzall and have them cut off in about a minute.

I would bet if they saw the skid plate they would immediately move on to the next truck.

Buddy's Tundra sitting in Toyota of Plano's lot. 60-90 days till cats get here

no bueno.

They do carry jacks. They use them on Prius' all the time. The OP needs to look on Tundras.com. there are several posts on the subject. 2 choices I know of in Texas for shields are Vallaha (took a stab at spelling) and Taco Tunes. Vallaha is in Houston area and Taco Tunes is in San Antonio. Vallaha offers a couple of materials and thickness.

Called dealership. This is what they installed on my truck. I was mistaken, MOC is aluminum not steel.

MILLERCAT

I'm wondering why the guys that have them stolen don't just get an aftermarket high flow catalytic converter? You can get one for $250. Why in the world does the dealership charge $4500??

The aftermarket ones don't keep the light off. Put one on and almost guarantee you'll get P0420 or P0430. If you don't care about the check engine light being on, just put a piece of pipe in its place for $40.

And to correct your second comment...dealers don't make up the price for anything entirely. They have a manufacturer's suggested retail price on parts just like everyone else. Labor? Well that is partly dependent on warranty labor rate...something they have little control over either.

Like I said previously...cost of the cat is not the only thing to consider...

Towing
Cat
Labor/Shop Time
Down Time / Loss of use...if you use you truck for work
Rental Truck

Toyota replacement cost is outrageous but anytime you take your vehicle to a dealership you're paying through the nose.

Why would the automaker give a crap? They don't care how hard it is to work on the vehicle so they really don't care if a part gets stolen.

Most of the ones we've seen are G-vans with a box on the back like furniture and rental stores use for delivery. That's so because there is a lot of room underneath to operate the saw and the vans are usually parked overnight in areas without homes and people to disturb. A local church had two vans hit one night then hit again in a couple days after repairs. The Rent-A-Center got nabbed twice, and the family owned furniture store got hit too (they have F**d vans though).

Up here the indies are as much or more than the dealers and if you take your vehicle to the wrong one, it'll be waaay more than our local dealers after they replace enough parts to fix the problem. Yes, there are bad employees at dealers too.

BIG TIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is the huge market that leads to these being stolen? Same as the copper thefts?

precious metals...palladium and platinum

Authorities nabbed a big theft ring in Jersey that was shipping them overseas. Probably the result of scrap dealers in the U.S. that don't want to touch them any more. One advantage to taking a Tundra to the dealer is Toyota is providing rentals free of charge when insurance quits covering.

That still doesn't add up...it costs nothing to drive to a muffler shop and pay them $80 to weld in a new cat. No towing or rental truck needed. But, I guess if there are plenty of folks willing to pay $4500 for a new one then they will keep charging it, Lol.



Have you tried it? Plenty of people put high flow cats on vehicles that are a lot more expensive and a lot more highly tuned than a Tundra. I had them on my GTR and never had any check engine lights. Maybe it wouldn't work, but folks have been doing it for decades on other vehicles.

I don't care either way, but there's got to be other options.....

You're assuming they have the parts in stock and labor available to immediately fix your issue which I doubt they will. Back on topic...cat theft deterrent shield is well worth the price and piece of mind. Not the end all be all but a deterrent nonetheless. Carry on.

Makes sense, I agree.

We had a cat go bad on a Ford Expedition, had dealer diagnose the CEL. They told us to go to the local muffler shop for a replacement.