Auris Catalytic Converter Theft Solutions - Catloc, etc

[Cyker]

I believe it's 1 April 2025, so if you can 'pay' the last VED before that it'll still be 0, but if you pay after it'll be £20. TBH for £20 it's not worth worrying about.

Assuming it stays £20...! Mine's gone from £145 soon to be £180 in the time I've had it!!

[AisinW]

my tax is still the same €32 a year for Auris or Corolla 1.8L but the speeding camera is now €20 instead of €20 for 10kmh above the speed limit. It is double now. Even worse as we go faster than 30km above the speed limit.  The problem is they can place the camera within 10m of the speed limit sign. 

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

I believe it's 1 April 2025, so if you can 'pay' the last VED before that it'll still be 0, but if you pay after it'll be £20. TBH for £20 it's not worth worrying about.

Assuming it stays £20...! Mine's gone from £145 soon to be £180 in the time I've had it!!

My car most likely won’t survive that long and I  don’t know what would be the next. Two years sounds like eternity to me although time is flying and it’s just around the corner. 

[AisinW]

I think Toyota car body are not rust prone but the suspension parts are.  The springs may be rusty and surface rust on subframes.  Struts surface are also often rusty but internally they are still good and not blown. Typical KYB high quality internal seals and metals but minimal surface rust protection. The exhaust and muffler could be rusty too and exhaust spray can help. I bought €4 high heat black paint from Lidl and it hold up well up to 600C. 

2010 Auris with 230k miles still hold the value well everywhere. If you want to sell it, you should do Hybridsystem-Check and get 1 year Toyota Battery warranty if possible. I am not sure if 15 years hybrid Battery warranty applies to older Toyota or only newer after 2019. 

[AisinW]

We need 4 washers on the rear bolts.  None on the rest.  I actually installed it wrongly/upside down but not problem either.  It  probably  fit nicer if I flip it but I don't have any rattle even at full throttle from stop or in twisty roads.  The high voltage cable and brake lines are not touching either. Auris 2 is body Shell is pretty rigid, it does not flex much on slope or twisty roads.  My garage ramp has 25 degree slope and no rattle either when in and out from the garage to the road.   Just grab wide washers with total thickness at least 1 cm (stacking). It will guarantee for no rattle.  You can test to slide your finger on between the rear of the cat and the shield. if it can slide, you have enough space.  What surprised me, the paint were not wrinkle or burned even when I have no washer and touching the cat occasionally. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Similar topics merged.

[Fostel]

7 hours ago, AisinW said:

We need 4 washers on the rear bolts.  None on the rest.  I actually installed it wrongly/upside down but not problem either.  It  probably  fit nicer if I flip it but I don't have any rattle even at full throttle from stop or in twisty roads.  The high voltage cable and brake lines are not touching either. Auris 2 is body shell is pretty rigid, it does not flex much on slope or twisty roads.  My garage ramp has 25 degree slope and no rattle either when in and out from the garage to the road.   Just grab wide washers with total thickness at least 1 cm (stacking). It will guarantee for no rattle.  You can test to slide your finger on between the rear of the cat and the shield. if it can slide, you have enough space.  What surprised me, the paint were not wrinkle or burned even when I have no washer and touching the cat occasionally. 

So I need to redo it as the lad doing it in the garage put the washers on every bolt and it rattles a lot. Also, I've seen them hammering the bolts with power tool while I prefer torque everything to spec. I do not think the washers supplied were as thick as you say. Where did you get washers as thick at 3.2mm? Also, Is there enough space to add additional 12mm?

Regarding undoing those bolts to refit the plate. Can I do it on my driveway, on axle stands? Should they be undone/ bolted in any specific order? I do not think the 'garage guy' had any idea. Thanks a ton.

 

[AisinW]

Ideally you have 2 jackstands/axlestand on left and right so it will be easier to go under it. However 1 jack stand is enough too as long as you have enough working room. If it is already installed, you can buy 3.2mm thick m12 inner diameter or slightly larger washer in home improvement/hardware stores.  Just grab m12 bolts on the hardware store as the reference. Get the widest washer you can find to reduce pressure on the plate and car body.  It cost less than £4 for 8. I used DIN 9021 VZ spec. 

You can leave the other washer on other bolts and only remove the rear bolts completely. The front and middle bolts only need to be loosen a bit so you can slide the new washer in. I use used credit card or butter knive to slide/push all the  4 washers  in so they lined up. 

The hardest job is jacking the car up and you may need a breaker bar to loosen them. I use £15 ALDI torque wrench and they are accurate enough. 

 

[Fostel]

1 hour ago, AisinW said:

Ideally you have 2 jackstands/axlestand on left and right so it will be easier to go under it. However 1 jack stand is enough too as long as you have enough working room. If it is already installed, you can buy 3.2mm thick m12 inner diameter or slightly larger washer in home improvement/hardware stores.  Just grab m12 bolts on the hardware store as the reference. Get the widest washer you can find to reduce pressure on the plate and car body.  It cost less than £4 for 8. I used DIN 9021 VZ spec. 

You can leave the other washer on other bolts and only remove the rear bolts completely. The front and middle bolts only need to be loosen a bit so you can slide the new washer in. I use used credit card or butter knive to slide/push all the  4 washers  in so they lined up. 

The hardest job is jacking the car up and you may need a breaker bar to loosen them. I use £15 ALDI torque wrench and they are accurate enough. 

 

Thank you. I've got two jack stands, braking bar and torque wrench. Hopefully the garage guy did not damage locking nuts with an impact driver and I will be able to undo them. I was worrying that there is a specific order or something will move and I won't be able to get the bolt back. I've got only limited tool ubiknal and impact tools are not amongst them.

Found this: https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-m12-stainless-steel-large-flat-washer-dia-12mm-pack-of-10/3663602753957_BQ

They do not look thick, they do not even state the thickness 😲

[AisinW]

It should be fine. I doubt they torque it more than 140Nm effectively. It is not locking nuts, just galvanised steel like VW/Citroen wheels. 

[Fostel]

1 hour ago, AisinW said:

It should be fine. I doubt they torque it more than 140Nm effectively. It is not locking nuts, just galvanised steel like VW/Citroen wheels. 

I used those McGard Locking Wheel Nuts - Standard - 26001SU that @TonyHSD recommended to me. It's a shame that I did not take any pictures when I was in the garage.

Found those washers in ScrewFix

Zinc plated https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-steel-large-flat-washers-m12-x-3mm-100-pack/912ft , stainless steel https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-a2-stainless-steel-large-flat-washers-m12-x-3mm-50-pack/898ft and square ones 4mm (galvanized) https://www.screwfix.com/p/sabrefix-m12-square-plate-washers-galvanised-dx275-50mm-x-50mm-50-pack/28801 and steel https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-steel-square-washers-m12-x-4mm-50-pack/452ft

Which would be best? I am thinking stainless steel as I heard that galvanized may react with the car structure but those prices 😲 for a washers!

[Fostel]

On 2/19/2023 at 6:55 PM, Saxmaniac said:

I think there's not much problem from galvanised plate coz the zinc will be corroded away preferentially and when that's gone you'll simply have 2 mild steel surfaces. With stainless, I'm not bothered what takes place between the bolt and plate as the bolt can always be replaced, but I wouldn't like to see car chassis corrosion under the stainless plate if they manage to make electrical contact, it's the microscopic galvanic cell formed between dissimilar metals that can be trouble. I've seen it many times in other contexts and it's dead easy to shove some fibre washers between, I added rustproofing wax as well for the hell of it 

Mine is galvanized steel. Is that bad? What washers should I use? Stainless steel, galvanized steel, zinc plated?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384037227929

[Fostel]

On 2/19/2023 at 6:39 PM, TonyHSD said:

My one is from the first available on eBay back in January 2020 when the cat thefts started to climb up. It’s made from 1.3mm galvanised steel, and I bolted it directly onto the body. So far I haven’t seen any rust formation but even if there are any it’s a way too late. I wasn’t aware of this rust formation between two different types of metal. So far so good., aged very well , 100k miles done and no issues to date. The picture is from yesterday. 👍

Have you got the photo of the rear underneath part of the car? Like from the exhaust pipe, rear wheels to maybe a meter deep in. I think I have some missing covers there but cannot tell for sure. Thanks in advance.

Is yours hatchback or estate?

[Fostel]

On 2/19/2023 at 6:28 PM, tapir said:

I also have those smaller holes at the front to fit bolts to the mounting points that used to hold heat shield. What size/ length of the bolts have you used here? Are they made of stainless steel? Cheers!

[AisinW]

I don't put any bolt there. I am not sure if it is stainless steel bolt. Those has much lower torque. Just finger tight and do nothing on mine with 3mm stiff plate.

 26001SU or 26002SU are Made in USA. Very high quality steel secured wheelnuts. They are very hard  and cannot be hack with locking pliers unlike chinese brands. 

Stainless steel bolts are soft and never used for such applications with high torque. Galvanised bolts are the best. They arr specially made for steel plate or wheel studs. Hard Stainless steel contains alloys Mo, V in addition to Cr and Ni but they are not for high torque either. Cheap stainless steel contains only Cr and Ni and often only small amount of Ni. Good utensil usually 10/8 Cr/Ni instead of dollar stores 10/0.   So, stainless steel washer are ok, they are hard enough and will not weld to any surface. Buy from home improvement stores, they are way cheaper and better quality than online stuffs.

[Saxmaniac]

I'd say that if you're using galvanised plate then use galvanised washers, there shouldn't be any corrosion as a result, but dissimilar metals in contact such as stainless and mild steel will cause corrosion in the presence of water, particularly salt water

As an aside I was just wondering what people have done re tilt alarms. I assume there's not one built into the standard alarm already fitted? Any recommendations for a supplier?

[Wooster]

2 hours ago, Saxmaniac said:

As an aside I was just wondering what people have done re tilt alarms...

After I had the Catloc fitted I wired in a tilt alarm. I bought the 507 tilt sensor by Clifford.  Details here... and it's my review too!  eBay.co.uk/p/1722847724  The makers description is attached.  It was (relatively) easy to wire into the Auris - when the tilt sensor is activated, the Toyota alarm 'thinks' the rear door has been opened and the alarm goes off.  

I also upgraded the car horns as the original Toyota unit was very weak and would not have worried anyone jacking the car. 

 

507m wiring.pdf

Edited May 12, 2023 by Wooster
Attach the wiring diagram

[Saxmaniac]

8 hours ago, Wooster said:

After I had the Catloc fitted I wired in a tilt alarm. I bought the 507 tilt sensor by Clifford.  Details here... and it's my review too!  ebay.co.uk/p/1722847724  The makers description is attached.  It was (relatively) easy to wire into the Auris - when the tilt sensor is activated, the Toyota alarm 'thinks' the rear door has been opened and the alarm goes off.  

I also upgraded the car horns as the original Toyota unit was very weak and would not have worried anyone jacking the car. 

 

507m wiring.pdf 79.42 kB · 2 downloads

Thanks for that, I'll go the same route, I'll no doubt ask the odd silly question about location!

[Wooster]

10 minutes ago, Saxmaniac said:

question about location...

Do you mean about the location of the sensor?  I placed mine on the floor of the off side hatch area.  (Lots of strengthening ribs to hide the sensor in between.)  It's close to the 12v auxiliary socket to give the sensor power and (also) close to the off-side rear door open / closed switch.  This is where the sensor 'tells' the car the door's been opened.  Be sure to use something to protect the wires you lay - suggestion: eBay.co.uk/itm/260898991871

[Fostel]

On 5/12/2023 at 8:30 AM, Wooster said:

I also upgraded the car horns.

What horns have you installed? I know, the Auris has a small amperage there and not all (double) horns fit within the spec. Also, when you blow the fuse, it is not a regular fuse only for the horn, but some Toyota fuse with other stuff on it. The solution is including the relay but I never found time to rewire this.

[Wooster]

5 hours ago, Fostel said:

What horns have you installed?

I bought a pair of Hella horns on Amazon. They are the same as the OEM horns that were on my old 2004 and 2010 Prius. They draw 6 amps, so well within the Auris horn supply with it's 10 amp fuse. Small enough to get them in place without removing the front grill or bumper. My only addition was to replace the wire from the fuse box to the horns as the original was very, very thin.  'Toyota Fit' horns assume a pair of connectors as fitted to the Prius. No use if you want to replace one horn with a pair. Buy the 'Universal Fit'.  FYI: The Amazon review dated 9th July 2021 - with a short video - is from me as I also fitted a pair to my wife's motorcycle.   Anyway:  www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B01C8F0AUY/