Converters welded back in solid after a theft, plus fabricated shields so the same vehicle does not get hit twice. Most jobs go out the same day.
4.9 50 reviews from Cleveland customers
Rated with the BBBArc Wheels Welding LLC, since 2023
Black ownedIndependent shop on Cleveland's southeast side
Converter theft is a two minute job for somebody with a battery saw. The vehicle sounds like a race car the next morning, the dealer quotes a full exhaust section, and the owner finds out what a converter costs. Then it happens again three months later to the same vehicle, because nothing changed underneath it.
This shop handles both halves of that problem. The converter goes back in welded rather than clamped, so the joint seals and so the next attempt takes a lot longer than two minutes. Then a shield gets fabricated and fitted over it. Neither part needs a dealer and neither part needs a week.
A thief leaves two cut stubs. We rebuild the pipe either side where the cut ran short, fit the replacement converter and weld it in solid. No clamps, no exhaust paste, no coming back with a leak in a month.
A plate or cage fabricated to your vehicle and fitted over the converter. It does not make theft impossible, it makes it slow and noisy, and that is enough to send somebody to the next car on the street.
The ticking on a cold start is usually a leaking flange at the converter rather than the converter itself. Welded and sealed instead of replaced.
Work vans parked overnight on the street are the most targeted vehicles in the city. Shields fitted across a fleet at once, at the shop or on site with the mobile rig.
A clamped converter is fitted with two band clamps and can be off the vehicle in under a minute with a saw, or under two with a socket. A welded converter has to be cut, and cutting takes time, makes noise and throws sparks. Converter theft is a volume crime, so the deterrent that works is not making your vehicle impossible, it is making it slower than the one parked behind it.
The second reason is sealing. Clamped joints on an exhaust that heats and cools every day work loose and start to weep, which is where the ticking and the smell come from. A welded joint does not.
The shop is at 12212 Corlett Ave, Cleveland, OH 44105, open Monday to Friday, 1pm to 8pm. Send a photo of the cut to 216.309.1567 and a quote usually comes back the same day.
Yes. A thief cuts the pipe either side of the converter, which leaves two clean stubs to work with. A replacement converter gets welded in rather than clamped, and the pipe sections either side get rebuilt where the cut left them short.
For most vehicles yes, on two counts. A welded joint seals properly where a clamp usually weeps, and a welded converter takes far longer to cut out, which matters if your street has been hit before.
Yes. A shield is a plate or cage fabricated to sit over the converter and bolt or weld to the underbody. It does not make a converter impossible to take, it makes it slow and loud, and a thief working in the dark moves to the next vehicle.
Anything with ground clearance and a converter that is easy to reach. Trucks, vans and SUVs sit high enough to get under quickly, and some hybrids carry converters worth more in scrap. If you park on the street in Cleveland and drive one of those, a shield is cheap insurance.
A weld in replacement is usually a same day job. A fabricated shield depends on the vehicle, because the plate is measured and cut to fit rather than pulled off a shelf. You get a timeframe with the quote.
Most quotes come back the same day the shop is open. Free, no obligation, and if it cannot be repaired you will hear that straight.
