# Do You think Engraving the VIN Number on a Catalytic Converter Will Prevent Thefts? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [March 28, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-think-engraving-the-vin-number-on-a-catalytic-converter-will-prevent-thefts/189813 "2023-03-28T20:38:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 62
**Author:** ![LoudThunder](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/loudthunder/32/27769_2.png) [@LoudThunder](https://community.cartalk.com/u/LoudThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-think-engraving-the-vin-number-on-a-catalytic-converter-will-prevent-thefts/189813/62 "2023-05-02T22:04:42Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > Just curious, on that car do you have any difficulties with diagnosing carb problems? Do you remember the topic, “Great Idea. Wish I thought of it,” it’s about the young lady who rebuilt carburetors (You should, both of our “fingerprints” are all over it, we both wrote several commented in there…)? Where I wrote about the hassle I had with the carb on the '85 even when it was only 10-years old and even with the Toyota Dealer who freely admitted they no longer had any Carburetor experts on staff and could not even recommend a dependable one in town… I ultimately rebuilt it myself from a kit that I bought from NAPA and it really was a nightmare. The instructions covered at least 4 versions of the carburetor (none of the illustrations matched exactly. It was as if I had the 5th version that the kit did not cover…) and the only number that matched was the Engine Model “4A-LC.” There were several versions of almost every gasket in the kit and I had more “unused gaskets” left over than I used as they were not for my specific carburetor… It was almost as if the carburetor was “Body Color” dependent… Red got one carburetor, Blue got another… Here is my posting and the funny thing is that it is a response to you… L 😜 L… > [@Great Idea. Wish I thought of it](https://community.cartalk.com/t/great-idea-wish-i-thought-of-it/190185/14): > > I would advise your friend to visit various Dealership Service Departments and speak directly to the Service Managers and find out if they would consider this; as well as local national service centers (Big Als, Pep Boys, Walmart, etc…) and local privately owned service stations… He is an “Un-Proven” service provider and if one of the aforementioned did offer a carburetor rebuilding service where they remove the carb and provide it to your friend to be rebuilt, the customer’s car would be out … --- _[View the full topic](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-think-engraving-the-vin-number-on-a-catalytic-converter-will-prevent-thefts/189813)._