Ford F-550 Catalytic Converter Scrap Price – Selling and Theft Prevention

Cat converters have been there for us for about half a century now. Their main aim is to make the air we breathe a little cleaner. These parts are crucial for making vehicles less toxic to the environment and to all living creatures. With the help of catalysts, these converters catalyze exhaust gasses and even huge trucks like the Ford F-550 can be driven with no major harm to nature.

So, one good thing is that cat converters make our world cleaner. But there is one bad thing - they cost a lot and tend to live only 100K miles or so. Today, we'll tell you about one more good thing - you can sell your catalytic converter from a Ford F-550 that is already clogged or malfunctioning. And the price which you can get for it may be surprisingly high.

Here's what we'll talk about:

• Where are cat converters located in your Ford F-550 truck?
• How much can you get for a scrap cat from a big Ford truck?
• What's the best way to sell the cat converter from your vehicle?
• Can anyone steal the converter from your Ford F-550?

Let's get started!

Ford F-550 and its converters - what should you know?

The chassis cab Ford F-550 is an extremely popular vehicle that is a bridge between pickup trucks and large commercial vehicles. It still uses the same engines as the whole Super Duty lineup and also some smaller pickup trucks, so, in this article, we don't care about other differences.

The F-550 was first introduced in 1999 and it's still sold new to commercial and private buyers all over America and in other countries. It was initially powered with a 7.3 Power Stroke for the diesel version and the 6.8 V10 for gasoline ones. But after the first generation, Ford installed many different Super Duty engines. This means, that basically in all Super Duty series, the cats were pretty much the same.

Here's what you should know about them:

• first generations of the F-550 had mostly one single main catalytic converter which was large and is still pretty valuable (a torpedo converter);
• diesel trucks had smaller cats coupled with additional cleaning equipment for diesel soot, but all parts of the system can be sold;
• newer F-550s have different types of converters depending on the engine type and year of the vehicle, but nearly all main cats are valuable;
• also, newer cabs will have pre-cats placed near the exhaust manifolds, while main cats are usually located near mufflers;
• pre-cats are not really valuable, but even they can be sold for some money together with main cats;
• also, these cat converters are pretty durable and they can last very long but eventually, they will fail because engines are more durable in these cars.

You now know where you should look to find these cats. And you have one more important mission - to check whether these converters are still OEM or they are aftermarket. If the cats are OEM, they cost some money. If they have already been replaced with aftermarket cats, those scrap parts will cost maybe $30 or something like that.

To see if the cat converter is OEM or aftermarket is not that hard. Especially if you are holding this part in your hands. First of all, clean it a little to find the serial number. Then check if this serial number corresponds with the OEM cat. You can check it online or ask a specialist. Also, OEM cats are usually pretty heavy and big while aftermarket ones may have more damage on their bodies.

How much should buyers pay for your OEM Ford F-550 converter?

So, after this point, we'll be talking about OEM cat converters. If your F-550 already has aftermarket cats, just sell them to a scrapyard near you, and don't waste your time. OEM cats should have a little more investigation before selling.

A torpedo cat from your Ford F-550 will cost about $350 if it's still in a good condition. While a smaller cat converter will average about $250. Of course, cats may cost cheaper or more expensive depending on many factors.

We've just pointed out some average prices but you shouldn't only rely on these figures. They are true as of July 2022, but they may be not true at the time when you are reading this article.

So, here's how you can check the price (this is a lifehack you should remember):

• Take pictures of the converter. Before that, you will want to clean the cat a little to make it look better and show the serial number on your pics.
• Go online and find websites of numerous companies that are buying out cat converters for recycling. Find at least 3 or 4 websites.
• After that, make sure you send the pictures and the description of your cat and of your vehicle to all of the companies that you have found.
• In one or two working days, these guys will send you price offers. And this is the best way to know what exactly your catalytic converter is worth now.
• After that, you may just have the information about the average price of a cat converter, or you can sell the cat to any company you like.

Actually, this is also the best way to sell your catalytic converter. But sometimes, you can even get more money just by placing an ad on eBay or on some forum. Selling a catalytic converter from the Ford F-550 to a private buyer may be a good option if the cat is still working, at least in some way.

These cats may be bought as replacement converters for passing fog tests and private buyers can pay more than recycling companies. But usually, scrap cats can't pass fog tests, so they should be sold to recycling companies.

What can change the price of your catalytic converter?

The price depends on several factors, and one of them is actually the type of converter which is pretty straightforward.

But there are also some other factors that are hard to control and predict. For example, the current price for precious metals, mainly platinum, palladium, and rhodium will be extremely important. When the prices go down, companies tend to give much worse price offers because they are pessimistic about their revenues.

It takes some time to recycle a converter, so businesses need to control these risks. When the price is on the rise, they may offer more money for old cats because they expect to get more money in the end when they sell the valuable metals.

But eventually, the only factor influencing the prices for old cats that you can control is the way you sell the converter. While s local scrapyard may offer $60 for an F-550 catalytic converter, a recycling company will give $350. You should never sell a cat cheaper than the average price.

Make sure you choose the optimal way of selling the catalytic converter you have in your hands. Avoid scrapyards, exhaust shops, private buyers (middlemen), etc. Our strong advice is to choose a recycling company that gives you the best price offer.

Are Ford F-550s prone to cat converter theft?

Yes, these vehicles are very often the targets for catalytic converter thieves. Why? Because they are ideal for this crime.

The Ford F-550 has quite a high ground clearance. This allows a thief to get under the vehicle and take an instrument for cutting off the cat. If you just leave your F-550 in the area where crimes are more than possible, you will find the truck without the catalytic converter in the morning.

What can you do to protect the vehicle from catalytic converter theft? You can park in areas where the theft is not possible (under light, in the secured parking lot, in a garage, etc.) or you can park over something that will immensely disturb a potential thief from cutting off the cat. Also, you can install special cages and metal wires to prevent catalytic converter theft.

In most cases, if you try to protect the converter from being stolen, a thief will try to find another vehicle that is easier to rob. But sometimes, this can just hint to the thief that the cat in your car is OEM and valuable.

Final words

Unfortunately, new catalytic converters for your Ford F-550 are almost always much more expensive than the scrap price of the old cats. This will make you spend some money to replace the old converters. Otherwise, you will not be able to legally drive your Ford in almost all states in the US.

We believe, our article has answered all your questions on selling a catalytic converter from your Ford F-550. Also, we hope you now will not agree to sell the cat for a couple of dollars because you know some ways to sell it at a much better price.