Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Dodge Ram trucks stolen for their Cummins motors

Catalytic converters sell for good money on eBay.

Freeze plug mechanic works on Cummins engine
Freeze plug mechanic works on Cummins engine

On February 26, there were three auto thefts that were reported within a 2 mile radius in North Park. One theft in particular, was for the truck’s sought after motor.

“The truck was found in a residential area near the 125 and the 94; it is in pieces.”

“The Cummins engines are valuable,” said Emily, one of the victims this night. “And I’m sure the utility boxes in the back were tempting too.”

Emily who lives by Illinois Street, came out the next morning (February 27) to move her white 2001 Dodge 2500 Truck for the street sweeping — but couldn’t find it.

“I spoke with my neighbors to see if any of them have security cameras or saw anything,” she said, “but so far nothing.”

Dodge Ram catalytic converters on eBay.

Because parking is tough in this part of North Park, she tried the local tow yards first — with no luck either. She remembered locking her doors but said she didn’t have an alarm.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“I just heard from police that the truck was found in a residential area near the 125 and the 94,” she posted on her social media on March 8th. “They said it is in pieces.”

On her updated photo, the truck’s front end, engine and transmission were missing.

“Those trucks came out with the better turbos, had better reliability and tons of torque for that time,” said Jerry, a truck customizer from Encanto. “Pound for pound, that was the motor to have.”

Jerry’s been racing at the formerly called Qualcomm Stadium races since it started almost 20 years ago.

He remembers seeing a black Dodge Ram, like Emily’s (but older 1998) with a Cummins motor as well. The lifted truck with dual stack mufflers was “whooping” on the Porsches on the 1/8 mile drag strip.

“Those motors are getting rare now,” Jerry said. “Builders fit that motor with bigger turbos, turn up the boost …. they already have high torque and you can be pulling a house and still smoke a gas [powered] truck.”

“They’re expensive engines,” said Dan from A & B Truck Recycling, “that can go for probably [up to] $4000.”

He couldn’t comment on the numbers of Dodge Ram trucks stolen locally, but he did say that the Cummins motor in Emily’s truck was a 24 valve, and “the more desirable motor is the 12 valve,” which went in the earlier year Ram trucks.

Jerry said that another reason why the diesel motors are sought-after by customizers, is that if the motor is correctly installed (with the proper wiring and computer) in a certain vehicle, and it passes a visual and smog test — that it no longer “has to be smog tested” for the entirety of it’s life on the California roads.

These trucks are also popular for thieves because their catalytic converters sell for good money on eBay. Some converters, which are the oval looking units mounted between the engines and the mufflers, are listed as high as $12,000 new, and $1600 used.

Certain catalytic converters contain valuable metals like palladium, platinum, or rhodium— and can fetch good money at scrap metal yards.

On Crimemapping.com six other vehicles were stolen within a mile of Emily’s truck since February 26th (until March 8). She said one of them was a motorcycle stolen from a carport next to where her truck was last parked.

Another Dodge Ram truck was reported stolen in November. The women driver was said to have crashed into a police officer’s patrol car in Escondido. The police officer and herself were taken to Palomar Medical Center for treatment, and both were released with minor injuries,” according to NBC News 7 San Diego.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Freeze plug mechanic works on Cummins engine
Freeze plug mechanic works on Cummins engine

On February 26, there were three auto thefts that were reported within a 2 mile radius in North Park. One theft in particular, was for the truck’s sought after motor.

“The truck was found in a residential area near the 125 and the 94; it is in pieces.”

“The Cummins engines are valuable,” said Emily, one of the victims this night. “And I’m sure the utility boxes in the back were tempting too.”

Emily who lives by Illinois Street, came out the next morning (February 27) to move her white 2001 Dodge 2500 Truck for the street sweeping — but couldn’t find it.

“I spoke with my neighbors to see if any of them have security cameras or saw anything,” she said, “but so far nothing.”

Dodge Ram catalytic converters on eBay.

Because parking is tough in this part of North Park, she tried the local tow yards first — with no luck either. She remembered locking her doors but said she didn’t have an alarm.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“I just heard from police that the truck was found in a residential area near the 125 and the 94,” she posted on her social media on March 8th. “They said it is in pieces.”

On her updated photo, the truck’s front end, engine and transmission were missing.

“Those trucks came out with the better turbos, had better reliability and tons of torque for that time,” said Jerry, a truck customizer from Encanto. “Pound for pound, that was the motor to have.”

Jerry’s been racing at the formerly called Qualcomm Stadium races since it started almost 20 years ago.

He remembers seeing a black Dodge Ram, like Emily’s (but older 1998) with a Cummins motor as well. The lifted truck with dual stack mufflers was “whooping” on the Porsches on the 1/8 mile drag strip.

“Those motors are getting rare now,” Jerry said. “Builders fit that motor with bigger turbos, turn up the boost …. they already have high torque and you can be pulling a house and still smoke a gas [powered] truck.”

“They’re expensive engines,” said Dan from A & B Truck Recycling, “that can go for probably [up to] $4000.”

He couldn’t comment on the numbers of Dodge Ram trucks stolen locally, but he did say that the Cummins motor in Emily’s truck was a 24 valve, and “the more desirable motor is the 12 valve,” which went in the earlier year Ram trucks.

Jerry said that another reason why the diesel motors are sought-after by customizers, is that if the motor is correctly installed (with the proper wiring and computer) in a certain vehicle, and it passes a visual and smog test — that it no longer “has to be smog tested” for the entirety of it’s life on the California roads.

These trucks are also popular for thieves because their catalytic converters sell for good money on eBay. Some converters, which are the oval looking units mounted between the engines and the mufflers, are listed as high as $12,000 new, and $1600 used.

Certain catalytic converters contain valuable metals like palladium, platinum, or rhodium— and can fetch good money at scrap metal yards.

On Crimemapping.com six other vehicles were stolen within a mile of Emily’s truck since February 26th (until March 8). She said one of them was a motorcycle stolen from a carport next to where her truck was last parked.

Another Dodge Ram truck was reported stolen in November. The women driver was said to have crashed into a police officer’s patrol car in Escondido. The police officer and herself were taken to Palomar Medical Center for treatment, and both were released with minor injuries,” according to NBC News 7 San Diego.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Houston ex-mayor donates to Toni Atkins governor fund

LGBT fights in common
Next Article

Born & Raised offers a less decadent Holiday Punch

Cognac serves to lighten the mood
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader