I just bought some parts from Rockauto for my mom's '94 Explorer. She's trying to limp it through one more winter and plans to junk it in the spring. It had no heat, which is because the blower motor died. I bought a VDO/Continental blower motor on wholesaler closeout. It didn't come with the blower wheel, so I had to swap over the wheel from the old motor. The new motor didn't come with the retaining clip, so I had to get one from the local hardware store. Installed it, it's noisy but works. Apparently the blower motor resistor is also bad, because it only works on the highest speed. Oh well, at least she has heat now. Also from Rockauto: a Fram air filter, also on wholesaler closeout. I found a huge mouse nest in the air box, and the filter was plugged up with nest debris. There was also a bad screeching noise coming from the serpentine belt area (not a belt noise, but a bad bearing noise from one of the pulleys). I didn't want her to get stranded with a shredded belt from a seized pulley (been there myself this Halloween with the Escalade and a seized alternator), so I also got an idler pulley (Ultra Power brand, the cheapest Rockauto had that was shipping from the same warehouse) to replace the wobbling old one. Even though the idler was bad, it was NOT the cause of the screeching noise. That was actually the alternator starting to fail/seize up. Luckily I still had the alternator from the '99 Explorer I parted out and scrapped a few years ago. Installed it, it works great, and no more noise. I also still have the blower motor from the '99, and I tried installing it last week. Unfortunately, it's different from the '94 motor and I couldn't get it to fit and work, which is why I bought the new one. The truck is now patched together and reliable enough for local trips for the next few months.
Other, much less "hooptie" parts purchases I just made:
New thermostat for the Escalade (OE AC Delco from Rockauto). It seems to take a while to get up to operating temp, so the thermostat is probably sticking open.
New idler pulley for the Sienna (also AC Delco from Rockauto). Current one is making a squeaking noise and is a little wobbly.
A/C O-Ring kit for the Sienna (GPD from Rockauto). I finally found the source of the A/C leak I've been having. It's the junction where 2 sections of lines bolt together, near the rear of the van (for the rear evaporator).
Various plastic clips and fasteners to replace broken ones on the Sienna (Toyota OE, from Toyotapartsoverstock.com)