Ever gotten parts from a auto salvage yard?

[OhOMG]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
My experience with salvage yard parts is less than stellar. Purchased a low mile transmission a while back, and there was nothing wrong with the trans until they pulled it. Where they let it drop on the ground, the weight of the torque converter broke the pump housing. After install, there was a huge leak. They failed to cover the damage, and were a bunch of belligerent jerks when I asked for a new pump housing.

Same goes for my S2000 transmission. I break them due to the turbo setup and excessive torque. The replacement transmission whines badly. It was "injured" in the accident apparently. No warranty what so ever.


Ever seen them rip an engine out with a forklift and a cutting torch?

I've had both good and bad experiences. There are yards I will no longer use, due to them simply looking on car-part.com and then doubling the price for you there at the counter, as if they think you don't notice them doing so.

I once had them get a body part, and when it came time to take delivery, it was all scratched up. They still got oh $250 or more for it, I honestly forget what it was, though it was squarely on them for throwing it in a pile of other parts and scratching up the paint horribly in the process. It may have been a hood. They sure did treat it like junk, sold it for about the price of a new one.

 

[440Magnum]

I couldn't begin to count. Restoring/fiddling with old muscle cars used to be totally dependent on the boneyards back in the 80s and 90s, before so much aftermarket support became available. I've used:

rear end center sections
axles
trim
instrument clusters
brake systems (lines, knuckles, rotors, calipers to convert from drum to disk)
body panels
window glass
Accessory brackets
police-spec parts (sway bars, upgraded alternators, etc.)
radiators
lights

Just barely scratching the surface here. I always really enjoy spending a day in a good no-crush boneyard with cars going back to the 1950s. Its a great history lesson and you can see some really rare and unusual stuff there.

 

[redbone3]

Idle air control valve for my Miata. OEM ridiculously expensive.

 

[2010Civic]

I bought an engine for my 2008 Civic. $400 for a 2011 engine with 84k miles on it. Can't beat that price! Almost 10k later the engine still runs perfect.

 

[HangFire]

Too much to list. What 440Magnum said- before Internet, you kept a pile of paper catalogs and if it wasn't in there, you hit the boneyard. Or the other way around. Sometimes you just made or rebuilt stuff. Whatever it took.

 

[silverrat]

Originally Posted By: OhOMG
Originally Posted By: Cujet
My experience with salvage yard parts is less than stellar. Purchased a low mile transmission a while back, and there was nothing wrong with the trans until they pulled it. Where they let it drop on the ground, the weight of the torque converter broke the pump housing. After install, there was a huge leak. They failed to cover the damage, and were a bunch of belligerent jerks when I asked for a new pump housing.

Same goes for my S2000 transmission. I break them due to the turbo setup and excessive torque. The replacement transmission whines badly. It was "injured" in the accident apparently. No warranty what so ever.


Ever seen them rip an engine out with a forklift and a cutting torch?

I've had both good and bad experiences. There are yards I will no longer use, due to them simply looking on car-part.com and then doubling the price for you there at the counter, as if they think you don't notice them doing so.

I once had them get a body part, and when it came time to take delivery, it was all scratched up. They still got oh $250 or more for it, I honestly forget what it was, though it was squarely on them for throwing it in a pile of other parts and scratching up the paint horribly in the process. It may have been a hood. They sure did treat it like junk, sold it for about the price of a new one.


It was a trunk lid

 

[4WD]

Sure … but the most memorable was a hot Texas summer when I broke the front Dana axle on my Dodge PowerWagon …
Found a truck that had been T+boned and junkyard said “you want it, you pull it” …

Only used the housing and the long shaft. …put most of my parts in it …
At least the price was right …

 

[53' Stude]

Originally Posted By: 4WD
Sure … but the most memorable was a hot Texas summer when I broke the front Dana axle on my Dodge PowerWagon …
Found a truck that had been T+boned and junkyard said “you want it, you pull it” …

Only used the housing and the long shaft. …put most of my parts in it …
At least the price was right …


Speaking of rear ends and salvage yards; when pops and I were fixing up his 55' Chevy 210 drag racer car; he already had a 57' Olds rear end out of a station wagon he said he paid $30 back in 1966 for it.

Last year dad and I were at salvage yard and spotted a old late 70's Ford van; so dad and I pulled the rear end. Think he paid $90 for that also

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: silverrat
Originally Posted By: OhOMG

I once had them get a body part, and when it came time to take delivery, it was all scratched up. They still got oh $250 or more for it, I honestly forget what it was, though it was squarely on them for throwing it in a pile of other parts and scratching up the paint horribly in the process. It may have been a hood. They sure did treat it like junk, sold it for about the price of a new one.


It was a trunk lid


For a 90's Civic.

I used to get real parts from the junkyard: a distributor for my 86 B2000. A (optional) clock for my 89 323. Wiring pigtails. Hub/spindle/bearing assemblies.

I got a press, so started putting new bearings in the cars that took them.

Ebay is my junkyard now... I can choose new Chinese or old OE for less than the yards charge here.

However, I still get tires at the local yard on occasion. I also get them on CL but if I'm patient I just wait for new stuff from DTD's reliable sales.

 

[Colt45ws]

Oh yes, lots.
My biggest was a transmission I bought for my 2004.
It was out of a 2008 police car.....with less than 1000 miles. The trans literally looked like it had just rolled off the assembly line.
They had over a dozen Crown Vic cop cars at the time with similar/virtually no miles. I asked them what was up. They got them from Hawaii. They were all cut at the b-pillar and shipped back over. All brand new, unused 6-7 year Crown Vics. No idea what went on there. I guess they couldnt sell them so they sold them for scrap? Only way to get rid of them and have anyone make a profit shipping them all the way back over?

But yeah I like to make regular trips to Spokane for the U-pull-it and gank as many panther parts I find. Super random stuff too; Wiring harnesses/pigtails, trim pieces, nuts and bolts.
Wanna go again soon and see if I can get a dash and a firewall harness to convert my '03 to the Automatic temp control.

 

[dlundblad]

I try to hit a few junkyards a couple times a year. Lately, it's either been too hot and weedy or too cold and muddy.

 

[4WD]

Yep … what got me back DIY on lubes was having to put a junkyard rear in a 2002 Dodge 1500 after a Shell quick lube ruined the factory rear just out of warranty …

 

[zzyzzx]

Body parts and interior pieces that are the right color. Little parts like those spring type hose clamps for radiator hoses that you can't get aftermarket. I once bought a transmission solenoid at a junkyard. I figure if I was unable to remove it it the junkyard, that I had no business trying to install it in my car.

 

[funflyer]

My GTO sports a 90's Lincoln MKVIII electric fan. Best $12 I ever spent at a junkyard.

 

[nthach]

Back when I drove a car that had good parts availability at the junkyard, I got anything that was in good shape - I found a refurbed climate control unit that had a good screen in it.