Two Rants: U-Pull-It J-yards and junky tools..

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Rock_Hudstone

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Had two fustrating and time wasting issues over the weekend. The first is the stupid rules at these U-pull it junkyards: No air tools, no jacks, no torches, etc.. Torches and jacks I can understand but no air tools?
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They could care less if you're underneath a 3500lb car wrestling a 500lb engine out with hand tools or jumping up and down on breaker bar but bringing in a simple air tool is out of the question.
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Other rant is my old reliable Bernz-O-matic propane torch tube broke. No big deal I thought, simple enough just buy a new one, wrong!

They changed the design and forget about replacement parts. Moreover, the new ones, albeit still made in U.S.A. have been obviously cheapened up with poorly constructed tips and plastic knobs, arggh..

Ended up with a Mag-Torch I got at plumbling supply place, that was a big disappointment as well..
 
I was in a yard trying to pull a tire+wheel that was still on a car. 90% of the cars in there had no jacks or tire irons. I concluded it was something yard management did to keep hooligans from grabbing them and throwing them through windshields.

Though there are lots of rocks around.
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My yard is heavily into the scrap metal business; they pull alloy wheels, cats, and drain fluids as soon as cars come in. They rot in mud up to their floorpans for a month or two then are crushed. They don't seem to care if hoods or doors are left open.
 
They make battery powered impact guns and ratchets, but I doubt they last that long.

P.S. What good is an air tool, if you don't have air or electricity for a compressor?
 
Originally Posted By: Loobed


They make battery powered impact guns and ratchets, but I doubt they last long.


I think you'd be surprised with today's lithium job batteries. The Milwaukee 18v makes around 400lb-ft of torque. Battery life is good with the big batteries.
 
One time, I brought a propane torch to a u-pull-it because I needed some part that I knew I'd need the torch to get. I put it in the bottom of my tool box simply for ease of transport, and they didn't ask me to remove the tray for my toolbox. I came back with the part, my toolbox, and the torch in the wheelbarrow, and they said I wasn't supposed to have a torch in there. I said I didn't know that (which was true), but I didn't set anything on fire.

This yard has the same policy of letting the cars rot for a little while and then crushing them, which is not too much of a big deal because it doesn't matter what you ruin in the process of getting the part(s) you need. Cars rarely have the wheels and tires on them, so it's not a very good source for those.
 
Originally Posted By: Loobed
P.S. What good is an air tool, if you don't have air or electricity for a compressor?

I have a portable air tank 10 gal air tank.
 
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
U pick junk yard doesn't want people getting hurt on their property.
Must be a hundred ways to get hurt in a junkyard even without the prohibited items.

There was a big one in my town, now closed, where they would think nothing of driving right by you in a huge bucket loader with a 2 ton Cadillac dangling on the forks.
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Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
Originally Posted By: Loobed
P.S. What good is an air tool, if you don't have air or electricity for a compressor?

I have a portable air tank 10 gal air tank.
C02 or air?
 
Reminds me of The Dukes of Hazzard....they had a flat,took a battery operated impact gun from the trunk,hooked it up to the battery posts and proceeded to make the noise of an air impact gun at a NASCAR race...yea,right.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
Originally Posted By: Loobed
P.S. What good is an air tool, if you don't have air or electricity for a compressor?

I have a portable air tank 10 gal air tank.
C02 or air?

Air
 
I watched someone try to take a set of lug nuts off of a wheel at the junkyard with a cordless impact gun.

It got 2 lugnuts off before it couldn't do anything. Breaker bar and pipe had no problem doing it.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I watched someone try to take a set of lug nuts off of a wheel at the junkyard with a cordless impact gun.

It got 2 lugnuts off before it couldn't do anything.
forgot to charge up the night before
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My favorite U-Pull It went to a concrete pad vs the oily, gravelled yard it used to have. No jacks/handles. No tires/wheels. No lug nuts. Too clean. No fun. Maybe it will devolve back into a better place. Probably won't.

It doesn't matter much any more, though. All our cars are too new to need anything from there. Still...$2 for a couple of hours of Saturday morning's entertainment used to be a good deal.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
My favorite U-Pull It went to a concrete pad vs the oily, gravelled yard it used to have. No jacks/handles. No tires/wheels. No lug nuts. Too clean. No fun. Maybe it will devolve back into a better place. Probably won't.



It makes such a difference, doesn't it.

Occasionally I go to one yard around here where they don't have the cars up on stands at all. Just flat on the ground, and usually in rows so close together you can't even open the doors. Not even worth the price of admission.

Another one (famous for its 1985-era TV commercial) is located in the muddiest lot imagineable. If you have to go there after a rain its best to wear rubber boots! And from time to time they've been known to stack the cars one on top of the other, so if you need something from the top car you have to climb and balance on the lower one. Its fun to watch sometimes!
 
At least you have U-pull yards. Around here we have "recycling yards". You go in and tell the guy what you want, he looks up on the computer if he has it and tells you how much it will be for the part and how much money/time it will take for him to pull it. That is if he even feels like doing it. You don't get to look at the part before he pulls it either.

A few years ago I had a 1990 Jeep Cherokee Limited. I bought it with a cracked grill. Went to the junkyard and the guy had one that fit, but wasn't the same color. It wasn't in the best shape paint wise but I figured I could paint it to match. He wanted more money for that one then the dealer wanted for a paint matched new one. I walked away.

Another yard only pulls things that cost a certain price. Small pieces they won't pull. My friend needed a side view mirror for his '98 Grand Cherokee since his GF ripped it off. They had one at the yard but the guy wouldn't sell him just the mirror. He said that he had to buy the whole door.

I never bother with the yards here anymore, I just go on ebay.
 
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