What to keep an eye out for at junk yards

[Leo99]

I gave up on junkyards. The prices in NJ are just crazy. Needed a power window switch for my Saturn LS. Junkyard said they had one for $50 and pointed me in the general direction of the car. It was very muddy and I never did find the car. Went to the dealer and bought it brand new for $40.

Went to the junkyard to get a couple parts for my XR4Ti. They wanted $400 for a couple used parts. I only paid $500 for my car. I told the owner his prices were exorbitant. He told me that for $500 he'd tow the junker to my house, I could remove any parts I wanted and he'd tow what was left away.

 

[maxdustington]

If you have a base model look for high trim levels and take their interior parts. Many cars have gauge clusters that vary between trim levels, or better finish interior parts that are easy to remove. Other than that brake calipers or control arms to rebuild so you can just swap them when the time comes. Seats are a good idea but you had better get their shortly after the car enters the yard, because someone is going to leave a window open or crawl on them and ruin them. Cold air intake tubes are also available that you could adapt from a different model to fit your car, they all seem to be pretty much the same 24-36 inch tube with a bend in one end with holes that can be easily plugged. Mudflaps are also available there, but those are relatively car specific. Valve stem caps would be a good thing to stock up on from there, I just thought of that one.

At the yard nearest to me, they strip out all the stereo gear but leave most of the contents of the cars if they are not valuable. You might be able to find some thick ground cables from a car that once had a stereo that could be used, but I think they take the long runs from front to back and scrap them. I found a car with a PVR in it and took the hard drive for my computer. It was only 320 gb but it was free.

EDIT: Standard Auto was my happy place for any Torontonians, but they burnt down too many times and I think their U Pick yard is shut for good

 

[BrocLuno]

Engines, tranny's, especially rear-ends (posi) and all sorts of other goodies.

Do you know that the complete interior from a late 1990's Pontiac coupe will fit a 1970's A body (Chevelle, Buick GS, etc.) with only minor trim to fit ... That a nice adjustable bucket seat leather interior could be had for a '70 Chevelle with better fitting, more comfortable seats for less than $500 is crazy. You'd pay north of $4,000 dollars to have a good upholstery shop do that, if they were even interested ...

So I go looking for seats and such. Occasionally you can find Recaro's out of say a Scirocco for cheap. Very good seats, for me anyway

 

[mightymousetech]

On BMWs, people will pay big money for some interior trim options, like piano black, aluminium waffle or carbon, if you can get the complete set.

Also, the dynamic xenon headlights are worth several grand new. Many people want to do the upgrade from halogen.

 

[MRtv]

I go to the junk yard often just to look and see what might be for the picking. I needed parts for my 150 after I bought it. I replaced front and back bumpers pretty cheap. Got a dash cover for free. Cleaned it up and it looked brand new. I wanted a speed and tach cluster to replace the one I had in there. There was no tach on the one that came with my truck. Pulled the cluster from the junk yard truck and put it in mine. It did show higher milage but oh well.

I wanted some tail light clusters as a extra set for my truck as a just in case. Got a set. Also side lights for the front as an extra set. I was having trouble with my antenna assembly on the truck and pulled one off a junk yard expedition that was in perfect shape and had no corrosion on it. The drivers side door panel had a rip in it just at the window line. I pulled off a panel at the junk yard and installed it on my truck. Rip gone. There was a rubber door gasket that was in bad shape. Pulled one at the yard. Gasket on door fixed.

I had a drive line that had a small dent in it. It was creating a wobble when I got up to highway speeds. Previous owner sure did beat up the truck I bought off him. Anyway I found a driveline at the junkyard with no dents. Put it on my truck and the slight 55 mph wobble went away. Much cheaper doing it this way than having the driveline balanced.

My front bumper did not have a fog light in it. There was a spot for them but no lights. I did find some fog lights on a bumper and pulled them and put them on the bumper I had previously replaced. Made it look much better not having the holes in the bumper and no lenses.

I regret not pulling off a remanufactured alternator I saw on one truck that was obviously very recently installed before its crash. I did pull some electrical packs for ignition system to have as a back up should I need. I took the ones I had on my truck and put on the pulled parts. The pulled parts work fine.

Today I am needed to address my leaking hoses on the remote oil filter kit. The leak has gotten worse since I bought the truck. So I either need to convert it back to the filter on the block or get hoses fixed. I am going to look at getting hoses off a truck and having a hydraulic shop rebuild them to put on my truck. I am going to assume the pulled hoses were leaking too or soon will be. Or I might also look at getting the oil filter assembly off a 4.6 block and put it on my engine and remove the remote kit entirely. Im leaving my options open there. I am also looking for a seat assembly for my truck that is in really good shape. Haven't found it yet but I am looking.

There are several yards here that charge a dollar to enter the yard. I pay a dollar at the first yard and that gains me entrance to all of them. Nice deal as they are owned by the same outfit.

 

[nicklx]

I converted the interior in my Jetta to all black with all used parts from the local pick n pull. Most cars end up being trashed, but occasionally you come across a very well taken care of vehicle. Currently looking for a new interior for a 2004 Passat to restore.

 

[Walmill]

Originally Posted By: quint
I am in junkyards 2-3 times a month. I grab anything and everything. Its amazing what people leave in their cars when they wreck them or send them to the junkyard. I've scored aftermarket amps, subwoofers, high end speakers, expensive stereos...... pennies on the dollar. Built an awesome stereo system for my boat using stuff I found in junkyards. Not to mention wrenches, screwdrivers, breaker bars, sockets, any tool you can imagine, I've found. The amount of money I have found under seats and floor mats could finance a small village. I was in a local yard yesterday rummaging through the back of a Toyota 4runner and found a completely unopened head gasket replacement kit just sitting in the back. Had everything in it, brand new, not even out of the shrink wrap. Head gaskets, exhaust manifold gaskets, bolt set, valve seals, exhaust donuts, the whole works. What a waste. Didn't take it as I had no personal use for it, but good grief what a waste of perfect new parts.


Do you have to declare "extra" things like that you find or will that vary from yard to yard?

 

[nthach]

I don't have as much of an need for the junkyard but if I find the same model of car as I currently drive with an interior in good shape or one that isn't trashed, I'll grab some interior parts.

Which reminds me, I need to nab some Lexus horns for my car to replace the anemic stock ones. As much as I would like a pair of Hellas, I want plug & play and not having to worry about hacking OEM wiring.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: BrocLuno


Do you know that the complete interior from a late 1990's Pontiac coupe will fit a 1970's A body (Chevelle, Buick GS, etc.) with only minor trim to fit ...

So I go looking for seats and such. Occasionally you can find Recaro's out of say a Scirocco for cheap. Very good seats, for me anyway

Just when I thought I did a double-take seeing a SN95 1996-2000 Mustang GT interior into a 1989 Fox body that my parent's neighbor has.