How do you pull parts from junkyards? Topic is solved

[FireFox31]

I've called Erie Vo-Vo a few times this year for P80 parts and they always sounded surprised, saying they don't have things that old. They're the supplier I would trust ever since they sold me a 100k mile engine which I used for 10 years and 115k mi until getting rear ended. But if they don't have stuff, I'm left to the muddy junkyards.

[BlackBart]

I understand your impressions - the farther out in the sticks I think, the more likely the "lay in the mud" sort of yards.

They're all over the map I think. Some appear to be savvy with the innerwebs and inventory searches, but they don't actually know how to use it or keep track. We almost drove 3 hours to Spokane for a BMW E30 transmission their search engine said they had. No one on the phone knew anything about it or where it was..."maybe it's not processed yet." I waited a week, called again, they went out looking, literally. It turns out it had long ago been sent to be crushed.

I went to a really sketchy yard in an industrial area in the center of Seattle for an Audi piece. Pouring rain, mud, dogs on chains. Waited in an office trailer forever for someone to come check on us. Cars stacked 4 high with forklifts. Not allowed to pick parts. They pulled one car at a time off the stack and rolled it into an open-sided shed where guys ripped it apart with air guns, laying in the mud and oil slick.

So a guy who spoke no english at all was sent to get my requested pieces. Not sure if they were even off the right year car. No chance to compare car A to B and pick one. Not in the best shape. I decided to just pay and take them. It was more like a mob movie than car parts.

[Nevada1906]

While I love how junkyards organize their vehicles into nice, neat rows, I hate the way they stack the cars on steel rims.

That practice has resulted in me losing out on a replacement passenger rocker panel from over two dozen cars. They're always crushed by the rims when I get to them.

Beyond that, I generally go to the junkyard with the mindset that I'm going to get absolutely head-to-toe sweaty, wet and filthy. I plan for it.

See, I have a Scale of Disgusting, and it's logarhithmic. Each notch up the scale is ten times as gross as the one below it. Level 1 is "Haven't showered in two days." Level 5 is "Cleaning out a fridge that's been unplugged for a month." Level 10 is "Rod Stewart."

Pulling parts from a junkyard is Level 2.

On the day of the junkyard crawl, I wear old clothes and boots, don't waste time showering in the morning and bring some old beach towels to cover the seats.

Nothing feels better after a day in the mud, gravel and grass of a junkyard than a long, hot shower and fresh clothes.

[volvolugnut]

I understand your impressions - the farther out in the sticks I think, the more likely the "lay in the mud" sort of yards.

It was more like a mob movie than car parts.

That is a classic line.

All the 'junk yards' near me are rough and tumble.

volvolugnut

[JimBee]

I always carry a couple of sheets of heavy corrugated, like from a bicycle box from the local bike shop. Just leave them after use. And try not to go if it has rained in the last couple of days or during spring thaw.

[FireFox31]

I went to that muddy junkyard in north east Massachusetts in late December 2020. There was a foot of snow between the cars and slick ice in the driving lanes. And yet, there were still the "locusts" prowling around for parts to take and resell. The employees were hauling parts in a zombie car which would surely rather be dead. There was one guy laying among snow under a lovely new BMW, carefully extracting something significant.

So I have been to two other junkyards, but had called ahead and arranged to get specific parts. When getting a Mercedes wheel in NJ, the yard sent a guy with an electric jack to remove the wheel of my choice from a car. I was so pleased, I bought a second one. At one in abscate's area of NY, I was getting an XC70 bumper I had bought on eBay. All of their cars were on giant metal racks, accessible only to staff.

I'll try some local yards, expecting to get dirty and bringing cardboard like you've mentioned. I want those bumpers and doors before they vanish from junkyards entirely.

[volvolugnut]

Easy is not cheap and cheap is not easy.
volvolugnut

[rspi]

[rspi]

[cuhfs]

And DON'T steal Robert DIY's tools when he is at the junkyard