Perfectly good parts removed: What do you do with them?

[Eddystone]

When performing preventive maintenance like a timing belt you know is overdue for replacement but is showing no signs of any problem, what do you do with all of the perfectly good parts you remove from the car? When I do a timing belt, there's no way I'm not replacing the water pump, idler and tensioner at the same time. What do YOU do with all the perfectly good parts you take off the car? Mine end up cluttering up my house even though I'd never put these parts back on my car. Just imagine what Abscate's house is like, tripping over Volvo parts at night in the dark as he tries to get his aged bladder to the bathroom...

[Sveedy]

Well I keep all of my " good " used parts in Tupperware containers stashed in the corner of my garage. Having restored many other older cars & trucks, I can't toss anything that might just make the difference, if the parts become hard to find in the future.

[Eddystone]

Well I keep all of my " good " used parts in Tupperware containers stashed in the corner of my garage. Having restored many other older cars & trucks, I can't toss anything that might just make the difference, if the parts become hard to find in the future.

Well, that's certainly taking the long view, but we do seem to be entering that part of the life cycle of a car. I've lived in two big metro areas in the USA, and both P80s and 940s are seldom in the pick and pulls any more whereas there were lots just a few years ago. I see Robert picking in salvage yards every other day, but he covers a lot of territory where real estate and storage space is not at a premium.

I used to do Rover sedans (saloons) from roughly 1955 through 1980, and every part was precious in the USA, so I understand where you are coming from. My house was full of parts I had driven all over to pick up by the truckload (van load) just to keep them from being trashed. A friend who is a Rover parts supplier in the UK came by one time and helped me figure out what a lot of the parts were. NOS stuff from cars I neither owned or had ever seen in person, some parts from the early 50s. I had also completely stripped a Rover SD1 and had all of the front and rear suspension and differential under my house along with a collection of wheels and about ten Rover 2000TC cylinder heads that needed rebuilding. I'm trying not to end up like that again.

[454cid]

I have over flowing shelves with parts.... mostly for my truck that I've owned for over 20 years. I did notice that pretty much all the parts I removed from the 850, when I did the timing belt, still looked good. I would not be opposed to reusing some of those parts, depending on the situation.

Some of the parts on my shelves are new, and were purchased on sale, or in preparation for a future job that I suspect is coming up.

I don't normally save things like old brake parts, unless it's caliper pins that I can clean up and re-use.... done that on my truck quite a bit. Used up pads get tossed, but I did save the rear pads from the 850 just because they looked to be original, and I wanted to keep them (for a little while) for reference.

Some items get kept for possible rebuild.... I have the original starter for my truck and intend to get it rebuilt. I wish I would have held on to it's original water pump.

[abscate]

Consider that a used part is only as good as it’s verifiable history. I have quickly realised thst the scrap metal value of mist if this stuff is the best value. I am running a used water pump on my t5 from the last timing belt job ,the first one ran 250k miles, so that is scrap.

Putting a$25 an hour value on my personal mechanic time also helps gauge if a part is worth saving.

Since I do charity refurbishments, used parts are useful for getting stuff running when there is uncertainty about big “ deal killer” items

[scot850]

I agree on 2 fronts. Keeping old parts helps:

1) Reference for replacement parts. When I first worked on cars (long before PC's and the internet) I usually had to remove the part and take it to the dealer to ensure you got the correct part. Even today it is good to have reference parts BEFORE you start a job to confirm you have the correct part rather than find you have the car in bits to discover that!

2) If the part is not critical and is in good shape I will keep it as abscate says to help on those cars where cost is an issue.

and then:

3) As many of the rear parts for the AWD and even parts now for FWD are becoming NLA, having a part that you might be able to MacGyver back into life or have something manufactured from is critical.

Explains why I have so many used parts!! Now if I can explain why I have multiples of some parts that is a question I have no answer for!!

[Clemens]

I try to keep all electronic and electric parts in multiple numbers. For mechanical parts I try to keep at least one. Wear and tear items like brake pads or rotors are junk and I try to get rid of them.
Did I mention I am about to mount my old kitchen cupboards in my garage so I can better store my Volvo parts? So yes, I am a hoarder as well...

[FireFox31]

When I replace a part on my car, I keep the old part for a few months to ensure that the new one is working well. I once replaced an idler roller on my Benz and it failed quickly, so I was able to put the old one back on until sourcing another new one. Ultimately, if I took the part off, it's because it's worn out and I won't use it again.

I've started gathering parts from scrap yards. My goal is to save parts which are no longer available, expensive, have failed on me before, or have a good price to size to ease of recovery ratio. I also save parts which I could use temporarily while refurbishing my copy of the part (ie: front axles for boots and bearing). I don't save wear items (unknown history).

I want to make an inventory in Excel to show part number, part name, list price, price I paid, and specs of the car I got it from. I'd use that to print labels to store with each part to easily know what they are. I really want to test my spare parts on my own car so I know they work.

Putting a$25 an hour value on my personal mechanic time also helps gauge if a part is worth saving.

This is a great way to limit time spent on cars and parts. Compared to list price for expensive / obscure parts, saving junkyard parts are a great deal even with respect to time. Also, allocate a certain amount of storage space. If you want to add a part and the space is full, something must go.

[manovlov]

Well...hum... i didn't know abscate's bladder was in a so much bad state...

I still chasing the right one 850 with the good interior and parts i need (bumpers with fog light, bla bla bla). I will start my collection when my stepmom will give back my garage to me... I can't remember where i read that some parts wouldn't be produced anymore, i may think it was in a post on MVS...

[454cid]

Ultimately, if I took the part off, it's because it's worn out and I won't use it again.

I often don't know exactly what's really bad until I get in there. That can mean that I've purchased everything because of not wanting to go back in later, or wait on a part hat I absolutely need and didn't already purchase. I may then find that a certain part wasn't that bad, or is is still in fine shape, it was just this other thing that was really bad.

I replaced plug wires on my truck, and figured I may as well replace the plugs too since I already had them. Upon inspection the existing plugs weren't bad, just dirty, so I cleaned them, checked the gap, and re-installed them. I was going to do the same on my Buick, but I found a few plugs that I did not want to re-use, so I went ahead and changed the set..... still haven't decided what I'm doing with the old plugs.