Question about scrapping a car

I have a 1999 ford explorer that I need out of the yard w/in the next month or so. It's got the 302 v8 and lsd rear end that people doing swaps look for but I don't have time( or patience ... ) to deal w/ the people needed to part it out, and dont really want alot of CL strangers coming to the house.

My question is two-fold:

1) anything( short of the entire engine and rear end) that I should pull for say, MS project if I decide to do one in the future( injectors, throttle body, etc )?

2) what should I ask for it from one of the scrap car guys( it has a bad head gasket, leaky rad, busted egr tube, noisy tranny/ diff( its awd ), and something that sounds like rod knock to me ).

I don't have any projects planned or in process that I could even touch for several months( if not longer ) and I dont want to try and do something like pull an engine, only to try and find a way to scrap it later. We got triplets on the way, and it also looks like I'll be getting rid of my wagon so for a minivan. I just hate to need something later...always an issue of mine.

And also, is there anything that folks here may need?

Yards may tow it away for free. Sounds like you don't want to put much in it. You won't get E36 M3 for an engine with a rod knock (weather you're for sure or not) plus, I'm assuming, lost compression.

Someone looking to swap it into another car (such as me) would take it, but with a rebuild to do, the money isn't there for you.

Its probably in your best interest to sell it to a salvage yard as a "whole running vehicle."

The scrap yard I go to puts it on a scale and pays by the pound. You really can't negotiate and the prices fluctuate.

I'm sure if you posted it in the $2012 classified section a GRMer could make good use of it.

Current price of scrap is $160 a ton near me so I’m guessing the current value is around $350. If it has aluminum wheels $400 total.

If it wasn't 2 states away I would offer to help part it out/scrap it for you for choice of parts, and a small cut. :D

If you just want it gone, I'm sure that you can find someone to donate it to and you can get some degree of a tax deduction. The deduction will depend on what they auction it for and how they run their auction. They should handle the paperwork and tow it at no cost.

On the other hand, if you want to make some money from it, you can take it in to a junkyard or scrap yard as a whole vehicle. Junkyard might negotiate, scrapyard will pay you by the net ton based on that day's rate. Scrap seems down right now, and cars with rubber, tanks, and fluids get less. I've seen some junkyards give no cash if they have to tow it and I've also seen some that will tow it, but knock 50-150 off the value, so be careful there and shop around.

If you have a trailer, you can strip out things that are copper, aluminium, or catalytic converters and scrap them separately. Radiator, heater core, AC stuff, aluminium rims, starter, alternator, wiper motor, window motors, and sunroof motors to give some examples. Then you can drain the fluids and the gas tank, cut the tank in half, and trailer the car to a scrapyard for a slightly higher net ton price, but you'll likely need to take the tires back with you, if you rolled it on your trailer.

Alternately, put it on the list o' Craig for 375 FOB your yard and watch the scrappers come out of the woodwork.

Be careful with the cat/AC coil stuff.. local scrapyard will not take em anymore without a recent receipt for a replacement.

Great GOOGLY MOOGLY!

I want parts- the engine and rear diff, naturally. How much do you want for it? As noted in the other thread, I'm in North Raleigh. I'll buy the whole thing and have it hauled to my place if the price is right.

Thanks for all of the info. The truck ran well enough for me to drive it from the dealership that we had AAA tow it to. I was told that I had no compression in cylinder 1 or 2. From what I've seen in my area, I can get between $200-300 if I let one of the locals get it. Maybe another $150 if I try to tow it myself. I have a jy maybe 2miles from my house, and a scrapper maybe 2-3miles in the other direction( only open during the week, though). I have a few shortblocks and other misc scrap that I'll throw in the back if I take it myself. I hadn't thought much about the copper and stuff. Maybe I'll look into pulling some of that, too.

@Brett -- I kinda have an idea of what Id want for it, but nothing firm yet. Hit me offline w/ what you'd wanna pay.

Thanks for the info

The more you pull off, the less likely a junkyard will want to pay for it and/or tow it away. At some point, they'll charge you for hauling it off. So if you decide to part it, get some real money for the parts.

I had a FIAT 124 Spider parts car that I used / sold everything to the point where there was just the rotting carcass. Junkyard charged me 100 bucks to drag it up a flatbed.and haul it off. I netted about 750 bucks so I wasn't too heartbroken.

Yea, I'd love to have an explorer V8 even if it needs work. I'm just not willing to pay the $300.00 in shipping.

I'm pretty sure that your Explorer has the GT40 or GT40p cylinder heads on the 5.0.

Lots of folks really want those. Other than the aftermarket aluminum heads, those flow the best. The average Mustang owner's weapon of choice.

The rear end is an 8.8 (Traction-loc, disk brake?) and also desirable.

Pull them.

T

Yes. You should have the GT40 intake and those are worth pulling.

A friend of mine has sold a couple cars to the local Pick-n-Pull, and they paid $375 with them picking it up. I think that's a good base line for a picked up price.

we had AAA tow it to

Drive it to the squisher. If it dies on the way, have AAA pick it up. Obviously, the "WILL BUY YOUR SCRAP CAR" guys aren't going to get 5MPG driving to your house and the squisher to make $25. I'm guessing they're looking for more like $100+

Is $100 worth an hour of your time? It sure as E36 M3 is for me.

If I pull the heads, intake and rear would it be better just to list them on CL? Is there enough interest here to bother shipping them?

Also, do they pop the hood on a non-running car that is on the scales at most yards or just weigh them?

I metal recycling yard isn't going to pop the hood. They are just going to weigh and cut a check. An auto salvage yard will and probably won't buy it or will offer little if you pull off the sweet meat.

The rear would require truck freight to ship, sell it locally. Heads and intake (and distributor) are easy to box and ship.

While you're poking around, grab those cats as well. They're worth $50 to $100 each at the yards around here. The radiator, heater core, and alternator as well; worth Craigslist money or sell for scrap weight.

Make it easy on yourself and just drag it off to a yard that pays by weight. Quick, easy, and you can pile the thing full of old metal scraps before taking it in.

TeamEvil wrote: The rear end is an 8.8 (Traction-loc, disk brake?) and also desirable. Pull them. T

Popular for people who are making rangers more off-road worthy

I need one of those rears. Pick n' pull money is about 100-150 for them.

s10 guys also like the ford 8.8... its an inexpensive option that is much stronger than the GM's stock 7.5 or 8.5 and much lighter than the ford 9"... also upgrades to a clutch type LSD and discs... I want one... but have other things to worry about right now lol...

Message sent. Local parts, FTW!

MGB F 2011 /2012 challenge entry . Explorer drive train ,,,,,, 15.2 in 1/4 mile

Karl La Follette wrote: MGB F 2011 /2012 challenge entry . Explorer drive train ,,,,,, 15.2 in 1/4 mile

Impressive!! I like............

if you do scrap it, drop the gas tank, drain it, and throw it in the back. gas tanks are easy to pull if you just take a bolt cutter to the straps.. the local yards pay more when they don't have to do it. they also like it if you also drain the coolant and engine and trans oils...