With the high cost of auto repairs, most car owners will seek any way within their means to save money. Even with the advanced complexity of modern autos, many used auto parts remain serviceable by owners with at least a moderate skill level. For those repairs, recycled auto parts represent a significant value over new dealer and aftermarket parts. These parts are even cheaper when you pull them from a salvage yourself. However, salvage yards present multiple safety hazards. Our team at Ace Auto Parts in St. Paul has put together this helpful list of safety tips for “pull-it-yourselfers.”
Protect Your Body in a Salvage Yard
A little preparation will ensure your auto parts savings aren’t offset by a costly ER visit.
Please consider these things:
1. Feet
If you don’t do anything else from this list, please make sure to protect your feet. Heavy and sharp objects abound in a salvage yard, and sandals or slip-on shoes simply won’t protect your feet.
2. Eyes
Good eye protection comes cheap, but the value of protecting your eyes is priceless. Use good eye gear especially when climbing under a car and when dealing with hazardous fluids which may be pressurized.
3. Hands
Gloves are yet another low-cost item delivering high-value protection. If nothing else, a decent pair of gloves may prevent annoying cuts and scrapes or worse.
4. Head - For the majority of operations in the junkyard, covering the head sits low on the list of priorities, but is still something to consider for heavy line type work such as transmission or engine removal.
Plan Ahead and Don’t Waste Your Efforts
While personal safety is paramount and its importance cannot be understated, ensuring you obtain your part damage-free and ready to use should not be overlooked. A most dissatisfying situation will certainly occur if you invest a good deal of time and effort to save money only to find a critical component broken or missing due to negligence or carelessness.
1. Bring help
For big and bulky components, such as a transmission or transfer case, bring an assistant. Attempting to be a Superman will probably get you hurt. A helper can also assist with smaller items that require multiple steps for safe removal.
2. Use the Right Tools
Don’t expect to have access to any tools once you arrive. When planning your trip to the salvage yard, make a list of all the tools you need; a trip home or to the tool store will prove to be a time-waster as well as major annoyance.
3. Research the Correct Auto Parts
Research our auto part page to find any auxiliary parts required in addition to the one you are looking for. Cross-reference parts to see if the same part is used in other years or models of car. The auto part you seek may have been removed already, and knowing which other cars have what you need can ensure a safe, productive visit.
Take Your Time in the Junkyard
Rushing to complete the job may lead to errors and shortcuts. Too often, this results in wasted time and broken parts. Plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time for the task at hand. Except for a few parts such as exhaust bolts, if you find something difficult to remove and resort to applying extreme force for removal, a strong possibility exists that you have overlooked another screw or component which requires removal first and may be out of view. If available, a service manual can help to prevent this situation.
Visit Ace Auto Parts in St. Paul, Minnesota
At Ace Auto Parts, we provide used automotive parts for your vehicle at great prices. Whether you are looking for used batteries, used tires, or a specific part, we have what you need. To find out more about our products, visit our St. Paul, Minnesota location. You can also call us at 651-717-4299, or you can message us on our contact page.