How to Score an Engine for Under $200, Find Affordable Axles, and Buy a Used Transmission--the Tips, Tricks, and Secrets, Plus Behind-the-Scenes Video of the Staff Scroungers!
Getting greasy and grimy is all in a day’s fun when you’re scrounging for a junkyard transmission, engine, transfer case, or axle, but knowing what you’re looking for before you go is definitely important. Wrenching under a teetering hulk to pull that perfect truck part is all good, until you get it home and find out it won’t fit your rig. We’ve nearly done that a time or two, and now we do our research before we trundle off in search of gold.
When you’re building up that ultimate trail rig, it’s more than likely you will need to swap out stock parts for some major beef. But what fits what? And what can be adapted? We could write a book on the subject, but for now we’ll concentrate on a few proven performers of big American iron—our favorites. Don’t get us wrong; there’s lots of smaller stuff from around the world that has its place and makes for fine conversion, but we prefer bulletproof components that give us back trouble as we heave them around from the junkyard to the garage.
For a spotter's guide, as well as tips on what fits what, what you want to avoid, and more junkyard treasures, check out the August issue of 4-Wheel & Off-Road, on sale now! You can also click on the sidebars below, "Behind-the-Scenes: Junk-Buying Scrounger's Guide," to watch the staff getting their freshly French Tipped fingernails dirty and to learn even more junkyard tricks you can't find in 4-Wheel!