should be able to do the same thing with a parts drawing of the trans, which is available online...
I in no way mean to insult you, but most parts guys look at you like you're retarded if you bring them a broken part and say "I need a new one of these, but I have no idea what it is or does"...
I look at customers retarded when they come in like that as well.
People dont realize how many bolts, nuts, brackets, mounts, filters, spark plugs, wires, etc are in a parts department. When someone walks in holding a broken part, puts it on the counter and says you need a new one of these, you cant do anything but stare at them stupidly. As if you have the ENTIRE parts catalog memorized for every single generation of every model. Just because someone comes in asking for example, a engine mount bracket, i usually need the VIN number for the car to find the specific part. Why you ask? because there could be several different parts numbers that pop up when doing a generic search for a car.
Perfect example. I had a customer call in asking for a new maf for an 01 sonata (i work in a hyundai dealership). I told him i would need the VIN, but he didnt have the car with him. I did a generic search for an 01 sonata, found the MAF and came back with two parts numbers. One for the 2.4, another for a 2.5. One of them was 282.xx dollars, the second, a lovely 537.xx dollars. And its not the dealership markup that is different, our costs for those parts are relative to how its marked up.
Now im good at my job because I am a car enthusiast, but most parts people are also good at their job, because they do nothing but parts all day. Looking stuff up for wholesale, or the techs. While they might not know EXACTLY what teh part does, they do know what it is, and where to find it.
It would not be that hard to go to a dealership, bring the part, bring the make and model (preferebly the last 8 of the VIN number) and say
"i broke this on my car, but im unsure of where it attaches or really what it does, could you pull up a picture for me so i can figure out what its called which might tell me what its for, as well as price and whether or not its a special order item?"
I can assure you if a customer came in and said those exact things, it would be the easiest transaction ever.
For Sale Got tons of extra parts for mazda protege protege5 engine 2trans