how to decode ford part numbers
The first thing to know is that a number on a part is not the part number.
This page is to help you decode Ford part numbers, but since this is a Bullnose website the information may not be directly applicable to all other eras.
To start, there are two #'s associated with any Ford part:
In general the two numbers are formatted in the same way, albeit with some differences.
Part numbers: These are made up of three segments:
Example:
Let's take an example of an intake manifold for a 1980 F100 with 2wd and that doesn't have a California emissions system. That Master Parts Catalog says that is part # E3AZ 9424-C, and that decodes as having been introduced in 1983 for a full-sized Ford. However, if you look at one of those manifolds you will not find that number on it.
Instead you'll find E3AE 9424-JB, or maybe just E3AE-JB since it is pretty obvious it is an intake manifold so the 9424 is understood. And that is the ID or Engineering #, not the part number. So lets decode that. Again the "E3" means 1983 and the "A" means a full-sized Ford car. But the last character, the "E", means that it was designed by the Engine department.
Documentation:
And to show you what I see in the Master Parts Catalog and the Cross Reference, the excerpts for the intake manifold example are shown below.
To start, there are two #'s associated with any Ford part:
- Part Number: This is the # shown in Ford's Master Parts Catalog and is the number by which you can order a part through Ford.
- ID Number: Also called the Engineering #, this is the number on the part. But it is not the part number.
- Master Parts Catalog: This works off of part numbers but maybe 1 in 1000 entries includes an ID #. So you need the part number to find anything.
- OSI: This book only works with part numbers, and it shows parts that have been obsoleted, superseded, or interchanged. Again, you need the part number.
- Cross Reference: This crosses ID #'s to part numbers and vice versa. So I do have the ability to look up part numbers from ID #'s, and I will do that for contributing members of the Bullnose Forum.
In general the two numbers are formatted in the same way, albeit with some differences.
Part numbers: These are made up of three segments:
- Group Part Number: This is the core of the numbering system, and the same number is used for the same part in any FoMoCo vehicle anywhere in the world. For instance, a 9510 is a carburetor, a fuel tank is a 9002, and an intake manifold is usually, but not always, a 9424. However a carburetor, fuel tank, or intake manifold for a tractor in Europe will be quite different than one for a truck in the US, so we need more specificity.
- Prefix: This is a 4-character designation that tells when a part was first introduced and for what vehicle. For instance, let's use E0TZ as an example:
"E" = is the decade of 1980, while D is 1970 & F = 1990.
"0" adds to the 1980 of "E", making it actually a 1980 introduction
The third character tells what vehicle the part was originally designed for, with "T" meaning light truck, including the full-sized Bronco, "A" meaning full-sized Ford car, "B" meaning Torino or LTD II, etc. But note that just because a part was designed for one vehicle doesn't mean it wasn't used for another. A lot of parts on trucks were initially designed for others, as you will see in the example below.
"Z" means replacement part for a Ford where "Y" is a replacement part for a Lincoln or Mercury - Suffix: This typically consists of one character, such as A, B, C, etc. And the suffix is very significant as a change there can mean it is a very different part.
- Group Part Number: This frequently, but not always, uses the same group # as the part number.
- Prefix: This is in the same format as the part number except that the last character represents the engineering department that created it, with "B" meaning Body, "C" meaning Chassis, "E" meaning Engine, "H" meaning HVAC, "P" meaning Auto Transmission, "R" meaning Manual Transmission, and "W" meaning Axle & Driveshaft. (Note that "M" = Performance (Incl. Holman Moody), "U" means Special Vehicle Operations, and
X" = Emissions, Economy and Special Vehicle Engineering (Muscle Car Parts).) - Suffix: This is almost always a different character than used in the Part Number, and is frequently two characters instead of one.
Example:
Let's take an example of an intake manifold for a 1980 F100 with 2wd and that doesn't have a California emissions system. That Master Parts Catalog says that is part # E3AZ 9424-C, and that decodes as having been introduced in 1983 for a full-sized Ford. However, if you look at one of those manifolds you will not find that number on it.
Instead you'll find E3AE 9424-JB, or maybe just E3AE-JB since it is pretty obvious it is an intake manifold so the 9424 is understood. And that is the ID or Engineering #, not the part number. So lets decode that. Again the "E3" means 1983 and the "A" means a full-sized Ford car. But the last character, the "E", means that it was designed by the Engine department.
Documentation:
And to show you what I see in the Master Parts Catalog and the Cross Reference, the excerpts for the intake manifold example are shown below.
The first one is from the Illustration section of the MPC showing the basic parts of the engine with the 9424 for the intake manifold highlighted. But, as we know, that's just the group part number and we need a lot more.
(Note: You can click on the image to see it larger.)
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Given that we go to the Text section of the MPC and look up a 9424 for our application - the 1980 F100 2wd & not CA emissions. There you can see the whole part number including the prefix and suffix. But we also see something unusual - the MPC has both the true part number as well as the ID # in the "Description" field. Most entries don't have the ID #.
(Note: You can click on the image to see it larger.) |
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Last is a snippet from the Cross Reference and it needs a bit of explanation. First, let's assume we have the manifold in question which shows E3AE 9424-JB but we want to order a new one so need the part number. In the Known Part Number column of the cross-ref is the number you have - regardless of whether it is a part number or an ID #. And the Service Or Engineering Part Number column gives you the cross-referenced #. In this case the first # in the left column is actually the ID # of E3AE 9424-JB (yellow) and you can see that it crosses to E3AZ 9424-C (yellow).
But in the left column just below the ID # you see the actual part number of E3AZ 9424-C (green), and in the right column you see the ID # (green). So you can cross either number to the other one. |
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