In order to insure you get the proper replacement engine for your vehicle, and you are in the market for an engine for sale, is to have the VIN number handy. What is the VIN number, say you? It is an acronym for Vehicle Identification Number.

A good comparison is your social security number. It is unique to you. Both numbers are unique identification systems.

The first mandated unique serial number system used by the car industry to identify individual motor vehicles was 1980. Before 1981, there was not a single standard for these numbers, so every manufacturer used different formats.

Since VIN numbers were standardized in 1981, VINs have a combination of 17 letters and numbers which do not include the letters I, O, or Q (thus avoiding confusion with numbers 1 and 0).

This wonderful number is a real treat for competent mechanics and qualified parts people to use in order to always get the right part for the vehicle you may be working on. We lived by this number at my transmission shop.

For instance, if a potential client called and asked me “do you have an engine for sale to fit a 1995 Ford F-350 with a 7.3L powerstroke diesel engine and an automatic overdrive transmission”? Regardless of whether I knew it was an 7.3 Liter diesel, and I had one or not, from many years of experience, the first thing I wanted to know was the VIN number.

For most practical purposes, your engine or auto repair parts supplier needs to be able to read and interpret at least 2 or 3 digits out of the 17 characters in order to purchase an engine for sale. The two most informational digits are:

A. the 10th (tenth) digit and the 8th (eighth) digit. The 10th digit is the year the vehicle was made.

B. The 8th digit is the engine identification number. The purchaser of an engine for sale or any automotive part for that matter should have the VIN handy. It is a big help to the parts person.

BTW, a qualified parts person is to be a position of competence and knowledge. Unqualified parts people cause a lot of problems, especially for home repair mechanics. Our shop (our, meaning me and my employees) used the VIN from everything to buying the correct parts, using our high-tech computer repair programs to programming the scan tool for diagnosis.

The other digits are important too and often you may be asked for several other digits, so bring the whole number. On most cars it is, as you sit in the drivers seat, on the left front end of the dashboard. It can be seen from the outside through the windshield and is a stamped steel plate, riveted to the dashboad.

That is my lesson for the day. Have your Vin number handy when you buy parts, especially an engine for sale. Brought to you by GotEngines.com..Blog.

You can find the VIN on your registration…