A couple 96 ranger questions

[98v70dad]

1. Does anyone know where to find a free online illustrated parts list for a 96 ranger?

2. Any suggested online places to buy Ford parts? I already know about RockAuto. It's pretty good but they don't have everything. I'm looking for a dealership that sells online at a wholesale price. I bought Toyota Honda and Volvo parts that way but haven't had much luck finding ford stuff. Plenty of places claim to sell wholesale but most that I've checked out are just a few dollars cheaper than my local dealer and shipping eats up most of that.

Local dealer story....I went in to get a price for a camshaft position sensor last thursday for a 96 ranger with 3L. The parts person told me that the 96 ranger never came with a 3L option. I said come out in the parking lot and I'll show you one. She was emphatic that there was only one engine and in was a 4 cylinder. One of the reasons I stay out of dealerships ... Total waste of my time.

 

[RonD]

Well she was right, 1996 Ranger did only come with ONE engine, a 2.3l, 3.0l or 4.0l but only ONE of them , dual engine Ranger are very rare

Never came across wholesale Ford dealer parts, on sale yes, but not wholesale.
Ebay often has Motorcraft as new/in box for less.

3rd party parts are OK for easy to change parts like cam synchronizers, for fuel pump I go with Motorcraft because of the hassle to get to it to replace a 'warrantied' part.


For body/chassis parts LMC Truck has good pricing and illustrations: http://www.lmctruck.com/

And our "How-to" section also has diagrams: http://www.therangerstation.com/how-to/

 

[adsm08]

Frankly I think I would call up and complain to either the parts manager, or the general manager, about the lazy and incompetent parts counter employee.

 

[98v70dad]

Well she was right, 1996 Ranger did only come with ONE engine, a 2.3l, 3.0l or 4.0l but only ONE of them , dual engine Ranger are very rare

Never came across wholesale Ford dealer parts, on sale yes, but not wholesale.
Ebay often has Motorcraft as new/in box for less.

3rd party parts are OK for easy to change parts like cam synchronizers, for fuel pump I go with Motorcraft because of the hassle to get to it to replace a 'warrantied' part.


For body/chassis parts LMC Truck has good pricing and illustrations: http://www.lmctruck.com/

And our "How-to" section also has diagrams: http://www.therangerstation.com/how-to/

I'm not looking for diagrams. The illustrated parts list tells you exactly what part you need for your car. Its what the dealer pulls up on their computer when you walk in to buy a part. It will list the superseded (obsolete) parts and what parts replaced them. With an illustrated parts list (IPL) or illustrated parts catalog (IPC) YOU can look up a part and know what you need instead of relying on the seller to tell you. Parts with problems often get superseded with better improved parts. Sellers just want to sell you something. If you don't know what the latest and best part number is you're buying yesterdays engineering mistakes. ebay is a source of often superseded and sometimes fake parts. I only buy either used parts or things that don't matter from ebay. Buying off of Amazon is an even bigger crap shoot. Often the sellers aren't knowledgeable enough to realize what they're actually selling.

I used to buy airplane parts. Some of the parts cost A LOT - like more than I make in a year. So, the illustrated parts catalog comes in handy. The IPC for my '98 Volvo V70 is found all over the internet. I used it all the time to pick out parts. Volvo was a ford owned company back in '98 so its odd to me that Ford does not seem to make their own IPCs available for free .

Your play on words about only "one" engine is pretty funny. I checked and you're right. My truck only has one engine.

 

[98v70dad]

Frankly I think I would call up and complain to either the parts manager, or the general manager, about the lazy and incompetent parts counter employee.

Well, the parts counter lady was probably just a year or two older than my truck. She grew up with a generation that is very trusting of computers. She got the info off the computer and completely distrusted me - what does an old man know? Anyhow, she'll learn.