I bet there's no chance to get people to stop calling Rangers by "Generation" is there...

[scotts90ranger]

Don't get me wrong, I've swapped all sorts of random stuff in my '90 be it the Explorer seats, Explorer rear axle, D35, the 1354 that didn't come on the '89 chassis I'm running or the combination Thunderbird and Ranger engine mess I have going on under the hood... I get it and appreciate the randomness but when people try to over simplify things it gets too complicated

 

[SenorNoob]

The "mess" I've made is why I just have part numbers for what I want. Sometimes application helps me find it. Sometimes I'm down to almost randomly looking up different models to see what changed and how similar it is.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Really i think its ridiclious that the F series gets 3different generations between 80-96...i could see maybe seperating 80-86 but 87-96 is very similar. By the "rangers only have 3 generations" logic people

The original rangers had 5 generations...i dont care what anyone says.

 

[19Walt93]

Sure sounds like cousins marrying cousins to me.

What, you don't have any cute cousins?

 

[19Walt93]

Really i think its ridiclious that the F series gets 3different generations between 80-96...i could see maybe seperating 80-86 but 87-96 is very similar. By the "rangers only have 3 generations" logic people

The original rangers had 5 generations...i dont care what anyone says.

87-91 was one body style, 92-96 was different. At the dealer we never called them generations.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

87-91 was one body style, 92-96 was different. At the dealer we never called them generations.

I get that.

But people wanna clump 83-92 Rangers togther and 93-11s togther when there is just as much, if not more difference in those then there were in the 87-96 F series

 

[19Walt93]

Having the VIN improves your chances of getting the right part.
When I started in 75 people would order parts for a 70 Ford Torino/LTD/ etc and the counterman would hear "74" instead of "70 Ford" assuming any parts ordered from a Ford dealer would be for a Ford.
Some guys always assumed an August build date was this year's car and September was next years car, that may have been true once but I wouldn't bet on it.
Sometimes parts change during a model year due to revisions or availability, the VIN answers the question.
It's not just Ford, they all do it. AMC's were built out of whatever they could get that day- Motorcraft carbs, Mopar or Borg Warner automatic transmissions, Prestolite electrics. Some Saab's were rebadged Subaru's, Probes were Mazda's, Festiva's and Aspires were Kia's, Some Pontiac's were Toyota's and some were Dihatsu's, Subaru now sells a rebadged Blazer EV.
Having the VIN with you saves aggravation.

 

[19Walt93]

I get that.

But people wanna clump 83-92 Rangers togther and 93-11s togther when there is just as much, if not more difference in those then there were in the 87-96 F series

I was talking about F series. I think of Ranger series as 83-88, 89-92, 93-97, 98-00, and 01-11 but I order parts based on year and VIN. I separated 98-00 because of the pulse vacuum hubs.

 

[pentode]

Having the VIN improves your chances of getting the right part.
When I started in 75 people would order parts for a 70 Ford Torino/LTD/ etc and the counterman would hear "74" instead of "70 Ford" assuming any parts ordered from a Ford dealer would be for a Ford.
Some guys always assumed an August build date was this year's car and September was next years car, that may have been true once but I wouldn't bet on it.
Sometimes parts change during a model year due to revisions or availability, the VIN answers the question.
It's not just Ford, they all do it. AMC's were built out of whatever they could get that day- Motorcraft carbs, Mopar or Borg Warner automatic transmissions, Prestolite electrics. Some Saab's were rebadged Subaru's, Probes were Mazda's, Festiva's and Aspires were Kia's, Some Pontiac's were Toyota's and some were Dihatsu's, Subaru now sells a rebadged Blazer EV.
Having the VIN with you saves aggravation.

I'll clarify my comment from earlier - when I go into the dealership parts counter, I'm almost always just looking for a price to see if there's any point in even considering buying OEM. So even if there were 3 different control arms used on a given model year, I just want to know the price range on those parts. I'll worry about making certain I get the right part later on. I know they don't want to waste their time and totally understand the issues making sure it's the right part, it's the fact they often won't even bother to make the effort that bugs me. I don't carry the VINs for all my vehicles around with me all the time but I drive by the dealerships daily.