Identification by Engine Serial Number

[cody_i]

I have a 2.3 liter engine out of an '88 Merkur XR4Ti (I think). I have no way of knowing what year this engine was manufactured. The part numbers from the vehicle indicate that all the parts are from a 6 year spread. The part numbers do not indicate when the engine was manufactured. The part numbers only indicate when the part was designed, and with what it interchanges with. The block casting indicates that the engine was manufactured in 1983. While the block design might have not changed since then, other things might have changed. I have the serial number that was stamped into the block, unlike the part numbers which are cast into the block. The serial number that was stamped into the block is "HM666903". I have no idea how to determine when the engine was manufactured, as I do not know for sure what vehicle it came out of. If someone can help me decode the serial number that would be a great help. I stopped at my dealership, but they couldn't help me. I also checked at one of the local machine shops, but they couldn't help me either. Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Cody

 

[ejholmgren]

How much of the engine do you have ... short block, long block, all accessories, etc?

 

[Mark_88]

The XR4Ti would be a turbo...and they were only produced between 1985 and 1989...but they were built only in Germany so finding parts history may be a bit tricky...

Maybe someone with a similar engine could help you identify the production year, but the 2.3 block stamp could mean that they shipped the blocks to Germany pre-production for 85...

Aside from that, why do you need to know the year?

If it is a 2.3 and you want to rebuild it you can usually get parts for it here...the internals for the turbo short block are the same as the non-turbo engines...the heads were different (and many were cracked) but you could, hypothetically, bolt on a head from a non-turbo 2.3...

 

[ejholmgren]

What he said. The only major changes in the pre '95 2.3L were dizz->dis, small->large journal crank, square->round tooth timing stuff, etc. What are your plans for the motor, and what parts are you trying to find?

 

[cody_i]

I have the entire engine. I have all the accessories, wiring, computer,VAM and everything else needed to do a swap. I bought the entire set-up from someone on Craigslist. He was unsure what year it was, but he thought it was from an '88. I was curious, so I tried to find out what year it was made but I have almost exhausted all my resources.