HOW TO GET PRODUCTION DATE

TRAVIS75 · Nov 2nd, 2009, 08:25 PM

I work at a salvage yard, and as stated in a previous post I have an 86.5 or 87 nissan truck 4x4 m/t.

I've tried to locate parts through our system, mostly just checking out price and availibity of major components i.e. engine tranny ecu etc. I've found that most everything I look up needs a production date, as far as the month. I can decode the vin at work on our Hollander system, all it tells me is its 86 or 86.5. I've discovered its not an 86 by trying to replace a broken turn lamp, the 86 had a different plug than the 87...but other parts that I look up as a 87 it wants the production date. Its gone from the door, and the tag on the right fender well doesn't have that particular info. any input would be great

white toy · Nov 2nd, 2009, 10:10 PM

I'm not sure if your system is the same as the one dealers use but you could take the vin number to a dealership and get them to run it.

zanegrey · Nov 3rd, 2009, 10:02 AM

86 to 89 the production date use 11 /86...

TRAVIS75 · Nov 3rd, 2009, 12:12 PM

Well heres an example of why using 11/86 won't work, at least on our computer system on certain parts, like when I look up an ecu, there is one for up to 6/86 then they switched to a different one from 7/86 to 2/87 and yet again a different one in 3/87. I know for a fact that our system is far far far from perfect, and I've caught errors with it before, but for the most part it is right, I've called a couple nissan dealers, most of them when they decoded it couldn't tell me for sure the production date,

zanegrey · Nov 3rd, 2009, 12:28 PM

just match the numbers on the ecm itself..

do u really need an ecm?

TRAVIS75 · Nov 3rd, 2009, 02:59 PM

I don't need an ecu, i just like to look up parts that I know I get alot of calls on on vehicles, to find out the price and availibility, like for example on my wifes sidekick, the exhaust manifold, they don't make an aftermarket version of it, discontinued oem, even though i can look all across the u.s. wrecking yards with the click of a button, it still took me 6 months to find one that wasn't cracked, and was federal epa, it was a weakness, so they are pretty rare. Now that i've found another i bought it, just because i know how hard they are to find.

So i'm looking up random parts that I know are extremely expensive new, and finding their availibility through salvage yards. But thats where my problems begin, production date.

If this is a durable and fun truck, especially for hunting, I'm going to keep it, and the rate at which older vehicles are being crushed for salvage, I'd dearly love to stock up on parts for this truck.