When you have a garage full of parts from a wide range of Audi cars it became helpful to be able to look at the part numbers and know what car it came off of. looking at parts from my B6 S4 I noticed that many parts were on my B6 A4 and when I looked further I can see some of the same parts on a friends B7 A4. Turns out you can save a good amount of money if you know how the parts number system break down. Not only that but it really helps if your looking to hot rod your car if you want to retro fit parts.
We will take this part number. It the part number off the ECU in my car. We will breakdown the information stored in the part number.
8E0 907 560 C
Lets start with the first 3.
Some websites will tell you that this holds the chassis information for what car this goes to. Thats right but its not fully right. In the case of some parts those first 3 letters tell you if this goes with a specific motor transmission or chassis. There is also the non specific model parts like oil filters that can go on several different configurations. When you see the first number start with a 0 thats telling you that part is being used in more then just one car.
For our 8E0 part number the
8E is telling us its from the
2002-2007
A4 B6 and B7
S4 B6 and B7
RS4
The 0 part of the 8E0 is there to tell us if its specific to right hand drive left hand drive or not specific.
0 indicates that this isn’t specific to any one class.
If the number was anything other then 0 this tells you more about the importance in specific relation to the car. For instance here are some examples.
8E1 The 1= Left hand drive specific
8E2 The 2= Right hand drive specific
8E5 The 5= A saloon
8E9 The 9= A avant or wagon
So now we know out of our 8E0 907 560 C part number that the 8E0 is telling us that it came from a 2002-2007 A4 S4 or RS4. And that its not specific to anything. So we know the first 3 tell us When its from and and if its specific to anything.
Now we go onto the next 3 8E0 907 560 C. This is really the meat and potato stuff. This is the main group with the breakdown into sub parts.
The 907 is broken down into two groups. The main group telling you what this part is9 in this case the 9 is telling us this is part of the electrical system. The 07 part of the 907 is telling you what part of the electrical system this goes to. In this case the 07 is the ECU. If this was the transmission computer the number would read 927 the 27 telling you its the transmission computer part of the electrical system.
So we know that the 9 part of the 907 tells us what group this part is from. There are 10 other groups that are referenced in the part numbers
Here are the 10 groups
1 Engine clutch (ie, turbo, timing belt, air/fuel filters)
2 Gas Tank, Lines, Exhaust, Heater
3 Transmission
4 Front Axle, Differential, Steering
5 Rear Suspension
6 Wheels and Brakes
7 Hand and Foot Levers/Pedals, Safety Covers
8 Body Parts and Interior Trim
9 Electrical and Electrical Systems
0 Accessories (Jacks, Tools, Stickers, and Radio Equipment)
Now onto the last 3 of the 8E0 907 560 C
here is where the breakdown gets even more in depth and these numbers are in direct relation to the main group. This set of letters is more specific about the part.
560 This set of numbers get broken down much like the last set.
This last string of numbers will tell you
Where the part is located if there is a string of parts.[/i]
If the part is place dependent. If that part is in a string of different parts like under panels that go from the front to the back of the car. The lower numbers are closer to the front.
For instance. On the B7 the belly pan and under sections. 8E0863821A is the front belly pan number and the number for the under belly pan just behind that one is 8E0863822A
You can tell if this is a major part in the collective group of parts.
If the part you have is the major part of something that many other parts will be needed for the first number will be 0
For example 079-100-031-D is the S4 4.2 motor part number. The 079-100-031-D part of that part number tells us this is the long block.
You can tell the parts size in relationship to the over all system.
We see that the numbers get bigger as the parts get smaller in relationship to the over all system
For example- 079-100-031 Part# tell us this is the long block. 079-100-103Part# tells us this is the short block.
What side the part goes on-
if the part is side dependent. If the part is side dependent you can tell what side by seeing if the number is odd or even. Even numbers are passenger side… Odd numbers are driver side. and then 0 tells you its not dependent. For example 079-103-066- Cylinder head ends in even numbers tells us this is on the passenger side and 079-103-065 tells us this is the driver side Cylinder head.
There will be cases where parts are side specific and part of the same system but are deemed not interchangeable for instance we have Part# 079-109-204 & 079-109-210 cam adjusters Technically both even numbers but the 210 is the passenger side and 204 is the driver side. In these cases generally the higher number is on the passenger side.
The last section of the part breakdown is the 8E0 907 560 C
This last section is the modification code. In this case we can see the code is C this tells us that there was a modification to the original part. If you get a part that hasn’t received a revision you won’t have a modification code.
For example- if our 8E0 907 560 C was never modified the Part# would read 8E0 907 560
If there is a modification past C it will be the next or higher letter in the alphabet.