Tutorial to Electronic Parts Catalogue (EPC) on line

Warning: You do not need to understand Russian!.

OK, for those not in-the-know, the EPC (Electronic Parts Catalogue) is the program that all Mercedes garages operate to find out the part number of each of the parts fitted to any Mercedes made from 1970 when it was manufactured. It also contains all updates of parts when one is replaced by a newer reference. You can find the EPC, courtesy of the Russian fans in the following link:

http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb.asp

EDIT: OLD SITE DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE

NEW SITE IS HERE: http://mb.neoriginal.ru/2/ccode/1

AND HERE: http://www.auto-parts.spb.ru/cat/cats/m.mycat?cat=mb&client=dr2000

It is good for all Mercedes made from 1970 to 2000.

You only need to enter the 17 digits of the complete VIN of your Mercedes and click "OK":

You will get all the serial numbers of the major components factory fitted to your G, for example, entering the relevant VIN, we get the data corresponding to a very rare W461 290 GD LWB Right Hand Drive, purposely made for a NGO:

To enter into the EPC proper, you must click on the link at the bottom left of the screen "Узлы и агрегаты", which must mean in Russian something like "Keep on, mate, you're doin' all right!" :lol: Then, we access the subgroup menu, which looks more or less like this (depending on model):

Now, lets assume that we are looking for the part number of our car's water pump. We must click on subgroup 20 "ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM" and we will access this screen:

Within subgroup 20 we will click on subgroup 015 "WATER PUMP", and we will access the graphic and listed breakdown of its relevant parts:

Note that the screen print-out does not show all parts so scroll down to check all that there is.

Once chosen the part we're interested in -#5 in the first drawing-

We scroll down to find out the part number:

And there we read the following:

which means that the part number for our water pump is A6022000220, defined as "Water pump".

Please beware, however, that the column to the right lists notes *039, *040, *074 and *697. We must read these notes at the bottom of the page (scrolling down again) under the parts list:

In our case, the notes read as follows:

As the engine number for that G (see screen print # 2 above) is 602942 20 002149 (or type 942 20 with serial number 2149) I would think that this pump is good for our engine (942 is higher than all lower limits stated in note *39 and higher than all upper limits stated by note *74).

Nota *40 is not applicable to out engine number.

And note *697 means that the part is supplied also or only as reaconditioned part.

Now you only need to access any of the internet sites that show the approximate (but rather obsolete) price for our part, like this one:

http://www.mercedes-benz-parts.co.uk/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&sku...

Warning: never order a part without having confirmed its suitability with your friendly Mercedes dealership!

Enjoy!