5 Tips on Finding Your Parts Online

Did you know it would take one over 95,000 years to do a manual search of Google’s 50 billion web pages, at one minute per page! Old or young, tech savvy or not, the internet is the easiest way to find your truck parts, regardless of its complexity and behemoth-ness. So we are going to give you 5 Tips on Finding Your Parts Online, to give you an edge in your search. Given the magnitude and amount of possible search results, there is a learning curve and a method to searching for truck parts in a way that maximizes your results and gets you the answers you seek.

Virtual or in person, shopping for parts at Active Truck Parts will not disappoint

Many of us continue to be old-school and want to touch and feel the products we are hoping to buy. In that case, our 5 Tips on Finding Your Parts Online will be last on your to-do list. But as we grow more comfortable with the brands we seek, or the providers we do business with, we may begin to trust a little more that we don’t have to be so hands-on. At Active Truck Parts, we have a meticulously laid out selection of all parts for medium and heavy-duty trucks, truck parts and more, ready to be pulled to accompany your rig to replace older or worn-out parts. 

Better yet, you can touch and feel all the parts you need for your rig. And you can also trust that what we sell online will be the perfect fit. That is because we document every piece in our inventory by make, model, and year. When you request a part online, detail your rig by those parameters and VIN number, and we will find the part to meet your needs perfectly. It might just be time to consider our 5 tips on finding your parts online, detailed below.

Many truck drivers take some time to stop by our 40-acre salvage yard on their way through Colorado. Still, others will pre-order their parts through our parts request portal and pick up their parts on their way through. Our regular customers know that when they order parts from us, they will get high-quality rebuilt parts that will work like new. If need be, we can even have it installed onsite in our garage. And further, we can ship parts all over the world to get you back on the road faster.

5 Tips on Finding Your Parts Online

For those ‘do it yourselfers’ we offer the following hints when searching online for used or aftermarket truck parts:

1. Search Terms. When using a search engine like Google, enter the 2-4 most important terms into your search. For example, if you are trying to find EGR Valve for a Cummins ISX engine, you might start with searching “EGR Valve Cummins ISX.” Keep in mind that Google doesn’t care in which order you enter the search terms. Also, 2-4 terms is just a recommendation. The point is, keep the number of terms you use to a minimum, but just enough to produce great Google results! The results will, much of the time, produce content directly referring to the keywords you’re searching. And, if these were the most accurate keywords the results will likely include parts you can view by simply clicking on the listing.

2. Specificity. Sometimes being specific with the wrong keywords in search engine searches can produce poor results. Here’s a scenario to help explain the point when you are reading these 5 tips on finding your parts online. Let’s say you’re told by your mechanic that you need a pitman arm for your Ford, and he mentions it has a part number E8HT-3590-EB. Based on the previous tip, you might be tempted to search by details: “1989 Ford F600 Pitman Arm.” But specificity here will lead your search astray! Google loves to lead you to answers, but you must give it love first, by entering the most accurate and relevant keywords! In this case, the results you get will be clouded with multiple part numbers and part listings of plenty of pitman arms that have nothing to do with your intended search. Let me also say as a side note: Searches for Ford parts can be a black hole of effort, leaving you with nothing after wasted time of Googling because there is not as much literature and part information, comparatively, as that of other manufacturers.

Here’s the scenario that includes the appropriate specifics that will produce relevant results. Of course, knowing the truck is a Ford, you are somewhat safe to assume it to be a Ford part number. So, start with Googling the part and typing in “E8HT-3590-EB Ford” or “E8HT-3590-EB pitman.” Now, if this is a good Ford part number, and there is some type of demand, supply, literature, or inventory posted to the internet with this part number, you should get some great, even surprising results.

3. Incomplete information. If you have an incomplete number of EHT-3590-EB (vs. the complete one, E8HT-3590-EB), try searching for it. In most cases, since the part number is not complete, your results will be skewed, and you’ll quickly hit a dead end in your Google journey!

Enter, once again, broad searches of 2-4 relevant keywords! Remember, in this scenario our part number, EHT-3590-EB, is incomplete, but it’s all you have! Now what? Well, think of other relevant keywords to go along with it the incomplete number, or don’t include the incomplete information, if you feel it would help. Let’s try “EHT-3590-EB Ford steering” or “EHT_3590-EB Ford pitman,” since we know it’s a component of the steering assembly. This type of search will put you right back in the neighborhood of very helpful answers!

4. Second chances. When lacking great search results, it’s all about giving a search engine two or more chances with a combination of different critical keywords until you find the results you were hoping for. Remember, specificity can hurt or help with these 5 tips on finding your parts online. If you are super specific, and get no results, broaden the terms a bit more.

​5. Best sites locating parts and info. Sites like heavytruckparts.net or truckpartsinventory.com are the premium sites to locate your used and new parts anywhere around the U.S. and Canada. These sites post the inventories of hundreds of salvage yards around the country, and depending on the salvage yard, will include pictures, details, prices and more. If they don’t generate the results you are looking for, use Google for everything from part images, part number info, and part diagrams. Google is the big kahuna when it comes to search engines, and generates better results than Bing, Yahoo and AskJeeves.

Hopefully these 5 Tips on Finding Your Parts Online will help you find your used or aftermarket truck parts easier and faster! Googling and searching parts sites are great but what is most important is finding a truck parts specialist that you can trust to find the right part. This is the fastest way to get competitive quotes, and get your truck back on the road making money!

Don’t waste your time at standard retail outlets

When you visit a retail parts outlet, you may just be in for a long wait. The residual effects of a parts shortage due to the pandemic are still wreaking a bit of havoc in the industry. It may take a couple more years for a full recovery, some experts have surmised. Consequently, you may be standing in line for a long time — first to find someone to help you in your quest. And second, it may take weeks before your part can come in through the retail chain’s normal channels. Chances are, your part is back-ordered or not in stock at all.

There are several salvage yards across the country to find the parts you need. Our customers know they can rely on us to get them the parts they need. That is because we come through for them time and again. With our yard being more than 42 years old, we are sure that you will find the right part for your needs because we make sure we carry all makes and models, and offer every kind of part you may be looking for, from the truck bed and axles, to engines, transmission and everything in between. Need a more comfortable seat for your older model truck? We have those too, much cheaper than new ones. We carry not only used and salvaged parts but Original Equipment Manufacturer parts, new and used. It really is as simple as using our 5 Tips on finding your parts online and searching with specific terms.

We spend a lot of time scouring our sources to bring in new parts, as well. So if you can’t find what you are looking for online through our parts inventory, give us a call. We’ll work with you to find the parts you need through our vast network of truck parts retailers across the country.

Active Truck Parts is conveniently located three miles north of Hudson off of Interstate 76 and east of Platteville off of U.S. 85 in Northern Colorado. We are only 37 minutes from Denver. Situated on 40 acres, we have the region’s largest inventory of used parts for medium and heavy-duty trucks. We sell and recycle used and new medium and heavy-duty truck parts, and we also sell used vehicles and equipment, make general and major repairs, make truck modifications and fabrication, install truck equipment and stock thousands of aftermarket parts. We deal in KW, Pete, Freightliner, Volvo, Ford, GM, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Mack, Sterling, and more! We ship our used heavy truck parts anywhere in the world. We’ve been getting our customers back on the road for 40 years. Call today: 877-337-8695.

Active Truck Parts, Inc. “Our specialists are here for those hard to find parts and those that have multiple part numbers that might apply to the part for which you’re looking. Google, many times, does not have the results you are searching for. Our specialists have a wealth of resources within our reference library for things like interchange, and part number crossover, and are experienced in treating customers well.”