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What year in the 90s did lower unit change on 35-50hp?

M

michos

Member
Im wondering what year in the 90s the 35-50hp mercury changed the design of their lower unit? Ive got a jet foot that should fit any 35-50hp between the years of 1965 and somewhere around 1997. The guys at outboardjets.com didn't know what year they changed and, strangely, neither do the guys at the mercury service/parts department. I've got an E series Jet foot serial number 49681. I just want to be sure that my foot will fit before I purchase an outboard. Also, anyone happen to know if the Tracker has the same lower unit design?
 
I got an answer from another forum on the year. Sounds like they changed they lower unit on the 98 models. So anything between 65 and 97 has the same lower unit mounting. Still dont know if lower units on the mercurys are interchangeable with trackers between these years. Anyone have an answer to that question?
 
It depends - and that's the best answer I can give.

Tracker was simply a store brand name put on Mercs that were (mostly) packaged on Bass Pro deals.

Many Tracker motors were simply the exact same Merc model with different decals.

Other Trackers were FORCE motors. FORCE was the remnants of Chrysler outboard that Bayliner bought when Chrysler went bankrupt. The motors were produced by their US Marine division. Then the Brunswick group, the parent company of Merc bought out Bayliner and Merc inherited the US Marine (Force) motors. They kept producing them basically until they ran out of Chrysler parts, then cobbled in whatever Merc parts would fit and then finally discontinued the line.

So you would need the serial number from the "Tracker" to determine if it was a real Merc or a FORCE (From Old Recycled Chrysler Engines) - the two are about as compatible as a mouse and an elephant.
 
00Q0Q_izJxmxudWCb_600x450.jpg Many thanks for the response. I Dont actually have one specific motor picked out yet but I do see a lot of trackers for sale and if the right one comes up, id like to be able to jump on it fairly quickly. Ive considered buying this one but, again, dont yet know if it has the same lower unit as the mercury. If I get serious about buying it, I can ask for the serial number to look it up. I do see a lot of 40-50hp trackers that look like this. Any thoughts based solely on the photo?
 
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