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What year is my mercury outboard

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hmb

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"Please help! My husband has

"Please help! My husband has a new used boat with a Mercury 90 hp 2 stroke 3 cylinder oil injected outboard engine. The serial number is partially worn off but what he can read is OD (or O zero),then possibly a 1,and then two obsured numbers the second of which may be an 8, followed by 726. The manual that came with the motor has a copyright 1988 Brunswick Corporation and the boat was made in 1987. I have searched for serial number IDs but can't find anything similar. Is the serial number stamped anywhere else on the engine? We would really like to know what year this engine was made so we can obtain the correct repair/maintenance manuals. Thank you!"
 
"I found some additional numbe

"I found some additional numbers: On the motor casting is 191 1. On the cylinder head is 1034-8998C. On the water jacket is a bar code M68378. Looking at the serial number again, it could be OC or OD. I hope some of you experts can figure this out for us. Thanks again!"
 
"Howard, the one nice thing ab

"Howard, the one nice thing about Merc's is - within a given series every model year is identical.

Whether your serial start 0A, 0B all the way up to 0G the parts are identical.

The motor was most definately added later if it's an 0D something. An 87 would have been an 0Bxxxx.

An 0D1.... would make it a 1992 model - but as stated all the 90 horse Merc's built between 1986 and mid 1995 were identical..."
 
"Graham, Thank you so much. Y

"Graham, Thank you so much. You are performing a wonderful service! What manual would you recommend as the best and most comprehensive for repair and maintenance of this engine? Can I purchase this from you since you are the one who has provided me with valuable assistance?"
 
"I'm just an wrench bender

"I'm just an wrench bender that works from my own garage
- my dad was the mechanic, although retired for almost 20 years now...

However, if you want to support this site, Andrew who runs it does sell the manuals along with parts and assessories (see the upper right of this screen).

He carries Seloc's, which in my opinion is the best all around manual for repair and maintenance."
 
What you are looking for is a

What you are looking for is a silver disk in the block with a 0C#######. 87-93 engine is the same. 94-06 is a different lower unit (reverse gear) ign system and P/H internals.
 
"Thanks Bandit, we found the s

"Thanks Bandit, we found the serial number!
Thanks also Graham Lamb, we ordered the manual from Andrew today. It's great to know we can find help on this site. Happy boating all!!!"
 
"Hi! I just read how helpful y

"Hi! I just read how helpful you are and wondered if you could solve my problem. Just bought a motor to tinker on. Was told (with insistence) that it was a 50HP, yet the cover on outside has the number 40 on it. This wasn't a concern as it was the right price (cheap!!). But as I try to search out parts for it, I really can't match up the serial number to any 40 or 50 HP. It is a 4 cylinder and I find the serial number range in the 3 cylinder list?? The seller figured it was a 1998 but would like to know for sure to order parts and manual for this unit. The number on the tag matches the number on the engine and that is 0D011760. Any idea??"
 
"Steve, your serial, whether a

"Steve, your serial, whether a 40 or 50 horse comes out to be a 1992 model. Unfortunately the horsepower is not encoded into the serial.

However, if it's a 3 cylinder then it will in fact be a 50 horse. The 40 horse models with that serial would have been a 4 cylinder.

To confirm it's a 50, you can take a look at one of the carbs for a casting number (usually either on the top or close to the top on one side).

The carb on a 1992 50 horse would probably be a Walbro model WME 23 or WME 26...."
 
Thanks so much! This will help

Thanks so much! This will help in getting parts for it!! Price was right so not too worried if a bit older then originally thought!
 
Looking at a parts diagram on

Looking at a parts diagram on this engine and I'm not sure what diagram would be right as it doesn't have that serial number in the list? Looking mainly at the pistons and gaskets. Any ideas?
 
"Just use the parts diagram th

"Just use the parts diagram that contains the "range" of serial numbers in which yours falls. The list below is from an authorized Merc site. Your serial 0D01xxxx would fall into the hilited range.

170842.jpg
"
 
Hello. I'm trying to figure out the year of my motor. Serial number 0C116958. All the Google searches talk about newer models and two-digit code, but I believe this is an older model. Not looking for part. Looking to sell, but I need more information about it before I can post it. Thank you.
 
hmb said:
"Please help! My husband has

"Please help! My husband has a new used boat with a Mercury 90 hp 2 stroke 3 cylinder oil injected outboard engine. The serial number is partially worn off but what he can read is OD (or O zero),then possibly a 1,and then two obsured numbers the second of which may be an 8, followed by 726. The manual that came with the motor has a copyright 1988 Brunswick Corporation and the boat was made in 1987. I have searched for serial number IDs but can't find anything similar. Is the serial number stamped anywhere else on the engine? We would really like to know what year this engine was made so we can obtain the correct repair/maintenance manuals. Thank you!"
Click to expand...
The flywheel should have a plastic cover and that may have a set of numbers on it in addition to the sticker on the base.

You can also get this info from Mercury, although they do ask for serial numbers.

Is this for general info, or does the motor need service?
 
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