Determining the Year

[Tom Wood]

Any idea how I can identify the year my 7.5 hp Mercruiser outboard was built? I can only find the serial number. It came with my 1985 25-foot MacGregor, which I bought used, but it does not appear to be the original motor.

Tom Wood responds:
I presume you meant to say that your outboard motor was a Mercury—Mercruiser is the brand name of an inboard-outboard, or sterndrive unit, used on small powerboats. Since your MacGregor came with no motor as standard equipment, there is no way to tell if it was the only engine the boat has ever been powered with, or if it is older or newer than the boat.

If you have the serial number of the engine, you have everything you need. Call any Mercury Motors repair shop and they will be able to give you the year the engine was built based on that serial number. In fact, many replacement parts are based on the serial number range of the engine and not the year in which it was built. Good luck to you.