what year is my merc 40 hp

[john1420]

my serial number is 3407591, could anyone help me to find out what year this mercury 40hp is? thanks...I'm trying to find the fuel mix ratio and maybe where to get a service manual

 

[jporter5333]

Re: what year is my merc 40 hp

I believe it is a 1972. Check this link.

http://www.marineengine.com/mfr/mercury_models.html

 

[john1420]

Re: what year is my merc 40 hp

sorry checked that link and couldnt find my s/n

 

[jporter5333]

Re: what year is my merc 40 hp

Your s/n is there. The serial numbers on the chart are the beginning serial number for a given year/hp. You're looking for a range, not a specific s/n. Unless your engine happened to be the first 40hp made that year, your individual serial number won't show up. Below I put a sample from the chart that shows how your boat falls into the 1972 range. (this is straight from the chart)

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4
Horse Power / Number of Cylinders / Beginning Serial Number / Year

40 / 2 / 3043031 / 1971

40 / 2 / 3219678 / 1972

40 / 2 / 3474578 / 1973

 

[john1420]

Re: what year is my merc 40 hp

thankyou jporter5333, do you know if these where good motors or are prone to have any certain problems that i could keep an eye out for and possibly prevent. I just bought an older 16' Lund w/ this motor from someone whos had for the last 20yrs, said all he's done to it is plugs.

 

[jporter5333]

Re: what year is my merc 40 hp

I can't really say how good these motors are. I am new to boat ownership myself and I found that link while looking for parts for mine. But I would guess that like any outboard it would run good as long as it is, and has been, properly maintained. I have a 1981 40hp on 17' bass tracker. It's been problematic but it has been neglected pretty bad. It would sit for months with old gas in it, very rarely would the oil in the lower unit get changed, etc. I've done quite a bit of work and maintenance and I believe it's gonna be a good motor. That's about all I know, I know it's not much but I hope it helps.

 

[john1420]

Re: what year is my merc 40 hp

thanks, it makes sence to me. the main reason I bought this old of a boat & motor is that I felt confident that this guy took care of it, the boat shows it, the motor is alot harder to tell. and I was curious if there might be something to look for/ prevent. thanks for your help. do you know anything about getting a good service manual? is just anything off amazon ok?

 

[Arkman]

Re: what year is my merc 40 hp

people seem to have good things to say about the seloc manuals I think. I think you will be very happy with this motor. I have a 68 20hp, after I got it running it works great. Good luck!

 

[jporter5333]

Re: what year is my merc 40 hp

If the guy did take good care of it then it will be good motor. Mine runs strong when it runs but as I said it has been neglected in the past. I have got to replace the switch box and after that I expect it to be a great motor. I have the Seloc and the Clymer for this motor. I started with the seloc and wound up buying the Clymer, too. Neither one by itself is great, but the two together make one pretty good manual.

 

[john1420]

Re: what year is my merc 40 hp

well I just came in from draining the lower end lube, hoping to replace and take out to the lake (first time since buying ) tomarrow, and man was that old lube black and smelt burnt. hope things are still alright down there. couldn't really seem to get the fresh lube to go in, guess i need one of those screw in adaption things. but noticed a screw not far from the vent hole (screw) that said FLUSH. surely someone out there can tell me how to use this to my motors advantage. thanks John