Is there an online lookup source, or do you actually have to place a call to Nissan/Tohatsu home office or what? The Tohatsu is model M8B, 3B2 serial no: 40829 The Nissan is NSF6A2 3R4-1 serial no: 04158 in case anyone has a manaul of model/serial numbers. Thanks for your time. Search for your serial number by pressing CTRL+F to find the corresponding year. Nothing in the Mercury Mariner Outboard engine model numbers or serial numbers provides year information directly. The first serial number sold in a year becomes the beginning serial number.
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Outboard Motor manufacturers, If you are considering buying a new or used outboard engine or outboard boat, this is the page for you! We maintain the most extensive list of Outboard Motor Manufacturer Links available on the net, along with links to parts manual, service manuals, operators manuals and related information. Outboard Motor Manufacturers Directory is a Polson Enterprises web site.If you happen to be interested in stern drives, inboards, water jets, surface drives, sail drives or other marine propulsion systems, you can find links to their manufacturers on our Marine Drive Manufacturers page.
If you are aware of an outboard with a web site not listed, please email us the URL. Also, please contact us with any comments you may have about the site or if you are interested in advertising on this page. | |||||||
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Outboard Motor Manufacturers
- Alpha Int'L Industrial & Trading Co., Ltd. - Chinese Outboard manufacturer
- ATima - Chinese Outboard
- Bombardier makes Evinrude and Johnson
- Briggs & Stratton Gas & Electric Outboards small outboards
- British Seagull Outboards no longer made
- Chongqing Fano Development Company - small outboard from China
- Chuanlaoda outboards - small outboards from China
- Gull Outboards small outboards
- Hidea small outboards from Hangzhou Hidea Power Machinery Co. of China
- Hyfong small outboards built by Zhejiang Shunfeng Power Machinery Manufacture Co. in China. Alsoat Hyfong Outboards
- Mainbon Shanghai Mainbon Industry Co. very small outboard from China
- Marine Power Mercury's European group
- Nautic Outboards
- Outboards.cn shows several Star and Sail outboards
- ParsunEngines.com Chinese outboards
- Ruggerini diesel outboards from Italy
- Selva Marine Outboards Italy
- Sail Chinese outboards built by Jiangsu Tiger Yacht Manufacture Co.
- Shunfeng small outboards built by Zhejiang Shunfeng Power Machinery Manufacture Co. in China
- Sprint Marineoutboards from China
- Star - Chinese outboards
- Sun Jin Dynamics small outboards from Korea
- Suzuki U.S. U.S. corporate site
- Suzuki Japan corporate site
- Yamaha-Motor North America Page Yamaha still sells the hydradrive primarily outside the U.S.
- Yanmar diesel outboards no longer made
- Zongshen by Chongqing Zongshen - Selva Marine (joint venture between Chongqing Zongshen Industrial Group and Selva Marine) small outboards from China
- Zongshen also called Chongqing Zongshen, small gas and diesel outboards from China
- Marine-Outboards.Com pricing information for several OB lines
Ultra Shallow Running Outboards or Similar Drives
- Bog Hog Mud Motors very shallow running
- Go-Devil Shallow running outboard
- ProDrive Shallow Water Outboards mud boat drives
- Scavenger Backwater Motors (shallow water running)
- Stump-Jumper shallow running outboard
- Taiwan Marine Engine (TME) outboards
- Takt Outboard - small outboard from China
- Tanaka small outboard motors from Japan
- Tayako Motors - small outboard from Japan
Electric Outboard and Trolling Motor Manufacturers
- Amemco - American Marine electric outboards was at amemco.com
- Briggs & Stratton electric outboards
- Electric Launch Company / ELCO electric outboards
- Fuzion Electric Outboard by Griffin Leisure Boats
- Minn Kota electric outboard
- MotoGuide Brunswick's electric outboards
- Outboard Electric Co high performance electric outboards was at outboardelectric.org one of their projects is now at Whisper
- Parsun Marine electric ob
- Ray Electric Outboards electric outboards
- Torqeedo small German electric outboard
- Whisper from EPIC (pioneered by Outboard Electric)
Industrial / Commercial Outboards
- Harbormaster large outboards for barges
- Sykes Hydromaster Steerable Marine Drives hydraulic drives 50-150 HP
- Kaplan and Associates Hydraulic Outboard Drives for boats and barges
Miscellaneous Outboard Motors & Pump Jets
- ACT Pump Jet Applied Combustion Tech
- Dura Jet AFA Marine
- Evinrude & Johnson Government & Military special units - submersible, pump jets, multi fuel, etc
- I-Mars a 35 HP Pump Jet used by the military (Improved Military Amphibious Reconnaissance System) in mid 1990's
- Yamato stadium racing outboards from Japan, also see in the UK
Major Rebuilders of Outboard Engines
Dozens of companies rebuild outboard motors, sell cores and powerheads. Due to high shipping costs, several excellent rebuilders serve regional markets, especially regions with high concentrations of outboards. A few of the larger rebuilders are listed below.- Mercury Remanufacturing Mercury outboards (click on 'Products'a top of page to see outboards listed)
- Hydro-Tec rebuilt Yamaha outboards
- Hardcore Marine Yamaha, Mercury, OMC
Outboard Motor Reviews and Price Guides
- Marine Engine Digest
- J.D. Powers annually issues awards to outboard manufacturers based on customer satisfaction in its surveys. Coverage of recent awards is in their press releases. 2008 awards
- Nice Discussion of Outboard Motor Comparisons, Reviews, and Brand Loyalty of Small Outboards by AFA Marine Small Outboards
- Pricing Guides
Note some guides are asking price (not final transaction price).
- NADA Free online access - select boat, then select outboard motor, then the brand
- ABOS Marine Blue Book no free access
- BUC no free access
Who Really Makes Which Outboards?
With Brunswick's recent outboard dumping claims against Yamaha, more people are becoming aware many outboards are not produced (or certainly not entirely produced) by the company selling them.Trailer Boats recently published an excellent article titled, 'Who Makes What for Whom' by Jim Barron in their February 2006 issue (page 28). It details the 'who makes what for whom' now and in recent years.
Their article is summarized in the table below.
Drive Manufacturer | Who Actually Builds the Drives |
Bombardier/OMC | Under both builders, from the powerhead down, the major differences in Johnson and Evinrude are the cowls and paint color.Until 2006, Suzuki manufactured the Johnson four strokes up to 225 HP. For 2006 Suzuki only makes the Johnson four strokes up through 30 HP, Evinrude produces direct injected two strokes (E-Tec) 40 HP and above. |
Nissan | Nissan outboards are built by Tohatsu |
Honda | Long ago, some Honda three cylinder powerheads were mounted on Mercury drive legs and props. For the last several years, Honda has built its full line of outboards. |
Mercury Marine | 2006 model Mercury four strokes from 2.5 through 30 HP are built by Tohatsu.Before Yamaha entered the U.S. market, Mercury's Mariner line was built by Yamaha. Last year (2005), Mercury four stroke powerheads from 25 through 225 HP (except the Verados) were built by Yamaha. Several of those models used Mercury drive legs, electronics and EFI systems (replacing carbs Yamaha used in similar sized engines). In 2006 models, Mercury four stroke powerheads from 40 to 225 HP (except the Verados) are built by Yamaha. Mercury's agreement with Yamaha ended in March 2006, at which time Mercury is expected to phase in more four cylinders (75 to 115 HP) based on the Verado engine block, but without supercharging or intercooling. |
Outboard Motor Parts Manuals, Outboard Service Manuals, Outboard Operators Manuals
Several manufacturers put their parts manuals online. The table below provides links to online manuals and sources for others. You may need the year, model number and serial number of the outboard to select the proper manual.Outboard | Parts Manual | Service Manual | Operators Manual |
Briggs & Stratton | Parts Manual | Repair Manual | Owners Manual |
Evinrude & | Online BRP Parts CatalogFor 1996 and older, BRP refers owners to Ken Cook Marine Literature | Purchase one from us via Amazonor purchase one from an Evinrude/Johnson dealership | Purchase one from an Evinrude/Johnson dealership |
Honda Marine | Contact your dealer | Honda refers you to Helm to purchase their service manuals that are print to order | Owners Manual can view for free or buy a hard copy |
Mercury Marine | Enter your serial number at Mercury PartsExpress to view yours onlineor purchase one from Mercury | Purchase one from us via Amazonor purchase one from Mercury | Purchase one from Mercury |
Selva | Purchase from Selva UK | Purchase from Selva UK | Purchase from Selva UK |
Suzuki | Contact your dealer | Contact your dealer | Contact your dealer |
Tohatsu / | Contact your dealer | Nissan refers you to Helm to purchase carbureted two stoke Tahatsu/ Nissan service manuals. The remaining service manuals are available from dealers | Nissan Owners Manuals |
Yamaha | Online Parts Catalogor purchase from Yamaha | Purchase one from us via Amazonor purchase from Yamaha | Owners Manual |
Outboard Motor Parts
Outboard parts are for sale by the engine manufacturers, thousands of dealers and retail outlets. We list a few sources below with web sites that seem a bit friendlier than the others below.- Yamaha Outboard Parts includes a message board
- Outboard Exchange in CT
Outboard Owners Groups / Clubs for Specific Brands/Models
- Verado Owners Club Verado Users Group has a nice message board
Outboard Motor Technical Articles
Some technical articles we have written about marine drives are below.- Propeller Driven, Recreational Marine Drive Designs; Learning from the Past with an Eye to the Future
- U.S. Commercialization of Innovative, Propeller Driven Recreational Marine Drive Designs
- Marketing New Marine Drive Concepts Similar to Outboards and Stern Drives: a Difficult Path for Independent Inventors and Small Companies and the Recreational Marine Drive Commercialization Path Chart
- Recreational Marine Drives Technology Scouting Report a Marine Drive Design Blog
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Nissan Outboard Serial Number Lookup Service
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Over the years, manufacturers have changed where this information is located on an outboard. I'll try to be as complete as possible below, while keeping this reasonably simple.
Mercury
On older Mercury outboards, going back into the 50's and possibly even earlier, the serial number would generally be viewed at the leading edge of the swivel bracket, as seen in the image below. If for any reason that number may have been changed, removed, or can no longer be read, every Mercury had a freeze plug, which is on the powerhead and about the size of a quarter. That freeze plug will have a serial number on it. So long as you know your HP and the serial number, you can identify the year of your outboard.
On later model Mercury engines, the serial number was located on the swivel bracket, as shown in the picture below. First, these would be on a metal tag and stamped with the numbers. Later, the numbers were printed on a vinyl tag. Unfortunately, you'll often find that the vinyl tag has washed out. If you can no longer read the number on the tag, you’ll want to find that freeze plug on the powerhead in order to identify the outboard.
Johnson & Evinrude
Johnson and Evinrude outboards both work with model numbers for identification. In most cases, the model number is located on either the transom or swivel bracket. It can usually be found on a either a metal plate on earlier models or a sticker on later models. Once they switched over to the tags, this was another number that often washed out and could no longer be read. In this case, the powerhead freeze plug can be located and will have the serial number. The serial number itself won't do you much good, but an authorized dealer can use the serial number to match the engine up with a model number again.
Chrysler Outboards
Chrysler outboards work by a model number. There are 2 locations where you may find this number. Early Chrysler models stamped it on a metal plate and it was placed under the carburetors, inside the lower cowling, or pan. Later models used the same plate, but you'd find it on the side of the transom bracket.
Force outboards used model numbers on vinyl tags, many of which washed out. If the number washed out, you may find a small sticker either on the cylinder head cover or the starter bracket. If that fails, all is not lost. There are numbers stamped on your carburetor. Take those numbers and google them or email us. Those numbers will usually nail down a year and HP for your engine.
Other Makes
Nissan Outboard Serial Number Lookup Free
Nissan, Tohatsu, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Yamaha Mariner use both model and serial number information. That tag can almost always be found on the side of your transom bracket, as shown below.