Mercury 50 horsepower

[steveprocraft]

I recently bought a used boat (or more like a project) with a 50 horsepower Mercury. There are lots of things to fix and one of them is that water comes out from around the spark plugs. I assume it needs a new head gasket, but I haven't been able to order the part because the serial number doesn't match the numbers that the vendors have parts for. The serial number on the plate on the motor is A159936. When I attempt to order the correct part, I can't find a listing that matches this serial number. Can someone tell me how to solve this problem?
Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[diaric]

Re: Mercury 50 horsepower

i can't find such a number either. look for a plug in the side of the motor with a number stamped in it. usually left side if your at the rear.maybe theres a number that makes sense

 

[HondaPower]

Re: Mercury 50 horsepower

I typed your serial number into Mercury Parts Express and it brought up a full parts page for your motor. This may be a good resource to get your parts or at least to get the Merc part numbers so you can order from other suppliers. Hope this helps.

 

[steveprocraft]

Re: Mercury 50 horsepower

diaric,
Thanks for the suggestion. I tried finding such a plug but not there. So, I decided to try the Mercury web site again (they are not very helpful with this sort of question). I found a link for buying parts and plugged in my serial number and the data base automatically added a "0" in front of my serial number and determined that it was a model number 1050625. I have done another search based on that model number and the information seems to be consistent. When I get hits for that model number they refer to 50 hp 1985 Mercury outboards and the description seems consistent with my motor. Now that that little adventure is behind me, I can order the head gasket and repair manual and get started on that task. I wouldn't ordinarily tackle this job but the nearest Mercury repair shop appears to be about 55 miles away and I don't want to deal with a long-distance mechanic.

 

[steveprocraft]

Re: Mercury 50 horsepower

Hondapower,
Thanks.
We came up with the same solution! I posted another reply about the Mercury parts finder at almost the same time as yours. I was grateful to find that link as I was beginning to get very frustrated with the difficulty of finding an answer to such a simple question. All I have to do now is get the head gasket and install it. Now the fun starts.

 

[HondaPower]

Re: Mercury 50 horsepower

I had a hard time finding my manual but finally found one close to home posted on a local buy and sell site. The mercury part number for the manual I have is 90-86135-5.