Where to find serial number

[rhodesrira]

First post, first "power" boat! Just bought a 1976 Mako 23 with supposedly a 1999Mercruiser 5.7L 260 HP. Where is the engine serial number located on the engine/block? Also any opinions on "best" oil & grade. Any specific engine manual considered the best???? I live in coastal North Carolina. Thanks in advance for your attention .....and patience.

 

[Don S]

Re: Where to find serial number

Just above and aft of the starter is a metal tag.

 

[vandentr]

Re: Where to find serial number

I've got the 1987 version of that engine and the serial number is on the spark arrestor cover as well as on the side of the block above the starter motor.

You just HAD to ask about oil, didn't ya! :facepalm: I'm using Shell's Rotella 15W40, the same stuff they use in 18 wheelers and farm tractors. As Don S. has explained here before, if your boat were a car it'd be the equivalent of putting the transmission in low and climbing a steep grade at 30-40mph - ALL DAY LONG!

The best advice when it comes to oil is to make sure to change it hot and regularly, regardless of which type you choose...

-TVB

 

[rhodesrira]

Re: Where to find serial number

Thanks for quick reply..I'll get the flashlight and mirror and start looking.

 

[rhodesrira]

Re: Where to find serial number

Happy to hear you are using Rotella 15W40....that's the oil I use in my sailboat diesel .....I'm getting old enough now to ask for opinions...instead of just charging ahead.

Thanks

 

[Bondo]

Re: Where to find serial number

I'm getting old enough now to ask for opinions...instead of just charging ahead.

Ayuh,... but the trouble with Opinions, 'n Oil, is everybody's Got 1, 'n only Them is Right....

I'm gettin' old enough to have tried most Everything, 'n can still remember what worked, 'n what Didn't,...

Most of the time,....