Outboard serial number cannot be found

Check spark plug number,, 2stroke is NGK BUZHW -2 2173
4 stroke is different, I will leave that for you to confirm!:encouragement:
 
Serial numbers are sometimes near the clamp. Post a picture of the whole engine with cover on, someone is bound to recognise it.

Ithet, am I being over-sensitive or are you casting aspersions? :eek: I've no reason to believe the engine wasn't honestly owned and sold.

I worded my request badly, I meant someone would recognise its model type! And from the picture it clearly is the 2 stroke model. Nice stand.
 
Tokoloshi, thanks for that...although, if it means I need to find the spark plug, I'm in trouble already.

My initial conclusion was that if it's a four-stroke, it will somewhere have an oil-filler and dipstick...like a car. Not so?

If that is so, I'd like to think that several long looks at the engine would have revealed the filler-cap. Or are they very hard to locate?

Ithet, I thank you for your tone of certainty. May I ask how you can distinguish 2-stroke from 4, using that photo?

48625801058_1fef2c70f1_c.jpg
 
Ah, that is the admirable quality of patience, which I must cultivate. I thank you. May we say then, it is unquestionably a two-stroke?
 
Last edited:
It's all so obvious now! Thank you, I feel I'm in the presence of a master.

I'd always thought those weird top-heavy-looking outboards were that shape for some modern reason that didn't apply to oldies...

...which, given that the illegality of yachtsmen buying new 2-stokes is indeed quite recent, maybe isn't so far from the truth. :encouragement:
 
I've acquired a Mariner 5hp. ........................


The serial number should be on a plate on the transom clamp bracket. Any of the ownwers manuals will show you exactly where it should be ......... be suspicious if it has been removed !

Be suspicious if the vendor is wrong about it being a 4 stroke


If it is a 4 stroke it will have a dip stick combined with the oil filler cap on the port side of the power head. I guess your second picture is the port side .... I don't see an oil filler !



Download your owners manual from The Brunswick Marine in EMEA Download Center . http://download.brunswick-marine.com/download/preparesearch;jsessionid=ds906qmljl4re?lang=EN&mod=4 There are also model year identification lists on the same site .

The Boats.net website https://www.boats.net/ is a good place to find exploded parts diagrams
 
Last edited:
Yup...I just Googled "Mariner 5hp 2-stroke" and checked the images...and there was this, for sale somewhere...identical to mine.

48626940172_399303b29e_c.jpg


If only I'd tried that at first. Sorry for wasting you folks' time. Great help for me, though. :encouragement::encouragement::encouragement:

Thanks for the Brunswick links, Vic.
 
Yup...I just Googled "Mariner 5hp 2-stroke" and checked the images...and there was this, for sale somewhere...identical to mine.


If only I'd tried that at first. Sorry for wasting you folks' time. Great help for me, though. :encouragement::encouragement::encouragement:

Thanks for the Brunswick links, Vic.


Sometimes its difficult to find the right manual........ but it'll be there somewhre.
Best to trawl through the whole lot rather that enter a year.
 
While you're all here...I don't think I ever owned a two-stroke before. Are there any essential tips on things to do/not to do?

When I carried the Mariner in the car-boot I made sure it was tiller-handle side down...does that not matter with a two-stroke?

The closest Mariner 5 manual I could find (the 2002 models don't seem to have dedicated manuals) said these use 50:1 fuel/oil. That sounds very oily to me, but I guess that's why their general sale new was outlawed. Is there a preferred way to emulsify the oil evenly in the petrol? And does lube oil leave carb-clogging deposits if the engine is run dry, as I believe mine has always been?

Are there any differences in the necessity or process of fresh-water flushing after use, relative to a four-stroke?
 
While you're all here...I don't think I ever owned a two-stroke before. Are there any essential tips on things to do/not to do?

When I carried the Mariner in the car-boot I made sure it was tiller-handle side down...does that not matter with a two-stroke?

The closest Mariner 5 manual I could find (the 2002 models don't seem to have dedicated manuals) said these use 50:1 fuel/oil. That sounds very oily to me, but I guess that's why their general sale new was outlawed. Is there a preferred way to emulsify the oil evenly in the petrol? And does lube oil leave carb-clogging deposits if the engine is run dry, as I believe mine has always been?

Are there any differences in the necessity or process of fresh-water flushing after use, relative to a four-stroke?

The only thing to watch is not to lay it on its gear lever, usually on the opposite side to the tiller, which may not be strong enough.

The Merc/ Mariner models don't change much with year so find the most appropriate looking manual.

50:1 is the standard safe fuel mix for 2 stroke outboards since the mid 1960s, before which they would have used more oil. Yamahas I believe use 100:1 but it is barely enough oil and even they recommend 50:1 for commercial use. Johnson and Evinrude switched to 100:1 in the mid 1980s but there were so many failures that they switched them all back to 50:1 after a couple of years.

A good idea to turn off or disconnect the fuel and allow the engine to use as much of the fuel in the carb as possible when not going to be run again for a while ( but not with multiple carb engines)
Fog the engine when laying up. Thats particularly important if running on 100:1

Use a TCW3 certified two stroke outboard engine oil. It will easily mix with the petrol. Quicksilver is probably the most readily available.

Flush with fresh water after use whenever possible ( My Evinrude has been flushed at the end of the season only. It does not seem to have suffered but it has always lived upright on its bracket so drains completely) You Mariner may have a connection, or provision to fit a connection, for a hose See the manual.

I hope your engine has not been run with no oil. It might b a good idea to check the compressions. Then decide whether is OK or best got rid of again.

A good idea with a "new to you" outboard to change the gear oil... checking for signs of water ingress, and to fit a new water pump impeller.

With 2 strokes you will tend to get some unburnt oil from the fuel leaking from the exhaust and generally around the lower unit when standing especially after light use. Causes panic because people think its gear oil leaking.
 
Last edited:
D'you mean underneath the whole powerhead, or was it necessary to remove the fuel tank to find it?
I had to remove the tank to find it. There was no evidence of a plate ever having been attached to the transom bracket either.

I believe that the 2 stroke Mariner 4 & 5 (yours) and the Yamaha equivalents (mine) were essentially the same engine so it has to be worth a try I think.
 
Last edited:
Serial numbers are sometimes near the clamp. Post a picture of the whole engine with cover on, someone is bound to recognise it.

Serial numbers also normally wear off on the Mercury, Marinier Tohatsu 2 strokes. The stickers fall off the Yamaha 6,8hp 2 strokes too. So it's not at all uncommon not to find the number.
 
Dan, I've had a Mariner 5hp 2-stroke for years, that's definitely 2 stroke .

In case of interest I get 2.5 hours per gallon at 5 knots pushing my A22, much the same into waves as long as not too lumpy - a great engine.
 
Thanks Andy, I had reached the two-stroke conclusion. My memory's a shocker...should have remembered that you had one the same.

And thanks for the consumption info - very good engine as you say. :encouragement:

Actually the previous owner who is a very good chap, has just let me know that he only used the engine for about five hours in all the time he owned it, and never even topped up the remote tank. So my guess - and I'm pretty certain - is that no unlubed petrol ever went through the engine yet. :)
 
As per others 2 stroke and it seems very similar to my yamaha malta.

+1.
I was impressed seeing the pictures.

Ah, Yamaha Malta has two different serial numbers, one of the "Outboard motor" on the bracket and one of the power head on the engine itself.

Sandro
 
Last edited:
Top