1. Manufacturer, model number, serial number
Before jumping into the search, know the details for your own motor. Knowing your motor's year, model, and serial number can make a huge difference in the success of your part search. For example, when buying an oil filter for a Mercury 115 EFI 4-stroke you need to know your serial number to get the correct part. Even though you may know the model number and make, that same model requires different oil filters for different serial numbers. When ordering on our mercury outboard parts page, you have to choose between serial number options in order to get to the parts breakdown. This is just one exmaple of when taking a second to look up your own information before searching will make a huge difference.

2. Pick the right area
After using the information specific to you motor to narrow down your search, you'll be presented with many different part breakdowns to search through. Knowing which one to peruse is important in assuring you find the right outboard part -- take a second to learn the area of your motor that you need. Some motors can offer many breakdowns with many different parts in each, so it will also save you time to know the correct area your needed part belongs to. Aimlessly sifting through break downs could be a real time sucker (and possibly end poorly.)

3. Trust the break down
Shopping online comes with risks at times; online purchases can often be a leap of faith. The shoes might not fit, the fishing tackle's color might look a little different in person, or the bookshelf might be wobblier than you thought. Outboard parts should not fall into that same I'm-just-gonna-try-it category. The part breakdowns provided are almost direct blueprints of a motor, a great source to depend on for comparisons. If something looks different, or a pertaining part has modifications that don't seem to match, make sure that's purposeful. Not all outboard parts are returnable, so it's best to avoid taking lucky guesses when possible.