Need quick help with ID of 225PM

[mercpower]

Going to look at a motor tomorrow that is supposed to be a 1995 225PM, but it has an alien cowl. I was wondering if anyone could help me to identify that it is a TRUE 225 Pro Max? I know the block will be stamped with the date of manufacture, but is there a way to tell its actually a 225 Pro Max?????

[sosmerc]

If you take the powerhead serial number and punch it into Merc's Parts Express site, I believe it will refer to the engine as a "high performance" if it is truly a Pro Max built by the High Performance division.
You may also want to check the serial number on the swival bracket to see if it matches the serial number on the powerhead....that doesn't mean much, but it could at least indicate the engine has been "pieced" together from a variety of parts.

[mercpower]

Where would he serial number on the powerhead be?? Thanks

Is there no eye catching differences that I could look for? Thanks

[sosmerc]

Serial number should be on a silver round disc located on the upper back of the block, between the cylinder banks.
The high performance blocks are un-painted, but anyone can strip the paint off a block to acheive similar appearance. The plug wires will be blue instead of black, but you can buy blue wires and put them on a stock motor. The ecu will have a different part number than the stock one, but you need the serial number on the engine to determine what ecu to look for...and again, someone can change ecu easily. BUT...if the serial tag on the swival bracket indicates it's a pro max...AND the serial number on the block is the same.....Then there's a GOOD chance it's a real Pro Max.

[mercpower]

Thanks for your help, the lady I am buying it from, her husband passed away and she knows nothing about the boat or motor, so I just want to be sure that what I think it is, it really is, thanks and if you think of anything else let me know.

[sosmerc]

I did think of something else, the Pro Max engine will have dual regulators mounted on a plate back on the exhaust water jacket....like the illustration shown in the link below>


http://www.dougrussell.com/partscatalog/components/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewparts&colid=05&coldesc=225%20EFI%20PRO%20MAX%2FSUPER%20MAG&index=1689&block=14&BlockNumberList=16,1,17,13,19,7,14,2,10,11,9,8,12,30,32,27,26,24,23,28,29,25,31,33,22,36,37,0,35,34, 39,15,40,38,20,21,6,18,4,5,3

[sosmerc]

You can also click backwards from this link and look at the different serial number groupings for this 225 Pro Max engine.

http://www.dougrussell.com/partscatalog/collections/index.cfm?fuseaction=serials&colid=05&coldesc=225%20EFI%20PRO%20MAX/SUPER%20MAG

[mercpower]

Are you talking about the voltasge regulators? And is there a way (other than serial numbers) to check if its a 225PM vs. a 200PM? Thanks

[MERCing]

Both of my Pro Max blocks have the serial number stamped into the block, vertically, right below the flywheel on the port side where the two case halves come together.