Mercury motors no longer have model years, so you can't really discover a particular model by its model year. A Mercury VERADO motor is just a VERADO motor as far as Mercury is concerned, and they don't have model years. Mercury says that elimination of model years is a "consumer benefit." They explain how the benefit is provided in a special website:
http://mercurymarine.com/serviceandw...rdfaqs/mye.php
Notwithstanding the premise that there are no model years, Mercury has made significant changes to the VERADO motor during its production. While their literature about the motor does not mention this, the designation "Gen II" (as in second generation) is in common use among consumers to help differentiate between the two models. The only way to recognize the Gen II motors is by a difference in the decorations used on the cowling. The designator "Gen II" does not appear, but the cowling decorations changed to a have more chrome or silver-metallic appearance.
There are substantial mechanical differences between the original VERADO and the VERADO that everyone (except Mercury) calls the "Gen II." You cannot update the older motors to have the new features because they involve changes in the engine block.
In an interview with BoatTest.com published in July of 2007, Mark D. Schwabero, then the president of Mercury outboards, said that the improvements included:
--Precision Machined Oil Dams in the Crankcase. By greatly reducing the clearance between the crankshaft and the ÔÇ£oil scrapersÔÇØ, the amount of oil mass that the crankshaft had to push through and swirl around was also reduced, thus releasing more usable horsepower.
--Eccentric Grooved Crankshaft Main Bearings. This slight change, too, reduced the amount of oil ÔÇ£sloshingÔÇØ around in the crankcase--and thus robbing power....
Cf.:
http://www.boattest.com/resources/vi...spx?NewsID=286
There is also a video in which a similar presentation is made by Steve Miller, Verado Platform Manager of Mercury Marine. Mr. Miller explains that the fundamental basis for the improved performance of the Verado was the simple reduction of friction in the engine itself. The power saved from those losses goes right to the propeller shaft output.
Cf.:
http://www.boattest.com/flash_video_...video=mercury/ verado_walkaround )
A common problem with the Mercury VERADO is a failure of the fuel vapor separator due to low tolerance to gasoline diluted with ethanol. During development of the VERADO most of the testing was probably done with pure gasoline. Now that everyone in North America is using ethanol-gasoline fuels, there have been many reports of failure of the fuel vapor separator, presumably caused by the ethanol, and Mercury has a designed a replacement part that is able to tolerate gasoline-ethanol blends better than the original. Replacement of the fuel vapor separator, or Fuel Supply Module (FSM), has been provided by Mercury in some cases as a warranty repair, and I don't think the owner has had to pay for it. I would certainly look into the condition of the FSM on any VERADO, particularly since it is almost impossible to avoid gasoline-ethanol fuels these days.
To work on a VERADO the dealer must invest in special diagnostic tools and send his staff for training on the motor. While there are many Mercury dealers, the percentage of them which have become qualified to provide VERADO service is still relatively small.
