1989 88spl thermostat

cortes

Seaman
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
52
Is it possible that one of the stats is bad, and not the other? I had the alarm go off and noticed that the starboard side is hotter than the port. Peehole has good flow but exhaust not so good. Do I absolultely have to pull the head to get to the stats. Thank you
 

Dennisanoka

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 10, 2007
Messages
252
Re: 1989 88spl thermostat

You do not have to pull the head- but they are just a little fun to get out. They are just inside the housing that the water flow tubes go into from the head. Look way down low. If I remember there are 3 bolts. It may have been a little easier if I loosened the bottom cowling so I had a little more room. Now that I think of it having a ratcheting open end box wrench may have been the right tool. I'd replace both tstats and the gasket, springs and restrictors. Do not discount the fact that your water pump could need to be replaced as well, depending upon it's age.
 

cortes

Seaman
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
52
Re: 1989 88spl thermostat

Thanks for the quick reply. Does anyone know which is the waterpump kit I should be ordering. OMC 395062 w/ housing or 395060 w/o housing. I am having a hard time trying to locate it in the iboats marine store.
 

Dennisanoka

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 10, 2007
Messages
252
Re: 1989 88spl thermostat

with housing. If you get it all apart and the housing is beat up you won't have the parts. It's only a couple dollars more.
 

cortes

Seaman
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
52
Re: 1989 88spl thermostat

Update:

Ok so I pulled the thermostats and they were looking coroded and salty. I also noticed pieces of waterjacket gasket stuck to the starboard stat. I had replaced the gasketss last month and the old ones were in pices so I know thats where it came from. Is it possible for me to try and flush out without the stat housing. I want to make sure that everything is out. How would I go about doing this?
 

Solittle

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Apr 28, 2002
Messages
7,518
Re: 1989 88spl thermostat

Drop the lower unit and hook up a hose to the water pick-up tube and flush away.

A tip on getting the t-stats back together - put a small bead of OMC sealer on the metal surfaces that come in contact with the gaskets and compress it together and let it sit overnight (I place in a vise). Take a few tie wraps and wrap around the assembly before you try to install. When you have the three bolts started, snip the tie wraps.
 

Dennisanoka

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 10, 2007
Messages
252
Re: 1989 88spl thermostat

Salty, wow that's kinda interesting. Up here in Minnesota the salt eats our cars in the winter and in Fl. it eats your boats and motors. I guess we all have a salt problems.
 

Dennisanoka

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 10, 2007
Messages
252
Re: 1989 88spl thermostat

I remember replacing those water jacket gaskets it seems like it took a couple hours of scrapping to get them off and clean.

Solittle, I like the tip on putting those t-stats back in, I've made a note of that one.
 

Molaker

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 10, 2007
Messages
175
Re: 1989 88spl thermostat

I just went through that process on my '82 140 Johnson. Whew! Not fun. Incidently, I used plastic ties to hold the by-pass springs compressed like Solittle recommended - only after I cussed and cried a few times. I used a dab of 1000 Sealer to hold the stats & their gaskets together while assembling. Too bad for me that Solittle didn't post that tip earlier. Also too bad for me, I had to do it with just a combination wrench. I really really needed a universal socket adaptor, but didn't have one. One thing that helped me was I had to order new bolts (old ones corroded) and I chased the threads in the housing so the bolts threaded in very easily.
 

emdsapmgr

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 9, 2005
Messages
11,551
Re: 1989 88spl thermostat

Before you reassemble, check the thermostat valve body. There are two small pinholes, one for each side of the block. These must be open. Warm water circulates to the backside of the stat, causing it to open. They frequently plug, and cause one side (or both) to overheat like you mention.
 
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