Mercruiser 5.0 Thermostat housing

[littlebookworm]

Well, I'm finally finishing the reassembly of my 1983 5.0 GM 228 hp which is going into my SunRunner. Valve job was fine and engine looks good inside. I'm ready to reassemble the thermostat housing. The problem is the parts came out in a different order than shown in Mercruiser manual #3. When I checked the housing from the engine I had removed from the boat, it also did not match the manual. What I have is the following order: caulk gasket, thermostat, sleeve with lip on bottom, gasket, stainless space, gasket, cover. I think I should reinstall it in that order even though the manual is different. Two engines can't both be wrong, could they? Thanks for your help. Hy

 

[mkast]

Re: Mercruiser 5.0 Thermostat housing

Looking in the parts manual may help you out as far as assembly.

 

[littlebookworm]

Re: Mercruiser 5.0 Thermostat housing

I just re-read my post and the reply. Sorry for the spelling of "cork" as "caulk" in the original post; brain freeze. Anyway. I decided to install everything the way it had come out and the way it was installed in the second thermostat housing that I had: cork gasket, thermostat, spacer with lip down, gasket-stainless plate-gasket combination, and finally the cover. Now that that's done, I've begun reinstalling the manifolds and risers. Remembering what Don and others have said about flatness on the mating surfaces, I used a draw file across the starboard riser and manifold. Both needed work! They're flat now and reattached. Tomorrow I'll install them. Thanks for all your help on each stage of this project.

 

[littlebookworm]

Re: Mercruiser 5.0 Thermostat housing

I just found the answer to my question on parts positioning in the other half of the Mercruiser manual, under the Electrical section. It shows two ways of installing the thermostat and other related parts, including the sequence in which I had removed and installed them. I'm a little surprised that no mention was made of this in the Cooling section, but now it's in and I'm almost ready to start her up. Hopefully, she'll run OK. I'll let you know. Hy