Mercury T-stadt cover question

[lisfisher]

Took off the thermostadt cover over the weekend so I can replace the thermostadt. Now I am faced with old gasket material stuck to the block and the backside of the cover.What is the best way to get this off? Should I soak with acetone? Also , when I put the new gasket on , do I need to use gasket sealant/dressing or just the gasket alone?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Mercury T-stadt cover question

Gasket material can be scraped off with a dull putty knife. It is not necessary to use gasket sealer but if it makes you feel better, it won't hurt anything either. Permatex will work fine.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Mercury T-stadt cover question

I changed my stat '02 90 hp, and had no new gasket with the stat so I took some blue RTV and glued up the torn parts of the old gasket and generally applied adhesive to the mating surfaces. Put her back together, let her cure before using, and that was back in Feb-Mar timeframe. No leaks. Did think about spraying some "Phantom Black" over the RTV so that you didn't see the blue. d

Mark

 

[lisfisher]

Re: Mercury T-stadt cover question

If I use a putty knife or razor blade , how sensative are the metal surfaces? I just don't want to cut or scrape the metals then I'll have bigger problems

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Mercury T-stadt cover question

Agree on scraping. The alum has been protected from corrosion and scraping can easily cut to bare metal. There are always problems associated with gasketed interfaces anyway and this would only make it worse. That's why I fixed mine the way I did; besides being lazy and not having a gasket.

Now if it were something like a head gasket, where reasonable to high pressures are involved, then I would not have done it this way.

Mark