Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

[liquidlew]

I have the thermostat housing you can't get anymore unless I get lucky and find one on eBay or one of you guys has one laying around. Its on a Merc 4.3 1989 vintage. The hole is tiny and I don't see it leaking while it's running, only a small drop comes off when I put my finger on it after it has cooled, The hole is on the front underside, I tried some JB weld but water eats right thru it. Can I take it off and drill thru the hole and put a plug in it? Is there any kind of putty or something I can put on there temporarily that water won't eat thru it?

 

[Muqwump]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

I would replace the housing when i found one. This little harmless hole can lead to bigger trouble later when it cracks into 10 miles out. For now, i would put a light coat of sealant on the inside of the housing. You may find that some one else has a beeter suggestion but i would get another one.

 

[liquidlew]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

I would buy another one is a second, problem is this style is unavailable, not made anymore, I know cuz I tried looking for one a few months ago before this hole showed up. There is another style available but I don't know if that will bolt right up without any modifications. Funny thing, the one I have is called "new style", if it's so new, why is it dicontinued?

 

[Robj]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

I would also try and find a new one. But why did the JB weld not work? I have used it to seal out water and it worked just fine. Fixed my washing machine with it and it lasted for years. Sand and clean the area and then apply a heavy coat of JB. It should do the trick as a temporary fix.

Have a great day,

Rob.

 

[Bondo Again]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

Ayuh,....

What's so Special about the 89 4.3l T-Stat Housing,..??

What's the Difference between It,+ the still available housings,..??

I've stumbled accross 2 different styles,....
The 1 With the Check-balls,+ the 1 Without......
And,... They're Both very Available.....

 

[45Auto]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

Have you seen this Mercruiser bulletin?

http://www.mercruiserparts.com/bulletins/018/04//1999/EN_02.PDF

Put 87290a23 into Google and you'll get pages of hits on where to buy it ............

 

[littlebookworm]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

Or you could check ebay for a used one. I saw one listed the other day for a 5.0 engine. Good luck and safe boating. Hy

 

[liquidlew]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

Thanks guys! Thanks for the Merc bulletin 45 auto. Yep, that's the one I have w/ check balls. Not able to get those new anymore. Good news is last nite I found that one on eBay, probably the same one you saw bookworm. The hole is on the underside, maybe the water that is in there is not letting the JB weld set up and dripping thru it, I will have to take it off and dry it out and do it on the bench I guess. It's not really even a drip, just slowly seeps out but after pasting the JB weld on it (twice) the next day it looked like water just dripped right thru it. I don't understand that either, JB weld fixes everything!

 

[liquidlew]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

Oh, Bondo again, (are you the same as Bondo before?) where did you see where these are available? I would much rather buy a brand new one! I did a fair amount of searching and came up "part unavailable, discontuned" so I figured it would be used or nothing. If you know where I can get one new, please tell me, I'll be your friend forever! Oh, why do some have check balls and some don't? The balls keep the water from coming back right?

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

If you know where I can get one new, please tell me, I'll be your friend forever!

Well, I'm always looking for new friends. Especially those that last forever!

Unless I'm missing something obvious, 45Auto already gave you the answer:

Put 87290a23 into Google and you'll get pages of hits on where to buy it ............

 

[schmidtae]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

Not sure if this will help, but they seem to have the housing(s) for the V6 Mercruiser 4.3

http://marineengineparts.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/page550.html

 

[liquidlew]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

Yeah, I googled it and the new one (old style) comes up, the style I have is discontinued. I suppose the different one will work but I would like to keep things the same the way they are now. I'm gonna try fixing the one I got and try to snag the one on eBay and put that on or keep it as a backup, as a last resort I'll go with the newer style. Not sure, but the other style looks like the hose fifttings are different sizes than the one I have? Hard to tell by pics. Thanks all you guys!

 

[schmidtae]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

Liquidlew, also look here.

http://www.boatstoreonline.com/merc_t-stat_housings.html

again, not sure if this is right, just trying to help.

 

[liquidlew]

Re: Therm housing tiny hole, plug it with?

Thanks schmidtae and all you other guys! I scored the one on eBay yesterday like mine so I'll check it out and clean it up when I get it. All the online marine parts shops only carry the other style and that one appears to be a replacement for the style that is discontinued ( one I have, don't it figure?!) so if this eBay one doesn't work out, gonna try the newer one.