Thermostat question?

[steplift20]

150 1988 Mercury outboard ,,,,,,did anyone ever clean there thermostats? I was thinking about using white vinegar and water and cleaning them, that would save me about 35 dollars and there only one year old, I use them in salt water

[Destroyer]

Are they bad? Did you do the string test in a pan of water to see if they are opening and at what temp they are?....or not?

Personally, I'd do both at the same time. Put some vinegar into the water, then do the string test. Get rid of the minerals and the doubt.

[steplift20]

Destroyer, I forgot about the string test, I will do that plus clean them too, should I put the viniger in the hot water? Or clean them with pure white vinegar? I will do the string test first then clean them ,

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by steplift20

Destroyer, I forgot about the string test, I will do that plus clean them too, should I put the vinegar in the hot water? Or clean them with pure white vinegar? I will do the string test first then clean them ,

I'd put the vinegar right into the hot water. The boiling point of straight vinegar is 213F. Diluting it in water will bring it even closer to the 212F of pure water. For the purposes of the string test that's a non-existent difference. Just run the test normally to observe at what degree your t-stats open, turn off the heat and let them soak for a while.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Or put evinrude stainless stats in it.

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by THEFERMANATOR

Or put evinrude stainless stats in it.

Won't even SS stats eventually get coated with minerals from the water and stop working?