2001 225HP Rude Ficht Tstat cover broke

[Dusky1993]

Good Morning Gentleman!

Was in the process of checking the Tstats on above mentioned motor and ran into a problem. The large plastic cover/bolt if you will broke off. It did not expose the tstats but how in the he** am i going to get it out now? I am sure some of you have experianced this before and can point me in the right direction.

Thanks,
Tim

PS : I am in the process of taking a few pics to post and will edit once I get em.

[nomoreosama]

Tim,
Try using a 1 1/2 socket on the bottom portion....If that broke....you guessed it start chipping away and watch the threads!!!!!

[SEAHORSE]

Ahhh!, welcome to salt water work !!!!

If the hex is broken off and the threads remain, soak the area overnite with penentrating oil. Not many brands work on salt corrosion, but it may help. A few drops of bleach (carefully) may work some of the corrosion loose.

Use a sharp long chisel to start breaking away the plastic pieces and use a vacuum to "suck 'em up" so as not to fall down thru the block.

Use a new small wire brush to clean the internal threads on the block, and use a good amount of Triple Guard grease on the threads and o-ring when installing. Do not plug up the bleed hole above the threaded area on the cap. The book says to use Gasket Sealer, but that hardens with heat and doesn't work well. Triple Guard works fine and check the t'stats once a year and you'll never have problems again.

[Dusky1993]

Thanks everyone for your input. I was able to get it out which was not fun!! New one is in and job is now complete. New question........When I purchased this motor there was a penny in the pee hole blocking the water outlet! Mechanic told me that the Fichts had an issue with cooling top of block and this was a quick fix for it. Anybody ever heard of this?

Thanks,
Tim

[Cattail]

I hope you were careful wth any small parts of the plastic that may have broken off and fell in the top of the tstat housing. Same thing happened to me at my dealer when he replaced the tstats. After two years of runing hot problems, finally removed powerhead to find small piece of tstat cap wedged in drain hole for hot water to exhaust. Many dollars were spent on other fixes and lost friendships also. Good luck!