Re: 2002 mercury 2stroke 50hp thermostat question
Why on earth do you think the engineers designed the engine with a thermostat?? Because they had some left over and didn't know what to do with them? Why does your car or truck have one? Don't mean to be critical here but have you ever heard of "cold seizing". Read about it. Your engine will not heat up properly, will use more fuel, and increased wear will result. Hours and hours of test time are put on engines designing cooling systems. Years ago they weren't used because the engines used 30 weight oil and fuel was 19 cents a gallon. Times change, and engines are much more efficient these days and that efficiency comes from less oil, more complete combustion, and better control of the cooling system. So the long and short of this is NO. It is not a good idea to run without it. If it is not working, replace it. It is not a high cost item.
