83' 140J bubbleback in hot water

[jayhunt3]

The thermostat on my 83' Johnson 140 is stuck closed after the winter storage and the engine overheats within 2 minutes. The stat on this engine is down at the botton in the cowling and is impossible for a normal human to get to. Does anyone have a a method to open the thermostat without opening the housing? Help is definitelty needed. Thanks

 

[walleyehed]

Re: 83' 140J bubbleback in hot water

Pull the 2 lower cowl pieces, pop the lower cowl mount screws out, and pull the cover of the T-Stat housing...it's not that hard to do...<br />You most likely have calcium build-up.

 

[jayhunt3]

Re: 83' 140J bubbleback in hot water

Walleyhed - How do you remove the 2 lower cowl pieces and where are the lower cowl mount screws?

 

[walleyehed]

Re: 83' 140J bubbleback in hot water

there is a front and a back piece below the cowl bottom...they are fairings for the lower cowl, and have 2 screws on each side.<br />When you remove the top cowl, you'll see a screw (Bolt) in each corner of the lower cowl going through a rubber grommet from the top down. Remove these and you can move the lower cowl around as needed to get to the T-Stat housing.