If any of you have photos of what typical would look like, please share. I might be replacing this engine for a used, but much newer one. I need to know what I should expect.My sole reason for checking t-stats is to clean the salt goo out of there and to remove the bolts so they won't snap off when I NEED to remove them. That usually means new gaskets and sometimes new t-stats because the seals are bad after taking it apart. The only failure of t-stats I have ever seen are "stuck open".
In fresh water I can imagine never needing to mess with them. The housings on my 0x66s don't look like that!