Any idea what this is?

[algae]

I removed the power head from an 88 Mercury 5 hp 2 stroke. i discovered a length of plastic wire wrapped up inside one of the water channels on the underside. not attached in any way just sort of jammed in there. this is my first crack at taking any outboard apart so I have no idea if this is normal or what it's for. Any ideas? I couldn't figure out how to attach a pic - you can view on this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/x32mzss2o6u2c9j/2017-08-22 19.24.56.jpg?dl=0

 

[galamb]

It doesn't belong there and not a clue why it would be there.

 

[algae]

Thanks Graham!

 

[deejaycee_2000]

It could be that someone along the way removed the thermostat, to prevent it from cold seizing you need to add "resistance" right before the channel to the thermostat location. I am not familiar with this motor so I am only speculating at why that would be in there. We did that when removing the t-stat from our racing motors. We didn't use that though, but I can see that it won't actually move anywhere and won't dissolve over time either ...

 

[algae]

I'm pretty sure this motor was manufactured without a thermostat. I put it back together without the bundle of plastic wire, I'll see if any problems come up on the water.