mercury poppet

[Blue197320]

ive got new t-stats in it now. the poppet maybe bad but i dont know. im going to replace it because its only 20 dollars i think. supposedly my water pump impeller is suspect because it has been sitting since november. i have also been told to just hollow out the thermostats and leave the housing in there. does any one have a detailed pic of the water pump gasket? it could be on backwards or upside down or whatever u want to call it. also can anyone tell me where the serial number on the block is? dont tell me midsection because its not the original one...