Bellows replacement questions

[nola mike]

Going to be doing some R&R on my outdrive on Friday. I have on order new bellows, shift cable kit, trim senders, water hose(s)(2 different sizes available?), and U-joints (Moog 315g automotive, we'll see if they fit). I did the bellows when I first got the boat, maybe 8 seasons ago, definitely showing wear. Pulled the outdrive, and saw more damn water in the shift shaft cavity. I just replaced the shift shaft seal with the new style last season, hoping new bellows will solve it. Anyway, I'm trying to get everything done on Friday, which means NO trips to the marina/HW store/etc. I'm amassing 1/2" allen wrench, various 1/4" socket extensions, bearing presses...
2 questions, bearing in mind I have no handy marina nearby:

1. I need bellows adhesive. I'm pretty sure I used permatex aviation sealant last time around, since I use it for damn near everything. Wondering if there's something better. Can't find bellows adhesive locally. Saw mixed reviews about the sierra stuff at Napa. Can't find power tune.
2. Saw belatedly that I might need fiber washers for the hinge pins? This is exactly the kind of thing that kills me, stopping work for a $2 part. Do they usually need replaced? Looks like part # 12-72498, anything else I can use in a pinch?

Anything else at all that I should have on hand?

 

[kenny nunez]

The thin fiber washers are probably still good. As far as the bellows adhesive I never used it. I prefer a dry fit and never had a problem. The best tool for the worm clamps is a 1/4” drive 5/16” universal socket. Too bad you are not down here in NOLA I could help you.

 

[nola mike]

Appreciate the offer. Yeah, I may have dry fit it last time, I don't remember. Looks like it's only to keep the bellows in place until it's clamped down. I'll be back down there in 3 weeks for a few to try to eat a year's worth of crawfish in 4 days. Hopefully will be on the water by then!

 

[kenny nunez]

After you clamp the bellows on the bell housing then attach the water hose on the transom plate. It is easier to put the hose on the bell housing after the bellows is clamped to the transom and before you install the bell housing bolts. Make sure that the pocket that the shift slider goes into on the out drive is clean. Sometimes salt will build up inside and cause shift problems. Make sure that the rubber seal ring is glued on real solid in the bell housing before you install the drive.
You will not have any trouble finding Crawfish when you get here.

 

[Scott06]

Moot 315 u joints will fit perfectly. I just had to chamfer two of the teeth on the tabbed nut that holds u joint s and in put yoke into the drive to get the one cap out. If you have a large c clamp and some deep/big sockets or a ball joint press you can do it with out hammering

 

[nola mike]

I rented a ball joint/u joint tool from advance auto, and have the wrench for that ring, so hopefully all set. Just going to remove the ring and leave the yoke and bearings attached.

 

[biggjimm]

3M super weatherstrip adhesive is pretty darn close to being the same stuff as bellows adhesive. Most auto parts stores carry it & even wal-mart has it around here.
Good luck
Jim

 

[nola mike]

Eh, crap. After all that I totally forgot about the bellows adhesive. Just finished disassembly, about 2 hours so far. hopefully reassembly will be easier (ha). Those trim senders are a giant pain. Options now:
1. No bellows adhesive anywhere
2. Permatex aviation gasket sealant
3. Contact cement
4. Take 2 hours to track down the sierra stuff or 3m weatherstrip adhesive "locally" (I'm 20-30 min from anywhere)

I'm leaning towards option #3 right now, but may make trip if it doesn't look like I'll finish today.

 

[nola mike]

Wow, this job SUCKS. 5-6 hours in, ran out of daylight. I hope that the engineer who designed those water hose connections is spending his time in hell replacing those hoses. Looks like I should have heated the hose up for easier installation. I ended up going with the contact cement for the bellows, and had to route the shift cable 3 times because I kept forgetting something. Finally have it mostly together. I need to tighten all the clamps, reinstall the hinge pins, figure out the wiring for the senders, and reinstall the drive. Hopefully an hour or 2 if nothing unexpected happens. Also glad I went with an exhaust tube. Oh, and do the u-joints. So add another hour or 2 to that. Then I need to tap out the idle cam bolt, replace, and go boating!

 

[Bondo]

because I kept forgetting something.

Ayuh,.... I don't think that's the Engineer's fault,....

While doin' a bellows job can be a knuckle buster,....
I've had good luck, followin' the factory manual, Exactly as written for the job,....

 

[nola mike]

Ha, no that one wasn't. Manual is kind of disjointed when doing all that at once and wasn't much help with the water hose. Wanted to make sure I had bellows on the cable and threaded into bellhousing prior to routing the cable through the engine compartment to give me more room and not worry about twisting the bellows when tightening the cable. Sticking with my assessment otherwise, as the ujoints aren't as straightforward as I hoped. Had hoped that the large bearing retainer could slide on the yoke enough to get at that ujoint. Nope. The manual says disassemble the bearing pack to get the retainer off. Crazy. I've read that you can get the joint out with the ring in place, doesn't look possible to me without grinding the tangs a bit. Why not just have it come from the factory like that?

 

[nola mike]

On the plus side,the wiring for the senders was a snap and I had no trouble with the hinge pins.

 

[nola mike]

Little update, FINALLY finished everything up and got her on the water. Final tally was ujoints replaced, water hose replaced, trim sensors replaced, bellows replaced, shift cable, gear oil, fast idle can screw tapped out and replaced. Fired up and ran great, unfortunately my new lower shift cable is sticking horribly. After I installed it it was smooth, and I didn't check it after that. Bah. Can't get into or out of gear without stalling, which is making the boating tricky. I'll pull the drive next weekend and make sure my bellows aren't leaking. Very strange having working trim gauge and using my trim switch to trim the drive. And the exhaust tube works great. No detriment v the bellows.

 

[nola mike]

Not sure what the issue was except a crappy cheap cable. It had a small/not terrible kink in the core, but it meets resistance right when entering the sheath for some reason. Thought about just replacing the core, but I might as well just replace the whole thing. On the bright side, everything looked clean and dry in there, and the boat otherwise ran great all weekend (probably about 40 miles or so).