Bellows - To change or not to change?

[Simoniz]

Hi,

Ive just pulled the drive off my boat today (Alpha 1 Gen 2) and was pleasantly surprised that everything seems to be in tip top condition, uj good no play, roughness or rust, gimbal bearing well greased and smooth to turn with no looseness.

The real reason I pulled the drive was to check that everything was in good condition and possibly to renew the bellows.

The bellows seem to be in good condition, still flexible with no signs of chafing, splitting or perishing and there is no sign of water ingress.

Reading the manual, it seems to me like changing the uj bellows and the shift cable bellows is a big job requiring quite a few specialised tools, which I dont have.

What do the experts think. Having looked at the bellows and seen them to be in apparantly goood condition, would I be a fool to put it back together again?

Boat is a 2001 model and the bellows have not been touched in the 4 years that Ive had the boat so the odds are that they are the original bellows, ie 8 years old.

 

[ErieRon]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

Bellows life is typically 5-6 years according to the experts here. It's a judgment call for you at this point.

Better safe than sorry is my motto

 

[rad1026]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

personally I would change them. The exhaust bellows expanding tool is not very expensive and it does a good job. Its not all that hard to do, just follow instructions closely. One recommendation is to buy OEM quicksilver parts. I replaced mine with Sierra two years ago and the exhaust bellow split this year. I've heard good things about Sierra and I normally don't have a problem using their parts. Maybe this was just a bad bellow, but for the price difference I replaced it with a quicksilver part.

 

[ErieRon]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

Good point rad1026...I've heard that over and over here...to stick with the OEM bellows. Forgot to mention it.

 

[Simoniz]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

I know the exhaust bellows expander isnt too expensive but thats just for 1 of the three (and the non critical one at that).

My manual talks about service tools and taps for doing the shift cable bellows and more service tools and slide hammer to remove the uj bellows retainer and uj bellows, not forgetting, of course more service tools to remove the bellhousing...

 

[skargo]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

Get an exhaust tube and it's one less tool you need.

 

[nola mike]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

I know the exhaust bellows expander isnt too expensive but thats just for 1 of the three (and the non critical one at that).

My manual talks about service tools and taps for doing the shift cable bellows and more service tools and slide hammer to remove the uj bellows retainer and uj bellows, not forgetting, of course more service tools to remove the bellhousing...

you don't need to remove the bellhousing, and need no special tools for the uj and shift bellows repair. can't speak on the exhaust, but i've seen it recommended to replace the bellows with a tube, which apparently requires no special tools. search for a thread i wrote about the subject a couple of months back for more info on how i did the job.

 

[Simoniz]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

Thanks nola mike.

I found a couple of threads (going back as far as June) but didnt see the bit about not removing the bellhousing.

Doing a bit more research with the manuals and videos on You Tube, I think the manual goes into too much detail. It talks about removing the shift cable from the bell housing but it seems that its not necassary? Just disconnect at the engine end and remve the threaded tube should allow the cable to pull right out with the bellhousing, or?

Removing the bellhousing would seem to make the job much easier and it seems I only need the hinge pin removal tool.

Keep the advice coming please guys!

 

[Grumman59]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

Removing the bellhousing would seem to make the job much easier and it seems I only need the hinge pin removal tool.

Keep the advice coming please guys!

I just removed my bell housing with a 1/2" hex key although the tool would be required to torque the pivots back. Watch the fibre washers each side.

Yes, you could pull it away from the transom a little with the shift cable still installed. You will definitely need a tool to remove the shift cable from the bell housing if you want to remove it completely.

There's some "how to" stuff here which is worth reading
http://www.sterndrives.com/mercruiserhelp.html
although it would mostly appear to be worded to discourage the home mechanic from doing anything.

 

[Simoniz]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

I just removed my bell housing with a 1/2" hex key although the tool would be required to torque the pivots back. Watch the fibre washers each side.

Yes, you could pull it away from the transom a little with the shift cable still installed. You will definitely need a tool to remove the shift cable from the bell housing if you want to remove it completely.

There's some "how to" stuff here which is worth reading
http://www.sterndrives.com/mercruiserhelp.html
although it would mostly appear to be worded to discourage the home mechanic from doing anything.

Thats the question, do I need to remove the shift cable from the bellhousing end in order to replace the shift bellows?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

I changed the bellows and raw water hose on my Alpha I gen I with a bolt coupler to remove the bellhousing bolts and a blunt tire iron to push the new exhaust and driveshaft bellows onto the transom shield. It was a real PIA, until I figured out exactly how to do it. The secret was to install the bellows on the bell housing, push the bell housing up against the transom shield, and use the tire iron to work the bellows onto their flanges. use the bellows cement and tighten the clamps with a 3/8" drive socket and universal joint adaptor.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

Thats the question, do I need to remove the shift cable from the bellhousing end in order to replace the shift bellows?

To do it correctly, the answer is yes. All it takes is an extra-deep 9/16 socket to remove it from the bellhousing.

You have to pull the outer housing of the cable out of the boat to replace the bellows. It is possible to pull it out with the aft end still attached to the bellhousing but you're running a big risk of kinking a $100 shift cable. All it takes is one little kink, then the shift cut-out switch doesn't work and you get to do it correctly anyway because you have to replace your $100 cable. Takes less than a minute to unscrew it from the bellhousing and pull it back without risking kinking it.

 

[Grumman59]

Re: Bellows - To change or not to change?

A regular old fashioned type deep 9/16"wrench box wrench may do it. A regular deep socket won't. I just brazed an old socket onto a piece of tube.

If you're going to change the cable, you can just cut the end off the cable and use an ordinary deep socket but you'll still need the tool to put the new on back in. It's just a 9/16" brass nut with a pipe thread.