Belows...When to replace them

[straightleg]

Top 2 look pretty good, bottom one looks dried out alittle bit.
Dont see any cracking in rubber

Do I wait until they leak?

Handy with tools, should I even attempt this being a non marine mechanic.


Thanks
Gerry

 

[wellcraft-classic210]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

I have heard every 6 years for the bellows to be replaced. Pretty sure assumes a high quality pargt ( not the cheap ones on ebay )

You definitley want to replace these before that get stiff & start to crack for the following reasons;

--The main drive shaft bellows; can fill with water & do alot of collateral damage in the way of ujoints and the shaft forcing water into the outdrive gearlube compartment as it spins.
--The shift cable bellows; can let water directly into your bilge.
--The exhast bellows may cause the boat to run loader but rearely causes collateral damage.

I had good luck with some from sierra -- the experts here may have more to add to this.

 

[Grub54891]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

I prefer quicksilver bellows. Just installed Sierra bellows for a guy,the quality didn't, " feel" the same as quicksilver. Also the clamps were too long,to much of the end sticking out that had to be cut back. Just my, opinion though....
Grub

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

Top 2 look pretty good, bottom one looks dried out alittle bit.
Dont see any cracking in rubber

Do I wait until they leak?

Handy with tools, should I even attempt this being a non marine mechanic.


Thanks
Gerry

Do you wait till you run out of gas before you add more?

You certainly can if you wish, but you will be also looking at new ujoints, and a gimbal bearing if they get water in them.

How old are they? as far as you know?

 

[straightleg]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

Do you wait till you run out of gas before you add more?

You certainly can if you wish, but you will be also looking at new ujoints, and a gimbal bearing if they get water in them.

How old are they? as far as you know?

I bought the boat new in 1989. It has always been in a garage. I never took it in or knew I needed to take it in to replace them.

7-8 years ago I left my plug out...first time and I am a long time boater. We were fishing and it was lightly snowing. My wife said, is water supposed to come out of the engine cover???

Anyway took it in for a look and change the impeller. I Replaced starter, and I think they replaced some bearing at that point, realigned the outdrive, was also done I think plus impeller.
Cant remember what all was done at that point...Also dont remember the cost of the bill.


Is it possible my below's have lasted 23 years. Will take some photos of them


This is also the first boat forum I have been on. Always figured out things by myself with repair manuals.
That goes for all my vehicals and boat.



Gerry

 

[Failproof]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

I have seen garage kept boats with 15 year old bellows, and they were good but chalky. Have also seen outside kept boats with 2 year old bellowa that were cracked and leaking. Too many variables. For one, if you store your drive up or down, tilted left or right, or straight, and if your bellows take a "set", then stretch and crack. Freezing the rubber then moving it cracks it fast too!. Me, I do mine every 5 years regardless, or if the crack sooner. Use the oem, it is easier, and will save you money in the long run! I promise on that one!

 

[rparde]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

I just replaced mine, they were 12 years old and the shift cable bellow had torn. The other two really looked fine but since I was there they were replaced. Sounds like your due. I did replace the lower shift cable (it seemed fine) and the trim limit switches (they were toast), while I was there. The job is pretty straightforward. Just make sure you buy the engine alignment tool, and the tools recommended for the bellow install. It makes the job easier then trying to build your own tools. I did listen to the regulars on this forum and bought the OEM bellows. In the end I was glad I did.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

Do I wait until they leak?

Not if you don't want the boat to sink.:facepalm:

 

[straightleg]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

I think my bellow's might be 23 years old. Been lucky, not doing maintenance on them.
Will do them this spring before the marinas get busy, or read, read, read and if I feel confortable will try it myself.

How hard is this job


Gerry

 

[Failproof]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

Its a learning job. The first time you do it, you will make everything twice as complicated as it has to be. Then on out, its just more of a inconvenience. Once you get an estimate for how much the shops charge, it becomes less of an inconvenience however!

 

[straightleg]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

Its a learning job. The first time you do it, you will make everything twice as complicated as it has to be. Then on out, its just more of a inconvenience. Once you get an estimate for how much the shops charge, it becomes less of an inconvenience however!

I have been getting prices of $800 - $1300. The $1300 included a gimble joint I believe. What does that sound like.
How much will all the parts be?
Any body have a parts list for this job?

Gerry

 

[markheck1]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

I work on chainsaws and lawnmowers, so If I can do it, you can, LOL

We'll need to know what ya got for the parts....
but your pretty much looking at a bellows/transom seal kit, a Gimbal Bearing, and while you are in there most of the guys here will suggest a lower shifting cable if it's the least bit suspect.
Oh, and at a minimum the bellows tool, and an alignment tool is a darn good idea

 

[rparde]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

Just like Mark said the parts depend on what drive you have. On my alpha 1/2 I spent under $200 for the bellows and about $125 on tools. If you start adding items like the lower shift cable it adds about another $100 with the deep socket needed.

I didn't even know what a bellow was when I started the job and everything went smoothly. There is a ton of help on this Forum and AChris has some great videos on YouTube.

 

[straightleg]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

Thank you.
I am going to try it myself. Will wait until the end of this coming winter.


Gerry

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

We always stored our boat with the drive up, and replaced bellows every 7-8 years and never had a problem. Granted, that isn't correct per Merc's instructions, but it is probably consistent with how a lot of boats are stored. Replaced the shift cable and u-joint bellows at a local marine shop last year for right at $300.

 

[straightleg]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

That is way cheaper than the 2 marinas that quoated me.
How do you order parts.
Engine serial number
or
serial number on outdrive?



Gerry

 

[wellcraft-classic210]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

Regarding my earlier post stating I had good luck with sierra parts / I have no doubt the merc parts are better. I did have a Sierra and Merc shift cable side by side and the merc cable was constructed much better also. No surprise to most of you.

I went through the same thing you are with good success on my 1988 last year. That included reading, being cautious, the purchase of : a gimbal pin tool, an alignment tool and gimbal bearing driver. I was able borrow an exhast bellows tool & later made my own. The plans are posted in the stickys should you desire to do the same.

Its not that hard someone with some wrenching experience -- some of the components are placed closely which makes for tedious work.

Good luck!

 

[mr300z87]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

I recently did a bellows job on my bravo drive which I think is little easier because there is more room. Spent more time reading and worrying about it and running through the procedure in my head then it actually took. Get the service manual and watch some of the videos and you will be fine. Good luck

 

[andyandy]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

I'm just finishing my first-ever bellows and shift cable job on an '85 MR/Alpha drive and it was (and still is) quite a project. My bellows were nearly 8 years old and still intact but the water hose was ruptured so I was overheating at low idle. So I thought, just replace the water hose. Right. Impossible to remove without pulling the bell housing. Once taken apart, the bell housing was corroded and cracked in the water passage, so I had to get a used bell housing, new transom water tube and grommet etc. The Gimball and ring are OK. About $700 in parts and a month of part time knuckle busting later and it's looking pretty good. Worth every minute.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Belows...When to replace them

Yes, you will want a gimbal pivot pin remover or an allen wrench that's attached to a 1/2" or 3/8" socket drive. That pin is held in by torque and lock tite. If it doesn't come right out, warm it with a torch and the lock tite will release.

The gimbal bearing driver has "steps" on it's outer edge. If you already know how to drive bearings you can do it by feel with a regular driver. The bearing puller can be funky, because the gimbal bearing is embedded inside the outer transom assembly. If you wait til you have the old bellows off it's less work. There are lots of posts of homemade bearing pullers, you can see them from the sticky posts at the beginning of the forum.

Before you go to install the bearing put in the freezer. Makes it easier to put in place.

The alignment bar is critical, you need it. I recommend putting the bar into the coupler before you do any work to the bearing if it will go in, and also when the bearing is out. This is to get an idea where the coupler is in relation to the gimbal bearing opening. That way when you go to re align the bearing to the coupler you'll have a memory of where things go. If the alignment tool doesn't go in easily it means the engine alignment or the gimbal bearing alignment could be out. If it doesn't go in easily when there's no bearing I'd be surprised.

You will want a good set of 1/4" drive sockets with a ratchet, a screwdriver type handle, a long extension, a medium extension, a universal joint, and a flex extension (looks like a spring but attaches to your 1/4"drive stuff. There is one clamp that goes on top of a bellows that needs a long straight bladed screwdriver. I use one that's a little over a foot long and the screwdriver is about 1/4" or 5/16" wide.

Pay attention to clamp placement, if you put them where they belong and do the work in the manual's sequence it's better and easier.

When you are pulling the bellhousing don't bother to save the old bellows-that takes a long time. After you have the bellhousing pivot pins out and the shift cable free from inside the boat just cut the big bellows as you remove it, then the inner clamps are easier to access than with the whole bellows in the way.

There is a little plastic shift fork holder that hangs on a bellhousing stud for installing the drive back on the boat. That's a smart $3 thing.
You can get most of the stuff on i-boats. Look at the top of the page.

I also recommend making a drive stand, it's a big help for removing & installing the drive.