guess I give up...

[rasbury]

Well, I tried everything I can think of to get the bellows on....I just don't understand the glue as it sets up pretty quickly. I was able to get about a half inch or a little better on and that was it, was not going any further...guess it's time to drag it to the shop and let someone that know the trick to it, to do it. I have the foot off and everything, just can't get the bellows on...I made a tool just as suggested on previous thread but seems as soon as you get it on there, that glue is starting to stick...this design, in my veiw, sucks.


Rick

 

[missalot]

Re: guess I give up...

OK, from the start I might be doing the wrong, but - u-joint bellows are the easiest of the two. First with the part in the bench, you install with bellows cement, hose clamp the works. Then after putting a coat of bellows cement on the transom piece and the bellows itself I let it dry, then WARM the bellows up with a hair dryer (too poor to afford a decent heat gun), now slather the transom piece and bellows with cement and IMMEDIATELY install, the cool part of the u-jount bellows is that a normal hand will fit inside to stretch/push the bellows to it's final location. As far as the exhaust bellows, it's a matter of how much noise you (other people on the water) want to hear. That you will need a tool, of some type, but as it will not sink your boat bellows cement is not needed. without going back and editing, I apologize for not using the work Adhesive instead of cement.

Good luck.
Missalot

 

[Don S]

Re: guess I give up...

What bellows, what drive, what engine, and what year? We aren't mind readers.

 

[rasbury]

Re: guess I give up...

sorry, I started a new thread and should have added to the last one which had all my info.....2007 3.0L with your regular alpha drive.....I'm looking at my old parts and it looks like there was only a spot of adhesive...I kind of thought the same thing when I cleaned up the mating surface on the boat....it also seems a bit puzzeling that you only put the adhesive on one side of the bellows and not both...anyway, the adhesive seems to be gooping up before I can get it put together, I got about a half inch or so on but need about that quater inch more to have a good contact on the bellows. The transom end I can get on with no problem but still a little puzzeled that this end is not glued as well. I made a spreader tool which seems to work pretty well, I turned the assembly to the right, working one side on, use the spreader, holding down the assembly with a bungie cord and slowly turning the assembly straight while using the spreader to get the bellows on but with the glue getting tacky, just can't seem to get it on well enough...is the glue all around the bellows on the inside or just a couple of spots? What does the glue do that the clamp does not? Sure seems like if you need it on one end, you'd need it on both but that would make things worse!

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: guess I give up...

IF it's a mercruiser drive, I would ditch the exhaust bellows and use the tube......MUCH easier!!

 

[rasbury]

Re: guess I give up...

What is this tube I keep hearing about? Also, my engine is still under warranty although it is a 2007...I'd like to keep it OEM but this is really a bugger to get on! I'll google the tube and see what I come up with....

Rick

 

[natemoore]

Re: guess I give up...

What is this tube I keep hearing about? Also, my engine is still under warranty although it is a 2007...I'd like to keep it OEM but this is really a bugger to get on! I'll google the tube and see what I come up with....

Rick

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B004AR1F6W/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=15684181&s=automotive

This just attaches to transom side. Doesn't need cement since it isn't being stretched when the outdrive is trimmed up. I recently changed to this.

 

[badkins50]

Re: guess I give up...

On my best day I couldn't really be considered a shade tree, more like a busting every knuckle and working in the gravel driveway, lol. Ok that being said I thought i read some where that the tube idea was not the best way to go and should keep to the original style bellow????? I'm not trying to highjack, all I am doing is asking to help shed some light here for the op, me and others, like I said before I am in no situation here to question or recommend anything on this and I am just curious. The only time I replaced bellows, I went back with the original style and it was on a much older alpha 1.

 

[natemoore]

Re: guess I give up...

I actually got the idea from my neighbor who has an alpha one, too. He said his mechanic (authorized Mercruiser dealer) never goes back to original design. These things are noisier when not in the water with the outdrive up, but in the water with the outdrive down, I don't notice a difference. That may have been the criticism you read about.

My first go around I did the exhaust bellows, struggled for two days trying to get that damned thing on. After making three improvised pullers and prodders, I finally got it on. But alas, it was an after-market bellows and it split in less than six months. :facepalm: After-market u-joint bellows is cracking. :facepalm: I've got the oem replacements and will do that in the off season, sometime in January or February.

 

[rasbury]

Re: guess I give up...

I'm going to give it one more try today...I looked at the "tube" and while I'm not really worried about the noise for the reasons mentioned, I don't like the idea of the exhaust blowing around the bottom of the motor vs. going out through the prop- if it was the way to go I'm sure it would have been done that way to start with....I looked again at the old bellows and it really looks like the adhesive was not used all around the bellows and that was the orgional bellows....I'm going to try it that way, there is no worry about water leaking on this bellows anyway just trying to make sure it stays on. Afterall, the other end has no adhesive at all per the manual. Anyway, I'm going to give it a try that way and see if it will stay on, will up date!

 

[natemoore]

Re: guess I give up...

I'm going to give it one more try today...I looked at the "tube" and while I'm not really worried about the noise for the reasons mentioned, I don't like the idea of the exhaust blowing around the bottom of the motor vs. going out through the prop- if it was the way to go I'm sure it would have been done that way to start with....I looked again at the old bellows and it really looks like the adhesive was not used all around the bellows and that was the orgional bellows....I'm going to try it that way, there is no worry about water leaking on this bellows anyway just trying to make sure it stays on. Afterall, the other end has no adhesive at all per the manual. Anyway, I'm going to give it a try that way and see if it will stay on, will up date!

You know the tube slips over the exhaust elbow on the outdrive side once it is down all the way. I haven't jumped into the water with goggles to see exactly how much blow-by there is, but my guess is that most of the exhaust gases do make it out the prop.

Well, good luck trying to get that thing on. If I ever decide to install the oem exhaust bellows I have sitting on my work bench, I'll have to send the family to a hotel for the weekend. They don't need to be around satin's spawn while he attempts this procedure.

 

[rasbury]

Re: guess I give up...

Well, here was the progress...after about an hour of twisting the transom asy back and forth, using the took I had made and anuything else I could get my hands on, bungie cord holding it all down, proding etc, I THINK I MIGHT have the dang thing on but with no adhesive. If so, I'm going to run with it....they must have a tool at the Mercrusier plant that spreads that dam thing open like a cows @## and then lets it loose...that's the crapiest thing of a design...can't wait to work on other stuff on the out drive. Anyway, how FAR does it have to go on? It looks like from the old one you would push it on until the first ring of the bellows or the length of the flat inner surface- I can't download the manual here at home and can't find what I printed out on that section from work...anyone have a quick answer? It does not want to come off when I push it all the way up but I want to make sure! I don't think I can get it on any further anyway unless I lubricate it, I can't see putting lub on something I don't want to fall off!

Rick

 

[natemoore]

Re: guess I give up...

View attachment 110197

Top tool is my homemade bellows tool. You shove it up the bovine's anus, give it a good squeeze, and listen to the bellows and watch the eyes bug out. :facepalm: It's the bellows adhesive that makes these things so hard to get on. It's a lot like contact cement which isn't meant to be slid around once the two surfaces touch.

To answer your question, I'd say that you want it slid on the length of the flat inner surface area of the bellows, but no more than that. Friction holds it on, but overstretching it by bottoming it out on both ends, I think, would cause it to crack or fail prematurely.

 

[rasbury]

Re: guess I give up...

I could not open the attachment, but, I did find one here someone else had made and it seemed to work ok....I would revise it a little....I'd say I have it all the way on then (thank God!)without glue and I'm going to run with it and see what happens. Hopefully I'll have it back together for the weekend, still have to do the exhaust flappers and put the sterndrive back on...

thanks to all for the help for now!

Rick
Sanford, Fl

 

[Don S]

Re: guess I give up...

If you want to use the exhaust bellows and not the tube, here is how it's done.
Hit your local Mercury outboard dealer and get a can of Power Tune.

Clean all the glue off the bellows and the bellhousing. Attach the bellows to the transom shield as you normally would ( or install it this way too) if you feel like it.
Instead of glue, spray the bellhousing and the bellows with the power tune. Use the bellows expander too to pull the bellows into place. It will slide on and off easily, so get it in place and go drink a cold one, no hurry, to long won't hurt a thing. Now, remove your bellows tool, carefully tighten the clamp without raising the bellhousing any more than needed to get to the clamp. Make sure you have the clamp in the correct position, or it will be ripped off. Go have another cold one.
Now you can raise the bellhousing as high as you want. Make sure the clamp is tight and properly positioned.
It WILL NOT fall off again. ..................... That is, if you got all the old glue off in the beginning.

 

[natemoore]

Re: guess I give up...

If you want to use the exhaust bellows and not the tube, here is how it's done.
Hit your local Mercury outboard dealer and get a can of Power Tune.

Clean all the glue off the bellows and the bellhousing. Attach the bellows to the transom shield as you normally would ( or install it this way too) if you feel like it.
Instead of glue, spray the bellhousing and the bellows with the power tune. Use the bellows expander too to pull the bellows into place. It will slide on and off easily, so get it in place and go drink a cold one, no hurry, to long won't hurt a thing. Now, remove your bellows tool, carefully tighten the clamp without raising the bellhousing any more than needed to get to the clamp. Make sure you have the clamp in the correct position, or it will be ripped off. Go have another cold one.
Now you can raise the bellhousing as high as you want. Make sure the clamp is tight and properly positioned.
It WILL NOT fall off again. ..................... That is, if you got all the old glue off in the beginning.

What does it do, partially melt the rubber, then weld it to the metal when it dissipates?

 

[Don S]

Re: guess I give up...

I don't know what it does, or why it works, it doesn't melt the rubber, but it sure makes it grab the housing and not want to let go.
Any overspray onto the bellows doesn't hurt anything, and you can see nothing changed in the rubber.
Have been using this process for years with no problems.

 

[rasbury]

Re: guess I give up...

wow, where the heck were you a couple of days ago with this info? LOL! As hard a battle it was to get on, it's hard to imagine it's going to fall off..I'm going to run with it the way it is, if it falls off I'll re do with this stuff. The other thing I noticed looking over the manual, it states to put the glue on and wait until it's no longer tacky which should take about 10 min.....I was putting the glue on and trying to asemble as quick as I could. Weird thing is, the instructions on the adhesive states to put the glue on, wait until it's tacky and then asemble. It's from the Mercuriser folks......if I had gone by the manual, would this have helped lube the parts going together?? Anyway, I'll try the other stuff if it does not stay together....
Thanks all!

Rick

 

[Don S]

Re: guess I give up...

It's from the Mercuriser folks......if I had gone by the manual, would this have helped lube the parts

Nope, Merc even had a service bulletin in 93 about them falling off, and their method didn't work either.

The point is, if you use Mercs bellows adhesive, the bellows will most likely come off. It's been a problem since the Gen II drives came out in 91, and Merc has done nothing to cure the problem. A simple groove in the bellhousing would give the bellows something squeeze into when the clamp was tightened, or a raised lip at the edge of the bellhousing. But they have done NOTHING.

PS: When removing old bellows the first time, you will notice there was not bellows adheisive used in installing them from the factory. You don't suppose they use Power tune do you

 

[brhodes]

Re: guess I give up...

Rasbury, to reply to your 1st question asking where this info was days ago, I don't want to beat a dead horse, but it was on this board. I remembered seeing this method mentioned in a bunch of old threads. I guess until I read it this time though, I was confused, cause I thought the bellows adhesive was good, just hard to work with. Also, I have a Alpha 1 and I thought there was a little lip at least on at least some of the bellows? Anyway, glad you gotem on, good luck