Was searching for a bellows kit for my mercrusier alpha 1 Gen 2 and a site on ebay says these are made in PA. And far better then the new oem bellows. Anyone hear of these?
I tried googling and can't find a manufacturer of anything outdrive related, named 'Tomahawk'. Is that the name of the manufacturer, or is Tomahawk the ebay retailer? I'm replacing the bellows on a pair of Gen 2's right now. I won't use anything but OEM. It's a PITA job and I don't want to do it again anytime soon.
Hello
Sorry I wont sell the thin wall Mercury or Sierra bellows they don't last more than a year or 2. Mercury moved all manufacturing to China 6 years ago and due to volume they are and Sierra are outsourcing to Mexico and the bellows are real easy to install but I won't sell them. I sell a new Brand well for the last 5 years I have been selling tomahawk brand and they are in Pa. from the old Mercury plant and last up to 15 to 20 years but should be changed every 5 or so depending on temperatures in your area. I don't have any complaints on my bellows and they are the highest quality I can find. But I understand you want the OEM thinner bellows because they install so easy. A lot of mechanics like them because they rip so fast and they can re-install them every 2 years and make more money. We rebuild and ship over 500 gimbals a year with a perfect record. I just won't ruin it by selling what I think is faulty. Good luck.
Was searching for a bellows kit for my mercrusier alpha 1 Gen 2 and a site on ebay says these are made in PA. And far better then the new oem bellows. Anyone hear of these?
Hello
Sorry I wont sell the thin wall Mercury or Sierra bellows they don't last more than a year or 2. Mercury moved all manufacturing to China 6 years ago and due to volume they are and Sierra are outsourcing to Mexico and the bellows are real easy to install but I won't sell them. I sell a new Brand well for the last 5 years I have been selling tomahawk brand and they are in Pa. from the old Mercury plant and last up to 15 to 20 years but should be changed every 5 or so depending on temperatures in your area. I don't have any complaints on my bellows and they are the highest quality I can find. But I understand you want the OEM thinner bellows because they install so easy. A lot of mechanics like them because they rip so fast and they can re-install them every 2 years and make more money. We rebuild and ship over 500 gimbals a year with a perfect record. I just won't ruin it by selling what I think is faulty. Good luck.
Hi there, have a question for you about all of this as your two posts seem contradicting.
Are you a customer looking into buying a new type of better quality U-joint bellows for your personal boat or are you a dealer that now sells a supposed better quality U-joint bellows over both OEM and other aftermarket brands??? Thanks.
I'm assuming that is a quote from the seller of wherever he is finding those. 79 posts from the OP, and if he is trying to market that product, worst marketing campaign ever! The only hit on google for tomahawk bellows is ironically this thread...
Was searching for a bellows kit for my mercrusier alpha 1 Gen 2 and a site on ebay says these are made in PA. And far better then the new oem bellows. Anyone hear of these?
In that case, I apologize for my outburst. Suggest that if you're going to quote somebody, make it obvious that that's what you're doing. Thanks.
In any event, I've never heard of Tomahawk and can't find anything related to Tomahawk. All this guy has is a poorly written note to you, full of misinformation concerning the longevity of OEM. He even contradicts himself in his response to you vs. what's in his ad. In the ad he states that the parts are all sourced from different vendors. And, he's selling a compete kit including gimbal bearing for $100?? Yeah, I'm sure it's all top quality stuff. :facepalm:
Yeah he seemed pretty misinformed. I am planning on doing mine in a few weeks and will probably use OEM or Sierra. I am not sure if I will do the sift cable or not. I took the outdrive off and the gimball bearing sounds great. I asked a local marina what they charge and the quoted 1800-1900 for parts and labor. I just about chocked. Holly smokes that is crazy. Maybe I had sucker on my forehead.
Hello
Sorry I wont sell the thin wall Mercury or Sierra bellows they don't last more than a year or 2. Mercury moved all manufacturing to China 6 years ago and due to volume they are and Sierra are outsourcing to Mexico and the bellows are real easy to install but I won't sell them. I sell a new Brand well for the last 5 years I have been selling tomahawk brand and they are in Pa. from the old Mercury plant and last up to 15 to 20 years but should be changed every 5 or so depending on temperatures in your area. I don't have any complaints on my bellows and they are the highest quality I can find. But I understand you want the OEM thinner bellows because they install so easy. A lot of mechanics like them because they rip so fast and they can re-install them every 2 years and make more money. We rebuild and ship over 500 gimbals a year with a perfect record. I just won't ruin it by selling what I think is faulty. Good luck.
That quote sounds nuts to me. Even here on Long Island, where the labor rates run $100-140/hour. I would expect to spend about that much for TWO drives.
I've spent roughly $400. per drive on parts (all Merc) and another $150. or so on tools to do the job. So, call it $1000. for my 2 drives.The $30. pressure tester I built found a leaking shift shaft bushing on one drive (easy $25.00 fix), and a leaking dipstick gasket on the other (easy $1.00 fix). I saved some money and learned a LOT about how the drives work. That's worth it to me.
(If the gimbal bearing and u-joints sound and feel smooth I wouldn't replace them)
I modified a gear lube pump to add a low pressure gauge and a tire valve to it. You take out the upper and lower plugs and empty all the gear oil from the drive. Put the lower plug back in and screw the tester's fitting into the upper plug hole. Pressurize the drive with a bicycle pump. Do a search here- there are quite a few pictures of homemade pumps.
I used that type, too because the cheapest one with the plastic end leaked air. The metal one has a rubber o-ring. Had an issue with the metal one too, tho. The knurled metal fitting is made so you can screw it into the drive without swinging the entire hose around... but that joint leaked air. I had an open tube of epoxy, so I filled the joint with it. Doesn't turn by itself anymore, but it's air-tight and still has the o-ring to seal the hole in the drive.
Thanks.
