About those bellows..

R

Rick D

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Removed 3 bellows from each of my two stern drives yesterday.
Broke my puller trying to get the bearings out... so still have that to do. I was surprised to find the bellows in such good shape.. no indication of wear or cracking. Oh well, they're off now so at least from this point forward I will have a firm time when they were last done.

And anyway, my limit/sender switches were shot and had to be replaced so it's not a wasted effort. Will clean all the barnacles out inside the bell housing and and replace the switches. Then when it is warmer, will install the new bellows, bearing and shift cable on both drives. My shift cable has always been stiff so it's good that is getting done as well.

--Rick
 
Barnacles inside the bell housing? sounds like you waited too long!
 
Not inside the bell housing... the part that bolts to the transom... whatever that piece is called. The barnacles are on the clamps to the hoses and the metal that is flush agains the transom.

--Rick
 
Just an FYI. I don't find the after-market senders any better than the original equipment.

Last year, I had a pair of Sierras put in that have a 2 year warranty. Stopped working after a month in the water. 2 year warranty is of no use because it does not cover the cost to haul or labor to remove them.
 
That's what usually happens when the bearings have not been replaced for a long time. It happened to mine. Rust is usually the cause. You will be happy when your all done. Glad to hear you are tackling the job yourself.
 
If your drives are shifting hard, along with the cables it might be the shift shaft bushings in the bell housing being gummed up. There is a seal under the top bushing that may be bad. Remove the shaft and clean it. There is a new shaft bushing and seal available. To get the gimble bearing out I just tip it out of the outer ring to line it up with the slots in the ring and it comes out. I have replaced mine twice that way.
 
The bellows fail from cracking in between the folds. Just check carefully. Another possible failure comes from the ex bellows kinda puffing up and pushing against the drive bellows and wearing against the U-joints...but that ain't too common since the use of the exhaust TUBE.

Sometimes barnacles can cause problems on boats left for long periods in the water without use or maintenance.

What kinda bearing puller you gots? Harbor Freight sells a set of blind puller heads for around $25. Set that up with a threaded puller and that should work. Combining it with a slide puller for tougher jobs. 'course, I get the ones that require removal of the outer transom plate and whacking it out with a 10 lb sledge.[:I]
 
You know I pulled my boat out and put it in the shop for annual service. I knew I had the upper gimble pivot seal leaking. I suspected maybe a new bellows since mine is about 5 year old and the trim senders stopped working. I also thought the mercathode sensor was shot too. Well the big bearing was shot, and the trim senders were totaled. So with parts and discounted labor I was looking at about a $2400 bill. I asked the tech how long it would take him to pull the engine and install a new transom unit. He said, 8 hours. So I was able to procure a brand new transom unit for 2k, about 600 labor and I got a brand new unit hanging on the boat rather than piecing together an old unit that will start leaking from the seal in another 3 years.
 
OK, so my bellows kits just came in. They shorted me the oil hose in both kits even though is says it's included. Anyway, regarding the water hose, I noticed when I was removing the old hose, the plastic thru hull fitting that the water hose connects to moved a bit when working the lines off. It wasn't loose, it just flexed as if it was in a rubber grommet. Wanted to confirm this is normal before I installed everything.

Drives are 1997 Alpha 1 Gen 2.

--Rick
 
Gave up on pulling the gimbals.... having the yard pull the old, install the new ones and align the drives.

Just received my Bellows Adhesive via UPS... 65 degrees minimum for install temp???
Guess I'm waiting until June to splash her... or I'm building a plastic tent with a space heater (no open flame of course).

--Rick
 
Sorry to hear that.I never knew there was an install temp. I love this forum. gee bee had a great idea above. I think trim senders are a waste unless you are a performance geek. I set my trim for optimal use at regular cruise and forget em. Even when I replaced them they started acting up within months.
 
OK with the talk of barnacles and bellows, does anyone know of an antifouling paint that will stays somewhat flexible (like that used on inflatables) that can be used in close proximity to aluminum? I think most AF paint for inflatables has copper in it which you do not want next to alu in salt water. I have painted the bellows with Trilux to keep most of the barnacles off but as you can imagine it doesn't stay on all that well not being flexible. I wonder if you can add a flex agent to it like when they mix paint for car bumpers? This would help salt water boaters A LOT....any ideas.......
 
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