Bellows Job

[rondds]

hi all
a buddy of mine has twin Merc 350 RWC I/Os equipped with bravo 2 diesel drives. the drives are off and the marina is storing them. the boat is on land. he wanted them to do the bellows while things are easily accessible and was quoted 6 hours labor on each engine at $110/hour. forget the labor rate, is this generally a 6 hour drive PER engine if the boat is already on land and the drives are off?

also, how difficult a job is this for someone who is pretty good at getting grease under his finger nails?

 

[SR Tech]

6 hrs per drive sounds a bit high.

I've done a Alpha gen2 bellows job in 3hrs, and that has an exhaust bellows unlike the bravo models.

Getting the drive off really only takes 5 mins if your familiar with what your doing. The drive really doesn't have much to do with the bellows at all.

A bellows job takes a lot of PATIENTS, if your going to do it i'd recommend getting a shop manual so you can get proper placement of the hose clams, plus you'll need a special driver plate to pop the U-joint sleeve in. Maybe the marina will let you borrow it for the day or something.

Bottom Line, 6 hours is to much per motor, 6 for both sounds better maybe 7. Its not an easy job, and your kuckles will get busted up.

Hope that Helped

 

[rondds]

chris
thanks a million! rudy's a maxum owner but we'll let him monitor the board!