complete bellows job

Not the answer you're looking for, but one must be mindful of how quickly they say "bellows job" lest it be misconstrued for something else. :)
 
You can have it fast. You can have it cheap. You can have it right. Pick two.

Add to that job, where is the water pump on that model.
 
If you do it yourself the cost for the tools are more than the parts. Unless you can rent the tools. In Indianapolis I did not have that luxury.
 
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From a bellows replacement standpoint, I don't think there is really much difference between an Alpha I Gen II and Bravo I or Bravo III, the shift cable is a little different, but the 3 bellows - u-joint, exhaust and shift cable along with the gimbal bearing are not - a little bigger than the Alpha, but the procedure to change them is the same. I would make a few phone calls, but when I did my Alpha two years ago I got quotes in the $1200 - $1500 range, this was from three separate Mercruiser dealers in the Charlotte NC area. I have heard prices on things like this can vary widely in different areas of the country. I would think Feb in Wisconsin would be a good time to get this work done when the dealers aren't so busy.

This included the following using Mercruiser OEM parts:

U Joint bellows
Exhaust bellows
Shift cable which included shift cable bellows
Gimbal bearing

I decided to tackle the job myself, I did not need a new gimbal bearing and unless your bellows have leaked and damaged it or it is the greasable type and you didn't grease it, you probably don't need one either. I also chose to go with an exhaust tube vs bellows. On newer Bravo / large engines this is standard, so you might already have a tube. In addition I replaced the trim limit / sender, mine were bad and it's much easier to replace them while you are doing the bellows. So $400 in parts and a few special tools and a weekend of knuckle busting it was done. It really is a DIY job if you are game and especially if you can enlist a helper. A few things are hard to do on your own and with the weight of a Bravo. If you choose to pay it done, just shop around a little and verify exactly what they are doing and what kind of parts they are using. I saved about 20% on the parts by going with Sierra which worked out fine.
 
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Thanks for the good info.
Water pump is on the engine so don't need to worry about that.
Never had water leaking so gimbal is good and has been greased every year since I have the drive pulled and inspected annually, also grease u joints, and check alignment.
The only reason I'm thinking of bellows is they look a little dry rotted. Nothing major but the boat will be sitting in the water this summer instead of a lift. So of course paranoia is setting in about them leaking. I don't recall if they always have that look or not?
 
Are they original? A lot of the life of bellows depends on how the boat is stored, in water or not, salt or freshwater. My boat has always been on a lift at my house or in dry storage, rarely sits in the water overnight - my original bellows lasted 15yrs and even then the u-joint and exhaust bellows seemed in pretty good shape and where not leaking. The shift cable bellows however was torn and leaking so I just did them all. FYI, the shift cable bellows is almost always the first to go. I was willing to push it on mine since it is never stored in the water, if I left it in the water I would probably have done them sooner. The damage that is done when the bellows leak is not worth the savings to defer the maintenance.
 
If in doubt, take them out. I did my Alpha for less than $100, and had to buy an $18 tool for bell housing removal. Some heavy lifting, but not to bad. I split the out drive, did the water impeller at same time, and mounted upper and lower back on individually. Lot lighter that way.
 
Here is a write up I did after I replaced my bellows, it will give you an idea of what you are up against. This was an Alpha I Gen II.

List of repairs done:
-Replace raw water pump impeller
-Check/adjust engine alignment
-Check gimbal bearing
-Install new transom tilt switch
-Replace trim limit/sender swtiches
-Replace u-joint, exhaust and shift cable bellows
-Replace shift cable


Day1:
-Pulled outdrive
-Replaced water pump
-Repainted lower half of outdrive
-Inspected gimbal bearing / checked engine alignment
-Installed transom tilt switch


Day2:
Dis-assembled everything - removed bellhousing, old bellows, shift cable.
Cleaned up bell housing.


Day3:
-Installed new trim sensors
-Installed new u-joint bellows
-Installed new exhaust tube
-Installed new shift cable / bellows
-Installed new water hose
-Installed new gear lube hose
-Installed gear lube transom fitting (broken during disassembly


Total cost, including the special tools I needed $413.


Special tools:
Hinge pin removal tool
Shift cable socket tool
Bellows retainer ring install tool
Alignment tool
- Total cost $100.36


I used Sierra parts, really went back on forth on this, it wasn't about cost (there is about $100 difference), it was just I can't see paying more for the same thing. I was able to physically compare the Sierra / OEM parts side by side and I just could not see any difference.


The two parts that prompted this repair where the shift cable bellows (leaking) and the trim limit switch (could not trim up) - the u-joint and exhaust bellows still looked to be in decent shape.


This is a hard job! Not technically, but physically. Things are very hard to access, stuck together, heavy and dirty. I did all of the work alone except the shift cable - I had help feeding it through the transom. It is about impossible to get it fed around the Y-pipe without a helper.


Some final thoughts:
-You cannot do this job without the tools I listed above - you will drive yourself nuts and probably damage your new parts.


-Get a good flexible shaft screw driver and every conceivable swivel socket combination you can think of for the clamps, you will need them.


-Take pictures of everything, you won't remember things when you go to re-assemble.


-I went with an exhaust tube this time. I hear it will make the engine sound a little louder, but is was easy to install and saved $ on the special tool


-Be careful removing the oil line and water hose when removing the bell housing - just cut them and replace with new. If not you risk breaking the plastic fittings that pass these through the transom. Depending on the boat you could have a real problem replacing a $15part due to the tight access behind the engine. I broke my oil fitting - took another 3hrs of removing stuff to get it replaced - on most boats the oil cooler and steering has to come loose to access it. I real PIA.


So in the end, I'm tired and a little banged up, but my wallet still has the $1000 labor in it and I feel a pretty good sense of accomplishment. I am not looking forward to doing this job again anytime soon.


Last remaining item is fine tuning the shift cable adjustment next weekend with the boat in the water.
 
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I just did my lower shift cables before winterizing. Did you tighten them flush to the housing? Manual says no more than 2 threads showing. Mine are at about 1.5 threads showing. (I used the perfect seal on he threads) My old ones appeared tightened to the housing. I'll install drives in couple months and adjust cables per the manual and u-tube. Probably close already. I did the 6 inch measure already for he lower cable. Just need to readjust upper.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I left a thread or two showing on mine and used Perfect Seal. I think the reason is so the shift cable nut/bushing does not seize to the bell housing. Mine was a real PIA to get loose.
 
BillK2632 said:
From a bellows replacement standpoint, I don't think there is really much difference between an Alpha I Gen II and Bravo I or Bravo III, the shift cable is a little different, but the 3 bellows - u-joint, exhaust and shift cable along with the gimbal bearing are not - a little bigger than the Alpha, but the procedure to change them is the same. I would make a few phone calls, but when I did my Alpha two years ago I got quotes in the $1200 - $1500 range, this was from three separate Mercruiser dealers in the Charlotte NC area. I have heard prices on things like this can vary widely in different areas of the country. I would think Feb in Wisconsin would be a good time to get this work done when the dealers aren't so busy.

This included the following using Mercruiser OEM parts:

U Joint bellows
Exhaust bellows
Shift cable which included shift cable bellows
Gimbal bearing

I decided to tackle the job myself, I did not need a new gimbal bearing and unless your bellows have leaked and damaged it or it is the greasable type and you didn't grease it, you probably don't need one either. I also chose to go with an exhaust tube vs bellows. On newer Bravo / large engines this is standard, so you might already have a tube. In addition I replaced the trim limit / sender, mine were bad and it's much easier to replace them while you are doing the bellows. So $400 in parts and a few special tools and a weekend of knuckle busting it was done. It really is a DIY job if you are game and especially if you can enlist a helper. A few things are hard to do on your own and with the weight of a Bravo. If you choose to pay it done, just shop around a little and verify exactly what they are doing and what kind of parts they are using. I saved about 20% on the parts by going with Sierra which worked out fine.
Click to expand...

Apologies for hijacking -
My shift cable bellows got damaged and has to be replaced. Is it a given the shift cable has to be replaced when the bellows leaks?
 
I wouldn't say it's a given, but you have to remove the shift cable to replace the shift cable bellows, so unless the cable is only a couple of years old, you might as well put a new one in.
 
Bravo bellows are super simple to change, and really no special tools required. standard size hex bit removes bell housing. Attach bellows to the transom side first, no stretching necessary. Cut the rubber oil line close to the bellhousing, it will still be fine being an inch shorter. Shift cable has a gasket,undo the nut with a deep socket. Then just tighten it up with a new gasket. There's a groove in the bell housing the driveshaft bellows seats into, then just tap the retaining collar in. JR Marine has a good video on this. The alignment bar is something every DIY should own.
 
Oh boy I think this will be over my mechanical ability. But thanks for all the info I'm going to check around some of the marinas for pricing but at least it sounds like Bravo bellows might be cheaper than alpha because of being less intensive.
 
Same here. Fused to housing almost. I used easy outs and luckily it worked.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Awesome info guys! I'm going to do this job in a few weeks during my next vacation.
 
This thread should be tagged with "v-Drive vs I/O". Its one of the maintenance repairs on I/O's that I don't miss at all now that I am in the v-Drive world.
 
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