2000 Alpha one gen 2 bellows kit... top quality?

[guyjusthere]

I tore my shift bellows and will probably just change them all. All forum searches didn't pull up the info i wanted...

Are the $90 ebay or amazon bellows kits terrible quality?

My boat is freshwater, should I change the shift cable too(540 lake hours)?

Also, dumb question. a 4.3 mercruiser 2bbl - Is my ignition a push to choke? Or is is the auto choke?

THANKS IN ADVANCED. I am new to boats, but good with cars. Should be fun.

 

[guyjusthere]

Re: 2000 Alpha one gen 2 bellows kit... top quality?

Should I also change my broken trim sender (broken internal contact brush)? Good places to purchase?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: 2000 Alpha one gen 2 bellows kit... top quality?

trim and tilt are OEM mercruiser items, check local dealers.
top quality,take your pick.nothings made here anymore.
Mexico, Israel, China, Japan

 

[Don S]

Re: 2000 Alpha one gen 2 bellows kit... top quality?

OEM parts may come from off shore, but they are also held to higher quality standards as far as materials, specs, dimensions, etc. parts that don't meet those specs are sold by the aftermarket bunch, unless they have some standards to, and it goes down hill from there. So, when you buy by price alone, well, don't expect the top quality parts.

 

[guyjusthere]

Re: 2000 Alpha one gen 2 bellows kit... top quality?

I agree with you both, but have you ever used either aftermarket? Are they complete crap? I mean your talking about $190 vs $100

 

[Don S]

Re: 2000 Alpha one gen 2 bellows kit... top quality?

Yes I have, for a while anyway. The shop I went to work for used aftermarket stuff exclusivly. After using it, and finding the jobs took longer because things weren't just right, I went to OEM, and the rest followed.
I used a Mallory kit one time to update all the old bellows on a guys boat (he wanted the cheaper kit). Did the job in the fall while winterizing, come spring the exhaust bellows was in pieces. Never went to the water. Had another kit on the shelf and that bellow had a tear in it as well. Never opened. Last time I installed anything Mallory on a boat, since I already had problem with some of their other items.
If I had to go aftermarket, I would use Sierra, but nothing else.

 

[series60]

Re: 2000 Alpha one gen 2 bellows kit... top quality?

I tore my shift bellows and will probably just change them all.

Replace them all while you are there.

Are the $90 ebay or amazon bellows kits terrible quality?

Crap shoot. Personally I use OEM but they are all made off-shore.

My boat is freshwater, should I change the shift cable too(540 lake hours)?

You will have to decide that when you get into it. Sure is a lot easier while everything is apart. I would.

Also, dumb question. a 4.3 mercruiser 2bbl - Is my ignition a push to choke? Or is is the auto choke?

Now are you referring to the ignition switch on the dash? If so then I have seen some that push in on the switch to activate the choke. There are some chokes on boats that operate from the helm (there might be a button on the shifter/throttle lever on older boats). Chokes in general are automatic but they can fail like anything. Best I can suggest is to run the engine on the muffs up to temp and see if the choke is working.