Bellows life span???????

[HoosierPoppa5.0]

hello everyone,<br /> I was just wondering how long is the life of the three bellows on a Mercrusier 5.0L AlfaOne I gen. They were replaced 3 years ago, before I got the boat. But I have water coming in from, what appears to be the exhaust bellows, Maybe shifter, but Im fairly sure it is not the u-joint bellows. Any pointers guys???? Thanks for whatever ya'll got.

 

[NateCCIE]

Re: Bellows life span???????

I don't think water can come in from the exhaust bellows.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: Bellows life span???????

Every two years is a good idea to replace all the bellows.

 

[ddraddy]

Re: Bellows life span???????

Check your Y pipe. My Sundancer with Alpha had a small leak, by the pipe looked ok until I took it off it had a leak

 

[HoosierPoppa5.0]

Re: Bellows life span???????

The y pipe is fine I put her in the water. And without the engine running, could hear water coming in. So I got my flashlight out and could see water coming in from inside the transom assembly. Water was coming in from the very bottom of INSIDE the transom assembly, so I think it to be reasonable to assume the exhaust bellows. But my inexperiance with outdrives, may lead me in the wrong direction. DonS.....? Any thoughts?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Bellows life span???????

The Y-pipe is Bolted to the Inner Transom AT the Very Bottom.......<br />If the Exhaust Bellows was GONE........ The Boat Won't Leak...........

 

[CaptRon66]

Re: Bellows life span???????

Bad exhaust bellows will not leak water into the boat. If you run with no exhaust bellows it will not leak. It's probably your driveshaft or shift bellows. Look for the drive shaft coming through into the coupler. A mirror on a stick might work here if you don't have access. saw a boat that had a bad seal around the transom assembly. Also ,I believe Mercruiser recommends changing bellows at 3 years. I have let mine go to 5 after inspecting for checking.

 

[HoosierPoppa5.0]

Re: Bellows life span???????

Is the best way to locate the leak, to remove the drive unit and look into the bell housing? If anyone has been through this process, please give me some pointers. Thanx

 

[Don S]

Re: Bellows life span???????

I give the Mercruiser, OMC, and Volvo SX/DP-S style drives 5 years on the bellows, only 2 years on the Volvo 290 style (270 thru DP-E drives).<br />The Merc bellows are pretty tough. But there are a lot of people that try to reuse that big rubber ring and that is a NO-NO. That is a one time use item. If it gets cut or out of place, you get water in the bellows just like having a hole in the bellows.<br />IF you are sure the water is coming in from the bottom of the transom shield, it could be the transom shield seal, or the seal ring between the exhaust Y and the transom sheild. I' seen a lot of the ears that the bolts go through on the bottom of the exhaust Y broken off, and that will cause a leak.<br />IF the leak is up higher, it could be the shift cable bellows, or the ujoint bellows (or seal ring)<br />Pull the drive and check the ujoint bellows for water. That's a quick and easy check.