Bellows new old stock, how old is too old?

[littleape]

If the oem rubber bellows is still in manufacturer packaging how old is too old before the rubber starts going bad and should not be installed. I'm referring to mercruiser drive shaft bellows.

 

[Lewis1111]

I just blew the dust off a u joint bellows last week and installed it. Went on with no issue. How old are you talking? I would think as longs as it has been sitting inside a facility and not out in the cold it would be fine.

 

[DouglasW]

That's a good question. I would suspect that marine bellows are made of synthetic rubber, like Neoprene which does not degrade as fast or easily as natural rubber. I believe that auto tires are still made of natural rubber because Neoprene is too slick. I may be wrong about that though.