bellows replacement dons advice

[delsol]

i got a question. i was at the dealer today who's putting in my motor . he has made progress but its taking forever. and i lost faith in him. the good news motor is about ready to go in.
the question . i posted bellows question this week here but i need advice
he put a gimble bearing in and said bellow's looked ok and so did shift cable. he said before he puts engine in he will check again..my question is if my boat sat in the rain for over 5 years without the drive on can these rubber parts still be good??? i am worried about this. if you get a bellows failure will the boat sink like a omc boot??????
thanks in advance
bob/philly

 

[bruceb58]

Re: bellows replacement dons advice

If the bellows are 5 years old, I would replace it. Since the drive is already off, it makes life a little easier now as well.

Yes, if the bellows leak, your boat can sink.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: bellows replacement dons advice

Five years old at least = replacement.....
Yes it can sink your boat......
Not super quick, but it can......
Not to mention the co$t of water intrusion into your drive......​

 

[Don S]

Re: bellows replacement dons advice

A bellows failure is any hole in it that allows water in. It starts off as a very small hole letting water in the bellows. There is also a small hole in the transom shield that should let the water go into the boat. But it normally gets plugged up with grease and corrosion and doesn't. So the water has to go thru the gimbal bearing. Now as you may know, water causes rust and rust on precision bearing usually causes the bearing to be rough which in turn causes them to be NOISY. So if you hear a growling noise coming from the back of your boat, you may have a bad gimbal bearing or ujoints.... also bearings. At this point, pulling the drive and inspecting is necessary. Don't keep running it till it pukes.
Now in the process of this water getting into the bellows because of a hole (weather check or someone with a wild screwdriver) the water is coming into the boat thru the bleed hole or the bearing. Both will be slow leaks and even the smallest automatic bilge pump could easily keep up with it. As the leak gets worse, the water comes in faster (still not dangerous by any stretch) and a small pump can still keep up with it. But only till the battery gets too low.
So here is the thing. If you keep the boat in the water, check the bilge. Listen to the pump. If it keeps coming on every 5 min. then you have a leak somewhere and you need to find out where.
Without a bilge pump, my guess is a 1" crack in the bellows would probably take a 24' boat without a bilge pump a couple of weeks to go down. But it would show signs there was a problem a long time before it sank. Listing, sitting low in the water, and serious neglect by the owner.

 

[delsol]

Re: bellows replacement dons advice

thanks guys i never keep my boat in water. don would you replace it if he says its good..i dont have much faith in them and a ton of money in the boat. i feel i can replace it myself later..please advise
thanks bob

 

[delsol]

Re: bellows replacement dons advice

thanks guys i never keep my boat in water. don would you replace it if he says its good..i dont have much faith in them and a ton of money in the boat. i feel i can replace it myself later..please advise
thanks bob
this boat sat 5-8 years and he said it looked ok?????????

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: bellows replacement dons advice

Replace it or roll the dice.......
We can't see it or feel it, but the age of it says replacement to me......
I would not gamble my drive on a $50 part........​

 

[Don S]

Re: bellows replacement dons advice

Let them put it all back together with the old bellows so they can verify the shift works, the trim works and all that. Then when everything works, take it home and replace the bellows yourself.
Since the boat sat for 5 years without a bellows, means to me the bellows was probably in use for a few years previous to that and may actually be 10 years old

 

[delsol]

Re: bellows replacement dons advice

thanks don you are the best man. great advice i will do that.
my friend and his wife took a cruise to Alaska . they were in your town and sent me picts it was beautiful. Ketchikan, Alaska . i enclosed a pict my friends took everytime i read your posts don . i think of what a nice place this is . as i am in the city . like n.y. but phila
bob