exhaust bellow pulled off

[douglas nc]

hi, in new so please bear with me.just got back from the lake after testing bellow repair, hit a stump and messed up prop, but didnt vibrate too bad so we stayed one more nite. trim isnt correct ,and i had to guess at proper angle while on the water, but plan to try to adjust it. anyway, just noticed the exhaust bellow was pulled lose from the bell housing, and was woundering if it came lose while on the water, and if so; why didnt i take on water?also could i have hurt my engine if it did? cpamp looked mangled as if something caught it, but i cant see what could have unless it was the stump... any imput on this would be appreciated. got a new clamp and some bellow glue, and put it back on, but dont trust it staying on now..lol thanks douglas

 

[highaltitude]

Re: exhaust bellow pulled off

the clamp must be positioned toward the bottom of the drive when installed-it might also be a good idea to leave the drive in the down position for a while after the bellows is installed to allow the glue to set up.

 

[douglas nc]

Re: exhaust bellow pulled off

did that, thanks for your reply would running it with lose bellow harm my engine? wasnt any water in engine compartment, so im woundering if it came loose in lake, or bringing it home. thanks again

 

[flashback]

Re: exhaust bellow pulled off

In therory you could run it without any bellows at all, it would be a little noisy tho .......

 

[achris]

Re: exhaust bellow pulled off

For a few years in the 70's and 80's Merc ran the V8s with just an exhaust tube, not bellows. The tube just pointed the exhaust in the right direction, secured to the gimbal housing but not the bell housing. The reason no water got in the boat is because the exhaust bellows floods when you shut the engine off anyway. It's the exhaust pipe attached to the riser inside the boat that stops you getting that sinking feeling.<br /><br />Chris............

 

[douglas nc]

Re: exhaust bellow pulled off

i see... then its safe to consider the bellow comming lose when i hit the stumps.. thanks for your insite..

 

[flashback]

Re: exhaust bellow pulled off

My boat is a 1980 with the tube that <br />Achris describes, I don't really know why merc changed to bellows, as the tube seems to work very well, and I would imagine the engine may even breath a little easier due to less back pressure on the exhaust......