Exhaust Bellows/Tube instalation (Alpha one)

[Benny67]

Has anybody ever changed the exhaust bellows for the tube type without disturbing the u joint boot and shift cable boot?

I am launching on Wednesday afternoon and had one of my exhaust bellows slip off at the bell housing end (didn't tighten the clamp) and instead of fighting with cleaning off the old glue and resetting it I was thinking of just going to the ones you just clamp on the transom end and they slip over without this clamping nonsense.

It's been a few weeks since I did the u joint and shift cable boots and kinda don't remember if it can or cannot be done without removing the u joint boot.

Anybody have any input?

 

[FreeBeeTony]

I believe the answer is yes.

 

[Benny67]

I was talking to the parts guy at my local marina and he thinks I might not even have to remove the drive.

I'll have a look tonight and update if it can be done or not. I was hoping to find someone who tried to do it in the past.

 

[Fishermark]

You should be able to do it by simply raising the drive.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Just leave it the way it is,.... Ya got 'bout the same thing now, as yer gonna have,.......

 

[Benny67]

Took about 10 min each drive....including removing the old boots

I really think the Sierra bellows are not as good as the mercruiser ones. Either they are shorter or the material doesn't bond like the mercruiser bellows. I know I cleaned it well and put enough glue on so I'm kinda suprised the boot came off.

Anyway, as long as these sleeves do the same job I'll never go back to the bellows again. I mean if they offer thsee as a replacement why make things more difficult?

 

[Benny67]

Maybe the glue was old cause my hands stink real bad from the new glue...not nearly as bad as when I glued them last time...probably wouldn't be a bad idea to check the shelf life next time I do this.

 

[Benny67]

Thought I would update this thread and add a comment about the difference in sound that's made with the bellows vs the tubes on the Alpha one.

I launched last week and have logged around 10 hrs of engine time already and I have to say that these tubes are considerably louder than it was before. Especially on acceleration and cruising speed.

If I was into sounding like a performance boat and liked tooling around with that loud throaty sound, then these tubes would have been exactly what I was looking for.

Next season I'm going back to the bellows...hope this helps others make the right decision on what to install on their boat.