Quality aftermarket bellows rebuild kit?

[littleape]

I'll be picking up a 2000 4.3L sterndrive boat so I believe it will be a Gen 2, wondering if there are any quality aftermarket kits for rebuilding the bellows, I want to do that before I put the boat in the water. I see a ton on eBay but I want to make sure I get something that fits correctly and isn't total garbage.


Thanks

 

[harringtondav]

I've used Sierra bellows kits several time with good results. As long as you will be staring the gimbal bearing in the face, I'd change that too. Again Sierra is the same Link Belt bearing as merc OEM

 

[Bt Doctur]

everything is being made overseas ,so pick one . Sierra has a warranty

 

[littleape]

OK Cool

I asked because I saw some on Amazon and people were complaining the bellows were too short.

 

[Rick Stephens]

No aftermarket for me. The rubber is harder.

 

[scoflaw]

OEM is made in china too

 

[poconojoe]

My opinion....with something so important as bellows, with the potential of sinking my boat, I wouldn't cheap out.

 

[TyeeMan]

Yep, that's pretty serious stuff back there, nothing but OEM for me. Also for water pump impellers, there's a visible difference between aftermarket and Mercruiser parts. The Mercruiser part just looks more robust.

 

[achris]

Although the parts are generally made in the same factory, it's all about the QC. Once a production run is done Merc get to pick through and take what they want. What they reject is offered to the aftermarket providers...

​​​​​​Now, do you really want a rejected product keeping your boat from sinking? Or trying to keep the engine cool? For a few extra bucks, I'll pay the insurance premium. OEM for most things for me. And BTW, OEM doesn't necessarily mean Merc GM was the supplier of the base engine, so GM engine parts are OEM.... Standard Motor Parts for the IAC, NGK for the spark plugs....etc. You see where I'm going with this.

Chris....

 

[Lou C]

As long as I can get OEM I for sure use them for bellows and impellers. I had to warrantee a Sierra fuel pump and I had to say their warrantee support was very good and fast, no questions asked except for a receipt. I could not get the OEM when I looked but then after I figured out what the original Carter pump part # is for the pump, I found it on Jegs and a few other websites for $75 or so vs the OEM price of about 226, even the Sierra was more than the Carter (Sierra was about 100). The Carter used to be made in USA now is made in S. Korea.

BTW, I bought a set of AC MR 43s, 2 were made in Mexico and 4, were made in China! Maybe next time I try NGK.

https://www.jegs.com/i/Carter/180/M60201/10002/-1

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... On my tinbarge with the 4.3LX / Alpha 1, I put sierra bellows on it when I put it together, 'n again 10 years later, they're 'bout that age now,.....

When I changed 'em, there were no tears or problems, but once off, the rubber bloated out quite abit,.....

 

[stonyloam]

OEM for sure. You can save a few bucks by not changing the exhaust bellow, if it is in decent shape. If your raw water hose is in good shape (no cracks), you don’t need to replace that either.

 

[littleape]

Thanks guys

I've never even seen an outdrive up close before so I'll have to do some studying. Looks like taking it off is pretty straight forward. If it's off I should be able to tell what needs replacing and what doesn't right?

 

[Grub54891]

Thanks guys

I've never even seen an outdrive up close before so I'll have to do some studying. Looks like taking it off is pretty straight forward. If it's off I should be able to tell what needs replacing and what doesn't right?

Replace all of the bellows, water pickup, gimble bearing. And trim senders if there are any signs of the wires going bad. Lower shift cable gets replaced at the same time as the bellows.
Nothing worse in my opinion than having to go back in there and replace parts one at a time.
From then on it's just regular seasonal maintenance.

 

[harringtondav]

OK Cool

I asked because I saw some on Amazon and people were complaining the bellows were too short.

Both Merc and Sierra exhaust bellows could be a bit longer, but they are the same length.