Service Labor Charge - Gimbal, bellows, etc.

[Doubledog]

Looking at having my '00 Alpha One Gen II gimbal bearing replaced as well as the bellows. Received a service quote from a big dealership in town (near Gulf Shores) for labor of 7-8 hours. At $108 an hour, thats a tad rich but rather them do it than me.

Boat is freshwater use all its life until we bought it three weeks ago so there is almost no corrosion as I know stuck bolts can play a factor.

What do you estimate for an out the door price for parts and labor? Oh, just in case.... U-joints as well.

Thanks in advance,
Jr.

 

[dmanmtl]

Wow - that seems like a lot of time - I did the main bellows, bearing etc. by myself in under 3 hours - first time. On an alpha 1 gen 2....and I am not a mechanic (although pretty mechanically inclined)...I had to stop a few times to review the videos and other documentation I had collected on this job too.

 

[Doubledog]

We need to talk one day if you don't mind as I'm really thinking about doing the job myself. What do you think about this kit here for helping with the installation? I can borrow/rent a slide hammer from the local auto parts store and buy a flex shaft to tighten the rings outside the bellows. Lastly, I would build a stand for the outdrive to slide on and stabilize while removed. For the parts themselves, I would order OEM bellows (as I've heard aftermarket don't fit just right sometimes), but go aftermarket for the bearing and seal.

Any more advice you can offer is very much appreciated.

 

[Doubledog]

What do you think about this kit? Wonder where the bearing seal is at or does it need one? If I order this one, I'll go with the upgraded Sierra bearing and order the bellow expansion tool.

Please advise as I'm all ears.

 

[thumpar]

7-8 hours seems way too high. Someone experience should be able to do it in around 2 hours or less I would think. I did it on my first gen alpha. Total time maybe 2.5 hours. The only part I didn't do myself was drive the bearing in because I didn't have that tool. It was $65 for part and labor to drive it in at a shop.

 

[Doubledog]

Thank you for the response. Did you order OEM parts or aftermarket? Those mentioned in the kit above are Seirra. The ebay seller said that a grease seal is not required but after doing several trailer wheel bearing changes of late, I feel more better knowing its there.

I'm feeling more confident but ask a lot of you for assistance i.e. hand holding through this.

Guess I'll start this weekend with the small stuff like ordering the parts & tools as well as building the drive stand.

 

[thumpar]

I bought sierra but only because I was planning on selling the boat soon after. The grease seal isn't really a wear part so doesn't need to be replaced.

 

[Grub54891]

I bought sierra but only because I was planning on selling the boat soon after. The grease seal isn't really a wear part so doesn't need to be replaced.

Thanks for the heads up on the aftermarket parts....."

 

[skydiveD30571]

Most people suggest OEM for the bellows because they are so important. For the other parts, I've always had great luck with Sierra and I think you would too.

I did a gimbal/bellows change on my VP (basically identical job) and it would have taken about 3 hrs except I decided to change out the grease seal. Don't do this unless there is obviously something wrong with it. It's hard to get out and like thumpar said, it's not a routine replacement part.

 

[500dollar744ti]

Labor times don't go by how long it actually takes you, they go by the book time to do the job. Without knowing the book time for the job, there's no way to know if this an accurate quote or not.