Self-Healing Bellows

jmb23802

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Messages
79
Put new Volvo Penta bellows on my boat in Spring 2015 and found water in the bellows when I winterized the boat today. Are bellows only supposed to last two seasons? What are the chances something weird happened and I will be fine if I check everything closely and make sure it is clean before I put it all back together? I know people around here that have ran over 10 years on a set of bellows. What gives? Starting to hate boating - I have seriously spent more hours working on the boat than using it - thought I was moving past that point this year but this is a setback as I expected to get at least 5 years out of these.

For reference, this is a boat with 265 hours that has seen only 80 hours of use in three full seasons of mid-western fresh water lakes only on these bellows. Boat has been trailered out at the end of every day and stored indoors year 'round except for a one week camping vacation each year. I take the outdrive off every season to service the u-joints, gimbal bearing and check the alignment. The bellows look to be in great condition everywhere I can see and I don't see any issues with the bellows lip and leading edge of the bearing carrier on the outdrive. Not sure what gives here. No sign of any damage at all that I can see. Also, looks like the water came in the bellows vs. the gimbal bearing as the grease inside the gimbal bearing still looks clean so I don't think it is the gimbal grease tube. We also don't leave the outdrive in full up position - typically only put it about half way up when trailering and storing. Baffled.
 

tpenfield

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Jul 18, 2011
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Put new Volvo Penta bellows on my boat in Spring 2015 and found water in the bellows when I winterized the boat today. Are bellows only supposed to last two seasons? What are the chances something weird happened and I will be fine if I check everything closely and make sure it is clean before I put it all back together? I know people around here that have ran over 10 years on a set of bellows. What gives? Starting to hate boating - I have seriously spent more hours working on the boat than using it - thought I was moving past that point this year but this is a setback as I expected to get at least 5 years out of these.

For reference, this is a boat with 265 hours that has seen only 80 hours of use in three full seasons of mid-western fresh water lakes only on these bellows. Boat has been trailered out at the end of every day and stored indoors year 'round except for a one week camping vacation each year. I take the outdrive off every season to service the u-joints, gimbal bearing and check the alignment. The bellows look to be in great condition everywhere I can see and I don't see any issues with the bellows lip and leading edge of the bearing carrier on the outdrive. Not sure what gives here. No sign of any damage at all that I can see. Also, looks like the water came in the bellows vs. the gimbal bearing as the grease inside the gimbal bearing still looks clean so I don't think it is the gimbal grease tube. We also don't leave the outdrive in full up position - typically only put it about half way up when trailering and storing. Baffled.

This post may be better in the engine section of the forum rather than general boating, but to answer your questions . . .

Are bellows only supposed to last two seasons? No. . . they can last a long time

What are the chances something weird happened and I will be fine if I check everything closely and make sure it is clean before I put it all back together? 2 chances . . . Slim and none

I know people around here that have ran over 10 years on a set of bellows. What gives? I would think that something pre-mature happened, or the installation 2 years ago was not done properly. You will want to give it a thorough inspection and take everything apart, if necessary, to identify what went wrong. At the end of 2016, did you take the outdrive off and was everything OK?

I hate doing bellows . . . kind of like brain surgery . . . everything has to go right and the results are so critical. I did the bellows on my Mercruisers 2 years ago . . . thankfully, everything has been dry inside when I took the outdrives off.


Starting to hate boating - I have seriously spent more hours working on the boat than using it - thought I was moving past that point this year but this is a setback as I expected to get at least 5 years out of these. You should lower your expectations on boat maintenance hours vs. usage hours . . . sorry to say. It always seems that once you get over one hurdle another one is right there.

I do like the title of your thread . . . :) if only it could be true.
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,030
I have never replaced the bellows on a V-P, however, I have done it on a Mercruiser. It is a PIA as the clamps need to be in the correct places, and the bellows pulled onto their sealing surfaces just right. Once done correctly, it will ot leak, and will last a decade, under ideal circumstances.

To my novice ear, it sounds like you have a leak, where the bellows joins the outdrive. On Mercruisers, a special glue is used to seal the bellows to the outdrive. It is then clamped, as well.

Just my .02
 

BRICH1260

Lieutenant
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Messages
1,342
Unless the bellows itself was cut or torn somehow, it has to be the connections/seal at one end or the other. Hang in there, don't get discouraged with the boat. You'll figure it out.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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Jul 23, 2011
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Volvo recommends bellows replacement every two years

As Chris mentioned, the clamps need to ve clocked. Refer to the factory manual
 

jmb23802

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Messages
79
Thanks for the replies. After getting over my initial frustration with the situation, I ordered the parts and am setting up for the bellows replacement this coming weekend. Hopefully, I will find the "smoking gun" when I get into it and can address the problem during the replacement.
 

dypcdiver

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Nov 1, 2005
Messages
1,016
There is a groove on the gimbal housing and a ridge inside the bellows that locates into the groove. The large hose clamp should be secured over this ridge/groove but critically, not tightened too much, just firm and snug. The clip of the hose clamp has a habit of cutting the bellows if over enthusiastically tightened
 

skydiveD30571

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Feb 13, 2012
Messages
1,042
There is a groove on the gimbal housing and a ridge inside the bellows that locates into the groove. The large hose clamp should be secured over this ridge/groove but critically, not tightened too much, just firm and snug. The clip of the hose clamp has a habit of cutting the bellows if over enthusiastically tightened

I'll second this from first-hand experience. It is extremely important to fit the groove and do NOT over-tighten. The manual calls for a pretty small torque setting.
 

Lou C

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
11,798
And in some manuals I have seen that you are supposed to position the hose clamp at the 2:00 position, presumably to prevent it from damaging the bellows when you steer or trim up. And yes that rib in the sealing surface of the bellow must fit into the groove in the gimble housing flange....
​The Volvo SX bellows is very similar to the OMC Cobra bellows, and in the OMC manual they advise using OMC gasket sealer on the flange that the bellows installs onto and the clamp of that hose clamp, is positioned at the 2:00 position or right between the manifold for the trim lines and the grease tube that is for the gimble bearing....
 
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