Had my bellows replaced....

[jstutz101]

Ive got a 1991 Bayliner Capri 2050 that I bought the boat from the original owner last year. I knew when I purchased the boat that it had the original bellows but the only sign of wear was a leaking water hose. I took in this week to out local boat shop to have them replaced just to be on the safe side. They saved all the old parts in a box that they left in the boat.

I have to say the bellows look fine! Im guessing this boat hasnt been in the water much. The only trouble looks like dry rot on the water hose. They also replaced the shift cable, anode, trim sender and wire for $830. Does that seem resonable?

 

[JustJason]

Re: Had my bellows replaced....

Sounds reasonable enough.

I have to say the bellows look fine

I have a customer that thinks everypart on his boat looks fine to him too, and I have to justify or explain every single part 1 at a time. I understand, he doesn't want to get fleeced, he wants to educate himself, it's part of building rapport... but man is it a pain in the ***.

Bellow is part of preventative maintanence. They keep water out of the boat up until the point that they start leaking. If they start leaking, especially the ujoint bellow, the boat will sink very quickly, so it doesn't matter if it's a trailered only boat or not.

 

[jstutz101]

Re: Had my bellows replaced....

Sounds reasonable enough.



I have a customer that thinks everypart on his boat looks fine to him too, and I have to justify or explain every single part 1 at a time. I understand, he doesn't want to get fleeced, he wants to educate himself, it's part of building rapport... but man is it a pain in the ***.

Bellow is part of preventative maintanence. They keep water out of the boat up until the point that they start leaking. If they start leaking, especially the ujoint bellow, the boat will sink very quickly, so it doesn't matter if it's a trailered only boat or not.

Im still glad I had them replaced for piece of mind. I was just surprised when I could actually hold the old bellows in my hand and bend them back and forth - not even a crack. Those things are built tough!

BTW, took the boat out yesterday and everything actually worked! (except for the depth finder but thats another story ) The shift cable is definetly tighter which makes for less "crunch" when put into gear.

I almost afraid of whats going to break next!

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Had my bellows replaced....

P.M. can be costly.I had a 32ft with twin Volvo 280 drives.I replaced the bellow on both and did a ton of work on it to make it good.1987.
I check them yearly. The port developed a crack after 5 years and the other lasted till 2 years ago.Then I replaced it P.M. J

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Had my bellows replaced....

I had a 1996 Cobra SX with the original bellows. The owner never was told they wear out.
I could poke my finger through the u-joint bellows.
After i showed him that he was shocked and had me do a complete drive service.
The gear lube had never been changed either.
He was lucky that's for sure.
Now he is one of my best customers.... I do all his service from now on.

His bill for the complete job including a tune up,oil change,filters,drive,ect was about 1100....he was happy...

 

[K9Deuce]

Re: Had my bellows replaced....

That is a good price for everything you had done. I think its a realy good price. I have had bellows that looked good at the start of a season but a few months later one split. If they have been in for several years it well worth it to replace them esp if your pulling a drive to replace the water hose. It's better to replace them before you have a problem. Trust me if you got water in that u-joint housing your repair bill would be alot higher then that. I look at Bellow replacement as insurance against a higher repair bill and down time.