I'm reassembling my Alpha One outdrive after replacing the ujoint, shift cable and exhaust bellows and water intake tube. I ordered a kit with all all parts from a marine supply house, which included a heater hose as a replacement for the water intake tube. After a half dozen failed attempts I still couldn't get the water intake tube on without kinking. Several online posts offered different techniques for getting the hose on without kinking - none worked. Some opinions stated that a a good quality heater hose is approved by Mercruiser, while others stated an OE part is the way to go. Finally I ordered an OE hose: See the difference below:
The heater hose kinked with virtually no force. The Mercruiser OE hose did not kink despite heavy force and installed perfectly the first time.
I'm furious about this and wondering about the about the quality of the bellows and other parts ordered as part of this kit. Are the stainless steel clamps from Mexico going to rust out? Will the bellows last? I'll probably wind up replacing all the aftermarket stuff next winter just to ease my mind.
There's a lesson here... buy OE.
The heater hose kinked with virtually no force. The Mercruiser OE hose did not kink despite heavy force and installed perfectly the first time.
I'm furious about this and wondering about the about the quality of the bellows and other parts ordered as part of this kit. Are the stainless steel clamps from Mexico going to rust out? Will the bellows last? I'll probably wind up replacing all the aftermarket stuff next winter just to ease my mind.
There's a lesson here... buy OE.
