Are aftermarket bellows good?

[jonny rotten]

thinking of changing bellows are aftermarket ok or are they cheap quality.Will they were out faster?Is there a good aftermarket brand I should use? mercuiser/alpha 1 gen 1

 

[ziggy]

Re: Are aftermarket bellows good?

imho, just use the proper oem part. drive shaft bellows aren't that much fun to R&R (semi labor intensive). sure would be a bummer to have to do the deed real soon again due to sub standard parts. aftermarket parts are copies of oem parts. who knows if they use the same materials to make them or not. probably not so they can make them cheaper...
while i don't know about the drive shaft bellows. i do know a buddy of mine replaced his exhaust bellows with a mallory copy. it failed within the same year of doing the replacement... that's a drag...

btw, cool screen name man. god save the queen...

 

[Brentathon]

Re: Are aftermarket bellows good?

I would only use Merc bellows because their price isn't too bad, and I wouldn't want to risk anything for such a labor-intensive and critical part.

 

[fmalott]

Re: Are aftermarket bellows good?

imho, just use the proper oem part. drive shaft bellows aren't that much fun to R&R (semi labor intensive). sure would be a bummer to have to do the deed real soon again due to sub standard parts. aftermarket parts are copies of oem parts. who knows if they use the same materials to make them or not. probably not so they can make them cheaper...
while i don't know about the drive shaft bellows. i do know a buddy of mine replaced his exhaust bellows with a mallory copy. it failed within the same year of doing the replacement... that's a drag...

X2 on what ziggy said. just to add there is good aftermarkets out there but how do you know which ones that's the question, if your going to buy aftermarkets do research first if you can

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Are aftermarket bellows good?

IMHO for the driveshaft bellows go OEM, the other two it is not so important.

 

[achris]

Re: Are aftermarket bellows good?

Used a GLM bellows ONCE, NEVER AGAIN!!! Far more difficult to fit, poorer quality and not that much cheaper. I have since only used Merc and not had any problems.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Are aftermarket bellows good?

Used a GLM bellows ONCE, NEVER AGAIN!!! Far more difficult to fit, poorer quality and not that much cheaper. I have since only used Merc and not had any problems.

they can't make a bell housing shift shaft and shift lever either. i tried one of them and had to file to fit. finally gave up and got oem. fit like a glove. no mods...
for a shade tree like me, imho, oem parts are the way to go. i give myself enough grief for lack of knowledge that i don't need the extra grief of sub standard parts.

 

[captk]

Re: Are aftermarket bellows good?

Like almost every one else go Oem not much more and a whole lot more peace of mind>

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Are aftermarket bellows good?

I'm a big believer (and user) of aftermarket parts. BUT, for the shift cable and drive bellows I would agree that Quicksilver is best.