Bellows Life Span

[FreeBeeTony]

I have owned this boat for 3yrs............the bellows are still in good shape, not sure when they were replaced last.

If they are not worn/cracked.........no need to replace?

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Bellows Life Span

Ahh yes, and how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center?

 

[Don S]

Re: Bellows Life Span

Rule of thumb for salt water boats is 5 years. You might get more, but when you miss the limit, it gets very expensive, very quickly.

 

[Robj]

Re: Bellows Life Span

Think preventative maintenance. You replace things before failure because when the fail the cost of the failure is much greater than if you would have replaced the item earlier. My Volvo calls for I think every 2 years for the drive bellows. The exhaust one does not really matter because if it fails no big deal. Drive bellows fails, it can sink the boat and it is worth spending the $50 to buy a new one.

Have a great day,

Rob.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Bellows Life Span

fall of '07, i found water intrusion into my bellows at end of year service. was just as well. i had been wondering about their integrity since purchase in the fall of '06 anyways (drive pulled by dealer for inspection at purchase so failure occurred in summer of '07 sometime). had been considering replacing them on general principles. all i can say is that, after putting a new one on, i feel much better, knowing what the facts are.... it was expensive too. quite a few parts needed replaced because of the water intrusion. (gimble brg. back to drive gear brgs.) coulda been worse. it didn't explode or sink me from lack of service. so felt i got away sinful. + had a good time learning here at iboats (and my trusty oem service manual of corse) + doing the repair...

 

[Bondo]

Re: Bellows Life Span

Ayuh,....

I've gotten 8 years(about 800hrs) out of the Sierra transom kit that was installed at the refit....
It's All getting replaced this winter,... Not that it Leaks, but it's getting old, Too old for me...
It'll be another Sierra kit, with a Mercruiser shift cable...

 

[mikeneal]

Re: Bellows Life Span

I have a 99 Volvo Penta and have anew bellows I plan on replacement in the next couple weeks. Looked fine at last annual drive removal inspection, but on borrowed time. Bellows are kinda like risers, not "if" they fail, just when and it is not like they will go on sale next year and be cheaper, so why risk trying to get every last second of life out of them and risk major failure costs.

 

[bandit86]

Re: Bellows Life Span

bought the boat and had a good one for 4 years no prob, the marina replaced it cause it was getting cracks, the new one lasted half a season

pulled the outdrive cause I heard water dribbling when filling the engine with antifreeze, bad bellogh

 

[mthieme]

Re: Bellows Life Span

Last season I noticed a pinhole in the water transfer hose. So this spring I did a bellows kit as long it all had to come apart.
This was the original from 1989 in my Cobra outdrive.
Needless to say, the bellows was due - had some superficial cracking and should have been replaced already.
Everything else looked good...good old girl!

 

[Heckas]

Re: Bellows Life Span

I'm new to this forum and as a boat owner in general. The bellows on my boat has to be replaced. The boat has been sitting for a while and I am not sure if they dried up after the boat was last in the water. The holes are prtty significant so I think / hope so. Here are a few questions.

1. What other things should I check while replacing the bellows?
2. Is there a big difference in quality between different bellows? If so, which ones do you recommend?