I had to change the exhaust bellows out on my 97 Volvo 7.4 DP-S. I searched the internet for a anyone that could tell me if I could do this without tearing out the outdrive. I could not find out if this was possible so I figured I would post how I did it without having to pull the outboard.
O
n some outboards the bellow has a clamp on both ends. I was lucky that mine only had a clamp on the boat side. The other was held in place with a large snap ring. I cut the bellow in half and removed the clamp on the boat side. I was able to easily pull this end off. The outboard end required me to cut the bellow close to the edge of the lip. I then used a pair of snap ring pliers to remove the retaining snap ring. The rest of the bellows came out easy after that.
Installing new bellows.
I used gasket sealer to lube the end of the bellows to allow it to go in easy. I then took the large snap ring and placed in my table vise. I squeezed
the snap ring all the way to the closed position. I then took some heavy string and tied it in the closed position. The bellow slid right into the outboard and I was able to insert the snap ring through the bellows. Once in place I cut the string and it opened into the grove. I then lowered the outboard half way to make it easier to put on the boat end.
I tightened the clamp and she was done.
Just though this might help someone else that just needs to install the exhaust bellows. The drive shaft bellows also needs to be replaced soon but has not holes in it. So I will weight until this winter to take this one on.
O
n some outboards the bellow has a clamp on both ends. I was lucky that mine only had a clamp on the boat side. The other was held in place with a large snap ring. I cut the bellow in half and removed the clamp on the boat side. I was able to easily pull this end off. The outboard end required me to cut the bellow close to the edge of the lip. I then used a pair of snap ring pliers to remove the retaining snap ring. The rest of the bellows came out easy after that.
Installing new bellows.
I used gasket sealer to lube the end of the bellows to allow it to go in easy. I then took the large snap ring and placed in my table vise. I squeezed
the snap ring all the way to the closed position. I then took some heavy string and tied it in the closed position. The bellow slid right into the outboard and I was able to insert the snap ring through the bellows. Once in place I cut the string and it opened into the grove. I then lowered the outboard half way to make it easier to put on the boat end.
I tightened the clamp and she was done.
Just though this might help someone else that just needs to install the exhaust bellows. The drive shaft bellows also needs to be replaced soon but has not holes in it. So I will weight until this winter to take this one on.
