Is new old stock part OK? (10 year old rubber bellows for U joints)

[babikov]

I am going to replace the bellows for U joints on my boat. I purchased an original Quicksilver part that was claimed to be new. Closer inspection of the label shows the year: 2005. It looks like this is a ?new old stock?. The package is faded, although the part itself looks good to me.

My question is this: How old the rubber bellows are considered still OK? Is 10 year old OK? I tried to get a new OEM part, but is this ?new? old part is worth using? How long do the bellows last? What is their shelf lifetime?

This bellows is something that is very laborious to install. I want to make sure that if I put it there, I will not have to redo this in 5 years all over again.

The engine is 1993 4.3LX/V6 serial number OF0244564. The transom is OF058634. The drive is OD886515 (Alpha One Gen II).

Thanks!

 

[Benny67]

Did you get them on Ebay?

I steered clear of that guy selling them because I didn't want to chance 10 year old rubber.especially stuff like that that flexes and is subject to oil,water heat ect

 

[babikov]

Yes, on e-bay. I did not realize it can be old. But still, my question is how old is old for the bellows rubber? If the life expectancy is 50 years, then may it is just fine? Any thoughts?

 

[achris]

10 years is well past it's 'use by' date. Move on, find something new.

 

[Bondo]

Yes, on e-bay. I did not realize it can be old. But still, my question is how old is old for the bellows rubber? If the life expectancy is 50 years, then may it is just fine? Any thoughts?

Ayuh,.... Life expectancy is 5 to 8 years, 10 is a stretch, On the boat,....

On the shelf is somewhat different, as it ain't exposed to the elements, but I can't say how much difference that'd be,....

 

[Benny67]

I believe the rule of thumb is 5 years old ON the boat. I got mine from some marine supply on Ebay cause it was difficult to find OEM bellows. Amazon and other places are loaded with the aftermarket ones. I couldn?t find a supplier for quicksilver parts that didn't want to charge me over $225 for the kit. shipyardmarine on ebay charged me $159

Not worth the worry...Get new, OEM bellows. Certain parts you just cannot take the chances with and Bellows are one of them.

 

[gm280]

I certainly can say whether it will still be good or not. But a few things to consider before buying expensive other new one(s), if you can even find them. They were not exposed to any sunlight. And UV is the number one killer of rubber things, Secondly they were probably not even exposed to inside light if they were sitting in some manufacturer's box. So again the rubber break down was not started on them yet. So if it was me, I would use them and see what happens. There are tons of full size and space saver tires in vehicle all over the world that are well older then 10 years and they still look and run okay. And there are lots of rubber parts on all types of vehicles and still work okay as well. So do what you think is the best? I mean it is YOUR boat... JMHO!

 

[achris]

I certainly can say whether it will still be good or not. But a few things to consider before buying expensive other new one(s), if you can even find them. They were not exposed to any sunlight. And UV is the number one killer of rubber things, Secondly they were probably not even exposed to inside light if they were sitting in some manufacturer's box. So again the rubber break down was not started on them yet. So if it was me, I would use them and see what happens. There are tons of full size and space saver tires in vehicle all over the world that are well older then 10 years and they still look and run okay. And there are lots of rubber parts on all types of vehicles and still work okay as well. So do what you think is the best? I mean it is YOUR boat... JMHO!

For less then $100 you would be happy to risk flooding the bellows, destroying the gimbal bearing and uni joints, and possibly sinking the boat... :facepalm:

Yep, plenty of tyres out there, sitting in spare wheel bays, far too old. Talk to any tyre fitter, they will tell you, 5 years. And I believe them, I had tyres on my boat trailer that were quite a bit older than that, and they failed, just as predicted.

Of course the other side of the coin in that they MIGHT last a long time, but is it worth it to be going out in the boat and every time having in the back of your mind, "I wonder if TODAY is the day the bellows fail".... Wouldn't an extra $100 be worth the absence of worry? It would for me.

How much are you prepared to risk to save a few dollars? Or, how much are you prepared to pay to not have to worry about things like that? The decision's yours. Just don't expect me to tow you back in because you're too cheap to do the job right, first time..

Chris........

 

[Fishermark]

There are some things I will take a chance on - "wait and see what happens." Other things I will not. Just doesn't make sense when you consider the risk / reward. The risks are as achris mentions. Not to mention the time and effort spent replacing if it fails. The reward is a few dollars saved. Just doesn't make much sense to me.

But... it's your boat!

 

[gm280]

For less then $100 you would be happy to risk flooding the bellows, destroying the gimbal bearing and uni joints, and possibly sinking the boat... :facepalm:

Yep, plenty of tyres out there, sitting in spare wheel bays, far too old. Talk to any tyre fitter, they will tell you, 5 years. And I believe them, I had tyres on my boat trailer that were quite a bit older than that, and they failed, just as predicted.

Of course the other side of the coin in that they MIGHT last a long time, but is it worth it to be going out in the boat and every time having in the back of your mind, "I wonder if TODAY is the day the bellows fail".... Wouldn't an extra $100 be worth the absence of worry? It would for me.

How much are you prepared to risk to save a few dollars? Or, how much are you prepared to pay to not have to worry about things like that? The decision's yours. Just don't expect me to tow you back in because you're too cheap to do the job right, first time..

Chris........

I'm not trying to save a few dollars, but do you have the upmost confidence in any marine part working from one time to the next? We all take chances every single day relying on parts that we honestly don't know when they will fail. Water impellors are a great item that nobody honestly knows will work perfectly from one time to the next. We hope they will and try to head off issue with regular changes, but we really don't know. You do know that in most every vehicle they use rubber fittings from the gas tank to the gas filler opening. And we use those for years and years and years without even thinking about their failure. So how many times do we replace those rubber parts dealing with fuel? Not trying to make an argument, just stating real facts. And Chris, I do understand your opinion, but we certainly don't need statements like "Just don't expect me to tow you back in because you're too cheap to do the job right, first time.." for general conversation... I am not attaching anybody directly if you will reread my comment again. And I would appreciate you not doing the same. We are merely providing opposing views like any quality comment board should. When personal attacks start, I'm out of here...you should know better being a moderator as well... I'm sorry you find my opinion not conducive to yours and therefore have to attack me directly. Sad! JMHO

 

[achris]

The comments were not directed at you personally, but at the current attitude of 'do things as cheap as possible and if we have a problem because of it, someone else can pick up the pieces'... I see this too much, both professionally and personally.

If you believe the comment was at you, my apologies. It is not.

Chris.

 

[gm280]

Achris, apology accepted. But certainly don't take any of my replies or suggestions personal or as I'm trying to be cheap. If you seriously know me, you would never ever think that way about me, I can guarantee you that. I am so OCD that everything has to perfect when I do things. All I'm saying is if a rubber part looks good and is pliable and no apparent issues, why not use it? Think car door seals. We never ever change them and they get all types of abuse over the years and work perfectly without issues. Many rubber products work for longer then 10 years with no problems. I even use silicon spray to help keep rubber more pliable and new looking and operating. If the OP didn't know about the product sitting for year, would he/she use it? Of course they would. If the age is so objectionable, send it back and TRY to find newer parts. But what happens when those new parts are no longer made. Well then everybody would buy such a part, even sitting for years, and certainly use it... But all is okay and lets move on... :thumb:

 

[JustJason]

Of course the other side of the coin in that they MIGHT last a long time, but is it worth it to be going out in the boat and every time having in the back of your mind, "I wonder if TODAY is the day the bellows fail".... Wouldn't an extra $100 be worth the absence of worry? It would for me.

Don S used to have a saying that went something along the lines of "everything works until it breaks"

In regards to this bellow.... It will work until it splits.

Call Vinnie the bookie if you want to ask what the over/under is on that

 

[babikov]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. I ended up returning the old new parts to the sellers (very easy on e-bay, you just refuse delivery), and ordering the ones produced recently. Not much price difference. I found it is cheaper to purchase the OEM parts separately, rather than purchasing all together as a set, which is almost counterintuitive. Thanks again!

 

[Watermann]

Some good points and something we all need to watch out for buying online. Speaking of buying online it would be great if iboats would sell Mercury/quicksilver OEM parts, all I've been able to purchase here are the MC/QS potions. .It sure would keep us from having these nasty experiences with other vendors.

 

[JoLin]

Speaking of buying online it would be great if iboats would sell Mercury/quicksilver OEM parts, all I've been able to purchase here are the MC/QS potions. .It sure would keep us from having these nasty experiences with other vendors.

I second that. I'd use iboats a lot more often if they sold discount OEM. I've had nothing but good buying experiences here, but I just won't buy aftermarket parts if I can buy OEM.

 

[achris]

iboats not being able to supply Merc genuine is something to do with the fact that they also sell after-market and Volvo parts. As far as Merc are concerned you sell only Merc parts, or no Merc parts at all.

Chris.......

 

[Watermann]

iboats not being able to supply Merc genuine is something to do with the fact that they also sell after-market and Volvo parts. As far as Merc are concerned you sell only Merc parts, or no Merc parts at all.

Chris.......

I usually get my OEM MC/QS parts from marine engine and right along side the OEM is the choice of Sierra. They also sell parts for every other marine engine you can think of.

 

[achris]

I usually get my OEM MC/QS parts from marine engine and right along side the OEM is the choice of Sierra. They also sell parts for every other marine engine you can think of.

In that case, I don't know. What I do know is that iboats would love to sell Merc OEM, but there is a reason why that can't happen at the moment.