Yamaha 4.0 sterndrive bellows and upper bearing

[Detra319]

Hey guys,

I have had this 1994 Yamaha 4 cylinder stern drive for a couple years now. We have researched and dug and spent tons of time replacing the little stuff on this guy. We noticed last year that there was rust leaking off the ujoint bellows and that the upper bearing was making a ton of noise.

Took the top cover off to inspect the upper bearing and it was toast. Makes tons of noise while turning and you can see where it is starting to separate. Upper bellows had a hole in it.

My problem is this. thcan order these parts online but it will be a week plus before I get them. We have 50 family members here that all want to use the boat this week (thru July 28). I just need a bearing and bellows. They cant be that Yamaha specific. Are there any suggestions for parts that we could interchange (say from Volvo or sierra) that would work? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have had this boat apart enough now that I am no longer afraid of it, it is just a time filled pain in the ass to get parts.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[Scott Danforth]

that is a yamaha specific outdrive with yamaha specific parts and near zero parts support in the US because Yamaha got sued for patent infringement

if you want to use the boat this week, you have the following choices:

find a different boat
or swap all the yamaha stuff from helm controls topulley to prop out for Mercruiser or Volvo

unfortunately this is the one case where I would state it would be better to have an OMC

 

[Detra319]

Not trying to be a punk on this one but I have spent a lot of hours working on Yamaha sterndrive . My brother in law happens to have the same boat (2 idiots 1 family!) And have had this bearing replaced before in his stern drive. Just took it to the shop they measured it and ordered another one. That was 4 years ago now. I have found alternate starters and water pumps and impeller and ignition caps and all sorts of other interchangeable parts. These bellows dont look any different then bellows we did on my neighbor's mercruiser.

I guess I just need specs on them (dimensions) to see if I can match them up.

 

[Scott Danforth]

starters and water pumps are GM that come on the motor from GM. the ignition cap is AC delco (also GM).

your confusing base engine parts from GM compared to the yamaha specific parts the base engine as recieved from GM is the same as any other 1994 Volvo, OMC, Indmar, etc. Mercruiser is similar, however has the TB ignition system

the bellows may look similar, however dimension ally they are different the gimbal bearing may be the same or similar, however your would have to look up bearing dimensions from the manufacturer such as SKF, Timken, etc (not the packager - yamaha) to do that, you need to pull the bearing, look at the race, look at the part number of the bearing and the manufacturer of the bearing that is laser engraved on the bearing, then look at that bearings dimensions on their catalog page of their web site.

 

[Detra319]

So I have the bearing out ( the upper case bearing not the gimbal) I cant find crap for marking on it or the race. Gonna take it to a local marine guy and see if we can figure it out.

No place to find bellows dimensions? They dont seem any different then the couple others I have done. I just need full length and mouth dimensions which I can approximate from the old one. I was just assuming something this generic someone had found one that could be used in its place.

Thanks for your time!

 

[Detra319]

If you look in the right spot the part number is there lol. Koyo 33109JR. 80x45x26 tapered bearing. Still need to find a version of that joint bellows that will work. I will post more as I figure it out!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Go to a industrial bearing house such as motion industries or Miller Bearing vs a marina. A bearing house has access to millions of bearings, a marina has access to about a dozen

The bellows is custom made on outdrives per the designers/engineers at Yamaha, Yanmar, Mercruiser, Volvo Penta, etc. Unlike bearings, it is not "generic"

 

[Detra319]

Yeah tried all day to find something local and just no go. Got one coming in 2 days. Since we are running just a week or so longer and then going to do a complete tear down on the rear end I'm just going to temp seal the rear end since the gasket is 2 weeks out. The bellows I actually repaired and am going to see how it works. Used some powdered automotive cement mixed with some heat to repair the hole in the bellows which was about the size of a dime. Will update and let you know how it goes

 

[Detra319]

Btw the bearing size is 80mmx26mmx45mm. A very very unique size according to the couple bearing places I talked to. The local boat dealer was trying to sell me a merc outdrive and it sounds more tempting by the day lol

 

[Wnafabrication]

Reviving this one, but did anyone ever have any luck finding a cheaper bellows solution?

 

[GA_Boater]

Reviving this one, but did anyone ever have any luck finding a cheaper bellows solution?

No, you aren't. Only the OP can bring one back from the dead.

Closed.