Bellow inspection.

[Mr Hemi]

Have a 02-2500SCR with Bravo 3 drive.
Boat taking on a bit of water, and wanting to check bellows shift cable etc.

Can i do this myself with basic hydraulic jack etc???.
Was quoted 4 hours to pull drive and inspec, that does not include parts or anything else.

On a side note, Ebay has a lot of transom replacement kits, for a lot less than OEM.( Are they worth the risk???).
Seems like OEM are china parts anyway.

Appreciate any help.
I have had boat 3 years, so no idea when bellows were replaced, bilge pump runs for 10 seconds every couple hours. front bilge is dry.
Thanks Grant.

[biggerseagar]

If you can shop around . 4 hours seems high but with you not knowing when it was done last I would bite the bullet and get it done. Especially since your taking water on. I would stay with mercury parts . Sierra parts are good if you have to.

Good luck

Roger

[Mr Hemi]

Thanks for your knowledgeable input.
I will stick to Mercury parts.
Only question now is can I tackle it by myself.
Thanks again.

[mmwjr]

If the boat is out of the water you can inspect for cracks between the folds of the bellows. If in the water look for drips or stains near the drive shaft and shift cable.

[shrew]

4 hours would be the rate to replace the bellows IMHO. Inspection is a matter of reaching in and seeing if they're pliable or not.

Bellows is an every 5 yr job. If you're not sure when they were done last, then I would just book the job to have them replaced. IF you're in saltwater, see if the mechanic can determine if the intake hose is being crushed by the corrosion of the transom assembly around the intake hose. This is a common issue with Bravo III's. The solution is to either replace the transom assembly or install through hull intakes and sea strainers and install a drive shower on the outdrive to cool it from the exterior rather than the interior.

[biggerseagar]

It's funny how you comment on one of these threads and then it happens to your boat, mine 01 3000 with twin bravo 2 s. I was changing out my anodes and had to raise both drives all the way up and I started to see fluid dripping down. Got a hold of my mechanic and after further investigation both sides had the connections broken off from the outdrive reservoir tube that goes through the transom. A further review is that a couple of the bellows didn't look so good also. I had all this done in 2018. Time to do it again $$$$$. B.o.a.t. break out another thousand...lol

Roger

[Mr Hemi]

Looks like Im in for a couple thousand myself this year, carrier bearing is next.
Thanks for input.

[Mr Hemi]

Originally Posted by shrew

4 hours would be the rate to replace the bellows IMHO. Inspection is a matter of reaching in and seeing if they're pliable or not.

Bellows is an every 5 yr job. If you're not sure when they were done last, then I would just book the job to have them replaced. IF you're in saltwater, see if the mechanic can determine if the intake hose is being crushed by the corrosion of the transom assembly around the intake hose. This is a common issue with Bravo III's. The solution is to either replace the transom assembly or install through hull intakes and sea strainers and install a drive shower on the outdrive to cool it from the exterior rather than the interior.

Bellows are still sqeaky, so not to old, but they are not OEM or even close.
Here i go.