www.iFourWinns.com

Has anybody here replaced their u-joint bellows on their VP SX drives themselves? Is this something I can do myself?

I can remove the drives and service them. I also rebuilt my hydraulic ram myself last year! Im the king of DIY. Which means, Im having a very hard time grasping the fact of having a mechanic do it, esp. since they want $500+ to do the job

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1997 Four Winns Vista 278
T - 4.3l EFI
Kohler 4esz Genset
379 hours as of 8/8/21

Yes you can do it. It is possible to do it without even removing the pivot housing, but you have to remove the exhaust bellows first, then remove the U-Joint one. The points to keep in mind is that the end of the bellows with the screw clamp has to fit onto the neck of the gimble housing in such a way so that the ridge on the housing fits the groove in the bellows sealing surface. Then you have to locate screw end on the clamp so that it does not rub on the bellows when the drive turns to the right side of the boat. The end of the driveshaft bellows that fits into the pivot housing just snaps in there is no clamp needed there. The exhaust bellows has a clamp on the gimble housing end and a snap ring (be careful removing that, it can pop off and ping you in the head lol) need a snap ring pliers for that.

I would use an OE bellows though.
The volvo design here is a straight copy of the OMC Cobra bellows and fact the driveshaft bellows is the exact same part.

NOTE: the screw clamp part of the driveshaft bellows should be located at the 1:00 position, the one for the exhaust bellows at the 3:00 position (From my OMC shop manual).
OMC said to use OMC gasket sealer on the gimble housing flange for the driveshaft bellows and not for the exhaust bellows. Not sure if Volvo says the same.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Bellows on my Volvo DuoProp was a piece of cake. After seeing the differences in the Bravo III bellows...I paid my marina to do them this year. You should have no problem with an SX drive.

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

That was one really nice feature of the OMC Cobra design that Volvo wisely copied, an easy to replace bellows. Much easier than the Merc A or B drives. In fact once you master the OMC shift cable adjustment, the Cobra is superior to any of the other drives out there in terms of ease of repair. Bellows, raw water impeller, both much easier to replace.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Yep to all the above posters, did mine last year, took about 20 minutes and one bloody knuckle.

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1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

Thanks guys!!

LouC- I called around and a mechanic that I was considering having do the job, said he had to use glue. Is there any kind of sealing agent used?

I feel much more confident doing this myself; I ordered two Volvo Penta OEM bellows "kits". They include directions, a new clamp and the bellows.

Any other tips? Does the new bellows seat easily on the lip? Is it difficult to remove the exhaust bellows?

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1997 Four Winns Vista 278
T - 4.3l EFI
Kohler 4esz Genset
379 hours as of 8/8/21

No glue on anything. They come off easy but are a little more diff. to get on. Spray some alchohol on and they will slide right on. Make sure there in the grove. The bellows (u-joint) clamp position is critical.

As far as the sealer, on Merc drives they use a bellows adhesive. In my OMC shop manual they say to use OMC gasket sealer on the driveshaft bellows. I'm not sure what Volvo says, but If the sealing surface on the neck of the gimble housing is anything less than perfect I'd use the OMC sealer (Permatex Aviation Sealer is the generic version)....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

VP do recommend gasket sealer on the transom end of the bellows and on the lip in the tilt housing that the bellows locate in. FW appeared to be unaware of that when they built my 2004 Sundowner !

No sealant is required on the exhaust bellows as it's not required to be water tight.

It really is a lot easier to change the drive bellows if the tilt housing is removed, but it's not essential.

If you do remove the exhaust bellows, ensure the drain holes are lowermost when you refit it. That prevents water staying in the drive/ bellows when the boat is laid up for winter,

The exhaust bellows circlip is big, long nosed pliers work well in removing/ refitting it. The bellows don't come off in service even if that circlip is absent.

Check that the bonding wire clips are clean and fitted securely to the bellows clips. Also, check the continuity between the clips and the anodes; the last thing you want is a retaining clip corroding away !

I do agree with removing the pivot housing because its easier to make sure you really got the critical gimble end of the bellows on properly. Just be careful with the shift cable.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II