www.iFourWinns.com

The $900 price is for BOTH outdrives (I have twins).

However, that is WITH the understanding that I will be removing the outdrives & I am also supplying the OEM Volvo Penta Bellows kits.



I can understand if they were supplying the bellows kits, and removing the outdrives, but they arent. This is why I have to tackle this job myself - $900 is a lot of gas & beer money!

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

I have heard numerous times that the OMC/Volvo design is easier for bellows replacement than Merc's. Having said that your main concerns are the sealing surface of the gimble housing mounting surface for the bellows. If there is corrosion, remove it and re-paint it before installing the new bellows. If there is no corrosion, make sure that any old sealer is cleaned off. And as I noted before, there is a ridge in the bellows sealing surface that fits into a notch in the gimble housing sealing surface. The other issue that I did not mention is that the conventional all rubber bellows has an asymmetric design in that the lower side should have more ribs than the upper side. This was done to prevent the rubber from stressing and cracking when the drive is tilted up. There are 7 ribs on the lower side and 6 on the upper. So you orient it so that the 7 ribs are on the bottom. I have not seen the newer style plastic/rubber bellows so I can't comment on them.
The other end of the bellows snaps into the pivot housing, no clamp there.
The rubber bellows for the Cobra and Volvo SX are very durable, I have had them easily last 10 years and that's in salt water with marine growth issues. My boat when it is moored has to have the drive up during the season but in the off season I take the drive off so the the pivot housing can be lowered so the bellows is straight.
I would not be afraid of doing this myself but take your time and make sure the sealing surfaces are good and that the bellows fits properly on the gimble housing....

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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

I guess I probably dont need to worry...had them replaced two seasons ago and drive is always down and I'm in fresh water...however want to remove and inspect the couplings so was looking for a how-to on drive removal.

They are heavy but its an easy job as long as its not locked on by corrosion. If yours were done a few years ago it should come right off. You should either buy a stand or build one because they are heavy enough to hurt your back trying to re-install it. What engine/drive package do you have?

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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

It is the 5.7GXi with DP-SM. I can start a new thread, dont want to hijack the OPs original question.

I did it last year and it was a pretty straightforward and easy job. Took a couple of hours. Do you have an OEM manual? That has step by step directions. Like Lou, I take the drive off every winter and store it in garage. Doing so makes it so much easier to work on it because the drive isn't locked on due to being on forever. It also allows for preventative maintenance.

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1988 215 Sundowner 5.7L OMC