www.iFourWinns.com

Ok guys, I dont know why I am so nervous about this - but I am

My 97 Vista 278 has twin Volvo Penta Cobra SX outdrives with the original bellows. They look like sh... well, they dont look good!

I have removed my outdrives every year to grease and inspect, so I "got that". I have bought OEM VP bellows kits for both outdrives already, and local mechanics want exuberant amounts of money to put them on for me. EVEN if I pull the outdrives off for them first. I know Im paying for experience & a skill which usually requires an education and insurance, but I cannot justify paying somebody $900 to replace my bellows when Im doing the heavy work of removing the outdrives for them AND supplying the OEM VP bellows kits!

I do have the (downloaded) VP service manuals and I think somewhere on my hard drive, even a SELOC manual. However, I thought I read you can replace the u-joint bellows without having to remove the pivot housing - as a matter of fact, I think I read that here on iFourwinns. Another thing Im not sure of is, the manual doesnt say anything about adhesive/sealant on the lip of the bellows, but I read that it IS recommended. What type of sealant would I use?

So with that being said, has anybody else replaced their bellows on their VP outdrives? Can you give me some tips or advice? I really want to gain confidence and courage to do this myself, and I need a pep-talk

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

The exhaust bellows don't matter, in fact most people just remove them. Don't worry about those. The drive bellows? Yeah, important. What's exuberant? Shouldn't be more than a couple hundred if you have the parts.

_________________
1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

I called around to a couple marine mechanics who are reasonable, in my area. 1 mechanic said $900, the other was $975 or something like that. I was like WUT. They were in complete understanding that I was supplying the parts AND removing the outdrives. Both of them chalked it up to being an "extensively difficult" job.

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

I know were your coming from! I am a tech by trade, done wood working, electrical, plumbing.... But, this too I am not happy over!

How much did the want to do the job with out your help?

What scares me, what happens if it leaks after I put the boat in. Say a month or 2 down the road. If its my fault will the Ins. Co. pay off. My boat is a 29' so I just can't pull it any time I want. For these reasons, I am paying for someone that does this for a living.

I was afraid to ask, lol.

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

I have done mine on all my boats. I do not remove the pivot housing when completing this task but you can and would give you more room to work. You are over thinking this, not a hard task to complete just make sure you orientate the clamps in the same spot as they were. There is a circlip in the exhaust bellows on the one end so you will need a good set of snap ring pliers.
I did mine last year in the dead of winter standing on the frozen lake, they lift our boat in the slip for the winter time so I also had to rig a lift up as the drive was 6' in the air

_________________
2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike

I don't think that this is a hard job, but the first time you do it it might be better to remove the pivot housing to make sure that you clean off the mating surface of the gimble housing and make sure that the ridge in the inner edge of the bellows fits into the slot in the mounting surface of the gimble.
I would use OMC gasket sealer esp if there is any corrosion on the mounting surface.

_________________
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

Louc, is this the OMC Sealing Compound you speak of?

http://www.marinepartssource.com/newdet ... 20Compound


Also, I think the pivot housing is held on by two very large Hex bolts.... any idea of the size of the hex socket I will need to loosen those?

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

That's the right stuff, on my Cobra I think they are 1/2" hex bolts but have to check

_________________
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

Speaking of hex, I have the metric and SAE versions of the Harbor Freight sets and they work great for my non-professional use. Every shade tree mechanic should have them in the tool boxes:

Metric: http://www.harborfreight.com/9-piece-38 ... -7763.html

SAE: http://www.harborfreight.com/9-pc-38-in ... 67884.html

_________________
NEW - 2000 Cobalt 246 w/454 Magnum 385HP | SOLD - 2000 FW Horizon 180 LS w/5.0Gi 250HP Volvo Penta

I paid $425 for outdrive removal, bellows replacement, check engine alignment, and all parts. That was for one outdrive with a Dual Prop. $900 seems a little steep if you are doing some of the work. The difference could be mechanic labor rates or a fixed price whether you do some of the work or not.

_________________
2006 Sundowner 255, 5.7 GXi, 320 hp
"Simply Irresistible"

That sounds pretty cheap! I just ordered parts and tools to change the bellows and gimbal in my Merc. Spend about as much as you spent to have someone else do it... Of course a bunch of that was in tools that I don't have and will not need to buy again.

_________________
-Andrew

1984 Four Winns 225 Sundowner
5.0L Mercruiser, Alpha 1

The Volvo Penta driveshaft bellows for the SX and DP-SM drives was changed recently from what has been used since the mid '90s. The original design was molded rubber with a coil spring installed inside to hold its shape. I did install a couple without removing the tilt bracket, but it was a challenge. The current design is almost like a molded flexible plastic with rubberized ends. It does not have the coil spring, and it is not quite as easy to get stuffed in to place. I did have to remove the 2 pivot bolts for the tilt bracket to install the new style bellows. Pay attention to the orientation of the hose clamp on the front end of the driveshaft bellows. The hose clamp's worm screw should be in the 1:30 to 2 o'clock position as viewed from behind so it does not wear a hole in the bellows when turned full right. I was able to use a 1/4 inch drive long extension with a u-joint and 5/16 socket coming up from the bottom right side to tighten the hose clamp. Make sure the front end of the bellows is positioned correctly on the transom port, on far enough but not too far. Be sure to get all the bonding wire clips for the 2 bellows re-attached correctly. The exhaust bellows is not really critical, but if you are changing one bellows you might as well do both. The driveshaft bellows is about $55 and the exhaust is about $45. The exhaust bellows does have drain holes or slots that must be rotated to the bottom. The exhaust bellows does have a hose clamp on the front and a large internal snap ring on the back. Pulling the out drive is the toughest part. I recommend a good stand on wheels. Changing the 2 bellows are not difficult to do, just some details are a little hard to get at without the right tools. About the only tools that are close to being special are the hex drive sockets. Hope this helps.

Gary

_________________
Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

Have any of you found any good online "how-to's" with pictures and or video? Need to do this myself and while there are great ones for Merc...nothing for volvo dp-sm or sx. Only found one video for an older volvo outdrive.

He's is talking about twin outdrives so that price may not be that bad for both if they are taking the outdrives off. Unless your talking $900 each then that's just stupid.
I was quoted around $450 for my Merc B3 bellows replacement. I decided to let someone else do it after watching a video of the B3. The Volvos are a lot easier from what I have seen.

_________________
2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3