rbtnt

You want to put a plug back in that water hole. I had one of my plugs come out and the hose came loose from the water pressure, therefor all the water was not going out the side of the case to the drive cap.

I sealed my plugs with RTV and haven't had any problem with them coming out.

GOODT

No Napa doesnt have what you need, Trust me let some with exp do it and do it right.


info like the above post are why I have people bring me drives in boxes all the time (someone told me Its not that hard)

outdrive man

Napa Is A Sierra Dealer And Does Lend The Tools. If You Ask Me $600 For A Simple Bellows Job Is Highway Robbery Go To Mercs Website And Price The Materials At Retail And See What A Dealer Will Actually Have In It. $350 Is What It Should Cost Using 100 Per Hour As The Shop Rate With Merc Parts At Retail. Don't Take My Word For It Do The Research. Oh My God How Hard Is It To Put A Hose Clamp On Really. The Tricky Part Is Where To Position Them. Then Again I Guess You Need A Doctorate To Be A Boat Mechanic. I Guess We All Need To Make A Living.

GOODT

Outdrive man,
just want to say I checked out your web site very nice shop and building, you are wrong about napa though. Yes they used to carry sierra parts back when they owned them (actually eichlen did but they also owned napa eichlen sold sierra several years ago to teleflex thats why sierra and aqua power share a catalog ie same company) grow up check your facts

as for 600.00 is hwy robbery ive been charging that for bellows and gible brg for the last 6 yrs and most shops around me get that or more if the cost of living by you is that low that you can do all bellows ect for 350 then thats great more power to you but dont tell people thats hwy robbery!!!( transom kit lists for 200.00 ( if bellows is bad should replace all bellows thats why merc and sierra sell the kit)

we went through this before on sealing a drive and you said you could do it for 300 inc parts if I remember right well cool Ill send all my work to you ..........and think everyone should as long as you warr it and have a good rep thats great.....have a great nite !

this is from a search of napas web site for sierra

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

A buddy and myself just pulled his gimble bearing Sat. My 1st time, his 2nd. Take a long punch/screwdriver and hit the side of the bearing to turn it sideways, then reach in and pull the bearing out by hand thru the slots. A slide hammer to hook and pull the outer bearing support, then pull out the seal. a 2 min job. A race installer will be needed to reinstall the seal, and outer bearing support. These tools are free to borrow from AutoZone here if you don't have a set. The bellows is also a simple job. Pull out the large steel ring, loosen the large hose clamp, unseat the bellows from the housing, pry it loose from the inside for the rear, slip it out. Very easy simple jobs for anyone mechanically inclined.

GOODT

OK it lets pick on Joe day,

USA1,

the slots are suppose to be on the inside with the dot facing out at about 11o'clock so that the grease hole lines up ( u didnt mention lining the grease hole and moving the expansion ring so that its not blocked, also you didnt mention aligning the Gimbel brg to the coupler with a alignment tool ( napa doesnt have) nor did you mention doing shift cable bellows ( or just going to wait till it fails ) nor did you say anything about clamp positions (which does matter).....also bellows adhesive did you use any??????


theres more such as hinge pin tool, touqe wrench, exaust bellows tool, shift cable adj tool, ect but I think you get the point ......

Im not trying to put anyone down just trying to save people aggravation and trouble in the long run


anyone that wants to atempt to do it ill be more then happy to explain the correct way or email the manuel section if it helps them out.........

outdrive man

i don't have a problem with you. yes, i have allot of pride in the company that we have built and i`ll tell you how we did it. we base out margins on the amount of work we do, not the individual job. like wal-mart if i can get a guy to turn over four rubber jobs in an eight hour day then everyone wins. i can be more competitve because my guys are 100% productive this helps stimulate more work because the overhead is lower. bottom line for a customer is always how much will this cost me. now back to this guys bellows job should a dealer do it absolutely but is it beyond an average person no i am a big fan of the do it yourselfer that type of person accounts for 60 plus percent of my parts sales. do i sell tools no but my independently owned napa dealerships do the do it yourself person is 90% of their market but lets get to the problem here buy a u-joint bellows and replace it. while your at it put a gimbal bearing in and replace the u-joint crosses you will be miles ahead. i suggest rubber every 5-7 years that may be arguable but my point is in most cases is the only thing holding the lake out.

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

GOODT, No, not at all.
Just implying that it can be done by some people with the know how and the correct tools. And if we have questions, being able to come on here and ask for help, your replies are appreciated. If something over our heads, then your services are appreciated.
Am in no way trying to undermine your experience, but for many of us, the $$ saved by doing it ourselves allows us to do other work. Of course writing a check is easier.
Yes, I know all the other conserns you mentioned. I just didn't go into the whole procedure in detail. Maybe my bad for going cliff note version. A service manual should be at side to make sure it is done correctly. I have found on other repair projects, that Merc does go overboard on recommending 'speciality' tools for very simple procedures where a regular tool will work. Of course, there are MANY times when the special tool is the only way to do the job.
I am a tool and die maker, thus machining and mechanical stuff is nothing foreign to me. The 1st attached picture is an antenna mount I made for my boat from a single piece of SS round stock. The 2nd pic is of the Merc required speciality tools I made, to set up my lower units when I rebuilt them 2 yrs ago.

GOODT

usa 1,
luv that ant mount, is it something thats easily reproduced? its the nicest ive seen!

Outdriveman if you can do that great, but dont tell people that the industy standard is hwy robbery when most shops in my aera get that or more !!!!!
am I the cheapest, no im not nor do I pretend to be, but if I fix something or rebuild a drive it stays fixed and my customers know its done right the first time !!!!!!!! and on time! nor do I cut corners to save a dime quality counts..


thank you im done ranting now.............

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

Thanks!

I think I have around 10hr in it start to finish, off and on. Been a couple yrs. Mainly because it was a design as I go thing. 1st one I made was from Al, (it's in the 2nd pic) used it for 1 yr, but wanted the SS finish/quality, so made the 2nd one from SS with a couple of minor changes. My goal was something small/unnoticable, with the base sitting below the railing so my cover will not rub on it when installed, bolt-on so no holes drilled in the boat, and easily taken apart for storage since it is not something I always have up. It just slips into the base and that's all.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled topic.