Alpha bellows installation
 

I took everything apart sanded and painted, and now it is time to put it all back together. I am putting in a new shift cable and bellows, trim senders, water hose, u joint bellows and water pump impeller. How do I install the u joint bellows into the bellhouse? There is an aluminum ring in there that needs to seat inside the bellhouse. Do I need some special tools? Can I take the bellows and bellhouse to a marina and have them install this one for me, or should it be installed on the transom first. (the bellhouse is off right now) The rest looks pretty straight forward. Glue and clamps. Any insight is appreciated.

I got all the bellows installed. Water tube on the transom first then the u joint on the transom. I loosely assembled the shift cable and slid the bellows and clamps on. I installed the water tube on the bellhouse then the u joint to the bellhouse. The retaining ring I tapped in from the back using a roll of shipping tape. I realized that the merc install tool was just a big washer so I started looking for something round that size. The roll of shipping tape was fairly rigid and the size was just right. A few taps with a hammer and the retainer slid right on. After that I glued and crimped the shift bellows. Thats all for toinght.