AmiableDave

There are all sorts of bellow kits on E-bay for $30 on up. I'm sure that they are China knockoffs. But do the Quicksilver bellows kits have any markings on the Bellows, etc? How do you know if a service center is giving you Factory parts?

SB

This what you are looking or ?

OEM MerCruiser Bravo 1/2/3 Bellows Seal/Repair Kit 30-803100T1 8M0095485

1: tell’m you want factory parts
2: ask’m you’d like all parts back and in each approp bag or box.

Do it with a smile and nice. Again, believe it or not, some other customers do this and some businesses respect it. :thumbs

believe it or not some of us (i’m not a dealer) do this anyway. Some of us even take pics (smart ohones are great this way) so we can document that we did.

seafordguy

I have started only buying from certain vendors for parts like that. Several years ago I had some shift cable bellows that were noted as OEM and Both broke shortly after installing. They let in a **** load of water when they fail. Ruined a weekend.

Great Lakes skipper for certain items for my old Mercury, CP Performance for stuff on the CIG.

Still buy certain things from eBay sellers like Jet Ski oil change kits that I can clearly see are OEM oil, NGK plugs, etc....

DrFeelgood

Careful, there's counterfeit NGK plugs out there too... I buy mine from Rockauto only now.

AmiableDave

The reason why I asked the question is that it's time to change the bellows out. They're YouTube videos on how to do it. I have mercury manuals on how to do it. But it's a job that I don't feel comfortable with at this time. I don't have the tools to do the job and I don't have the time. What time I do have I'd like to spend on the boat. My fear is I might get knock off parts. And I'm sure there are good knockoff parts.

Has anybody heard of, "Offshore Outdrives" in Bradenton FL?

Cory H

I got burned on an off-brand bellows kit from fleabay described as Mercury. Installed them anyway, in addition to a new gimbal bearing. The aftermarket **** did not seal against the drive well and let water in, which ruined new gimbal bearing. Installed new bearing and used OEM bellows, problem solved.

smashm

I'm in Fort Myers, I've never heard of "Offshore Outdrives", they've never come up in my parts searches. Bellows & bearing kits are generally fairly easy to do, as long as everything isn't severely rotted.

SB

Outdrive Repair Shop | Bradenton, FL

AmiableDave

You're hyperlink is where I went to check out, "Offshore Outdrives." He had four MTI catamarans in his shop getting ready for Key West on the 7th. He's booked up until February.

Do you show a competent shop in Bradenton? Tampa?