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I've read the VP maintenance schedule for my 6.2 380 and it recommends bellows u-joint and exhaust bellow replacement every two years. My R5 is 4 years old. I thought I was pushing it so I took it to the local dealer for replacement. I was ready to spend the $ but the service manager basically refused to do the work. He said all of the bellows looked brand new and didn't need replacement. Curious what everyone is doing regarding this service.

Mine are original in my 2014 R5 - VP300. Dealer services outdrive and inspects, bellows are still fine. Boat is is fresh water and dry stored. Same with my previous Mercruiser powered SeaRay, it was 15yrs old when I replaced the bellows and they still were serviceable. Granted there are different conditions that would dictate more frequent replacement, but I personally think bellows often get overdone.

Firststar, it sounds like you've found a decent service department if they refuse to take your money, and two year replacement sounds really aggressive to me. I think the key to Bill K's bellows longevity is regular inspection and covered storage, and having yours inspected every year or two but replaced only when needed makes sense.

Mine is fresh water and lives in covered storage. I’ll go a few more years. Thanks.

Store your drive down to greatly increase their life. I used to change my Volvo u-joint bellows every 5 years. No need to change exhaust bellows unless it tears.

My service guy said to run the bellows until it leaks. He thought I was nuts when I suggested replacing it on Volvo’s schedule.

Just take a good look at them each season. If they look like this...
Dry and cracked - replace. These are not leaking yet and they look fine on the inside, but with the outside looking that dry its only a matter of time before they crack and leak after raising the drive. (looks like a rodent has been chewing on my trim sensor too - still works but...)

Zuul wrote: Thu Mar 06, 2025 7:14 pm My service guy said to run the bellows until it leaks. He thought I was nuts when I suggested replacing it on Volvo’s schedule.

If the u-joint bellows cracks and you are storing the boat in the water, you have the potential of the boat sinking.