How much to service change bellows on Volvo DPH?

[BruceK]

Personally I dont know why you want an engineer to change bellows. It's like asking a mechanic to do a wheel change. To remove a drive that's been regularly removed. i.e. no stuck pins is 20-30 minutes, The water intake hose admittedly can be a PITA and take an hour or more depending on space in the engine room. Fitting the drive is the awkward bit. The splines go in or they dont. I've had the shaft go in almost immediately and I've struggled for up to two hours. Once the drive is in another 20 minutes, connecting and tightening the bellows is half hour tops even with the fiddle. Gear cable 20 minutes. Props twenty minutes if they havent stuck.
The longest single job by far is cleaning all the barnacles off to antifoul. You think you're done after 20 minutes but are still there 2 hours later picking away. Especially the transom shield. So anywhere between three and six hours depending on the state / when last done and access for me. You also really require a second pair of hands for some of it too. So I could well imagine a dealer charging you 2 x 4hr for a job unless you are a regular and he knows he's not going to struggle.

 

[spannerman]

Its scary how much dealers charge, I regularly did in a twin D6 full service in a day, both engines serviced before lunch, both drives off and serviced after lunch. Bill £3,000 for which I got payed £160.

 

[[2068]]

Personally I dont know why you want an engineer to change bellows. It's like asking a mechanic to do a wheel change. To remove a drive that's been regularly removed. i.e. no stuck pins is 20-30 minutes, The water intake hose admittedly can be a PITA and take an hour or more depending on space in the engine room. Fitting the drive is the awkward bit. The splines go in or they dont. I've had the shaft go in almost immediately and I've struggled for up to two hours. Once the drive is in another 20 minutes, connecting and tightening the bellows is half hour tops even with the fiddle. Gear cable 20 minutes. Props twenty minutes if they havent stuck.
The longest single job by far is cleaning all the barnacles off to antifoul. You think you're done after 20 minutes but are still there 2 hours later picking away. Especially the transom shield. So anywhere between three and six hours depending on the state / when last done and access for me. You also really require a second pair of hands for some of it too. So I could well imagine a dealer charging you 2 x 4hr for a job unless you are a regular and he knows he's not going to struggle.

I did it once: never again.

My spine has mostly straightened out, and I can now walk almost upright.

 

[madabouttheboat]

@volvopaul - price was £1.6K for bellow change on 1 drive, or £2k for full service on 1 drive.

?

Jeez, that's ludicrous. I need to change careers! One bellows change a month and the other 29 days to go boating

 

[BruceK]

I did it once: never again.

My spine has mostly straightened out again, and I can walk almost upright.

If you do it yourself the 400 quid cradle from Volvo special tools is well worth the price. That and a decent trolley jack will sort it. But I agree. Carting to and from the car is a killer. Why they are so heavy is a bit of a mystery. But chunky beasts they are

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Personally I dont know why you want an engineer to change bellows. It's like asking a mechanic to do a wheel change. ...

This is why, in my case anyway!! Hours of pain and hard work. No thanks

...
To remove a drive that's been regularly removed. i.e. no stuck pins is 20-30 minutes, The water intake hose admittedly can be a PITA and take an hour or more depending on space in the engine room. Fitting the drive is the awkward bit. The splines go in or they dont. I've had the shaft go in almost immediately and I've struggled for up to two hours. Once the drive is in another 20 minutes, connecting and tightening the bellows is half hour tops even with the fiddle. Gear cable 20 minutes. Props twenty minutes if they havent stuck.
The longest single job by far is cleaning all the barnacles off to antifoul. You think you're done after 20 minutes but are still there 2 hours later picking away. Especially the transom shield. So anywhere between three and six hours depending on the state / when last done and access for me. You also really require a second pair of hands for some of it too. So I could well imagine a dealer charging you 2 x 4hr for a job unless you are a regular and he knows he's not going to struggle.

and

...
Carting to and from the car is a killer. Why they are so heavy is a bit of a mystery. But chunky beasts they are
...

 

[BruceK]

Yer just a lazy boy, admit it, own that shame!

 

[brainard133]

Golden Arrow, but I've not shopped around and RK have gone..

RK Have Gone?

 

[Sticky Fingers]

RK Have Gone?

Yes, lost the VP agency.

 

[BruceK]

Not enough lazy boys to penalise for their indolence? Too bad, a lack of competition could just punish your wallets even more. Time to eat your oats Scala

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Yer just a lazy boy, admit it, own that shame!

Not enough lazy boys to penalise for their indolence? Too bad, a lack of competition could just punish your wallets even more. Time to eat your oats Scala

It's a fair cop. More money than time sense some might say.

 

[DavidJ]

Personally I dont know why you want an engineer to change bellows. It's like asking a mechanic to do a wheel change. To remove a drive that's been regularly removed. i.e. no stuck pins is 20-30 minutes, The water intake hose admittedly can be a PITA and take an hour or more depending on space in the engine room. Fitting the drive is the awkward bit. The splines go in or they dont. I've had the shaft go in almost immediately and I've struggled for up to two hours. Once the drive is in another 20 minutes, connecting and tightening the bellows is half hour tops even with the fiddle. Gear cable 20 minutes. Props twenty minutes if they havent stuck.
The longest single job by far is cleaning all the barnacles off to antifoul. You think you're done after 20 minutes but are still there 2 hours later picking away. Especially the transom shield. So anywhere between three and six hours depending on the state / when last done and access for me. You also really require a second pair of hands for some of it too. So I could well imagine a dealer charging you 2 x 4hr for a job unless you are a regular and he knows he's not going to struggle.

Sounds like half a dozen good reasons to let someone else do it.
I‘ve done it once (taking the drive off and not splitting the unit) and found it very heavy.?

 

[BruceK]

It's a fair cop. More money than time sense some might say.

I had more money than sense before getting a boat. Now I am simply reaping the rewards. But I dont mind doing the drives. The boat costs enough without making too many other people rich off of it. Some jobs need a pro. I save what's left of my pennies for that.

 

[kennyh]

FYI - the dealer I received the quote from quoted just over £2k for the full service which included 17hrs of labour.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

FYI - the dealer I received the quote from quoted just over £2k for the full service which included 17hrs of labour.

That's for a single engine boat? The quote for my boat that I was, err, quoting from came to £3.1k for 2x engine and 2x drives all in with VAT but that was 'only' 16 hours labour. Can't see how it's 17 for one. & more like.

 

[kennyh]

That's for a single engine boat? The quote for my boat that I was, err, quoting from came to £3.1k for 2x engine and 2x drives all in with VAT but that was 'only' 16 hours labour. Can't see how it's 17 for one. & more like.

Sorry I should have said, that was JUST for the Drive service.....

£2k, 1 x DPH drive (bellows, oil, hose pipe, anodes).

 

[oldgit]

The joy of lifting and as boat emerges dripping, spending a whole 30 seconds to check no one has stolen your stern gear.
Give everything a wiggle to check for wear.
Jet wash hull.
Undo 4 bolts holding a couple of anodes.
Wack on coat of A/F ........................................... back into the water .
The same last year, this year and very very probably the next few years after that.

£50.00 for the anodes.
£ 120.00 for some really expensive Anti -Foul.
The real expensive bit is buying your coffee and roll in the caff during the dull boring hours waiting to go back in.
Light relief can sometimes be provided watching people lying on their back in the slurry under the boat stabbing a screwdriver into various crevices in a strange aluminium casting hanging off the back of their boat. If you hang aroung long enough you can watch them applying (lying on their back)some thick grey paint from a tiny weeny tin(several needed ) , most of it directly onto all the barncules they have either failed to find or simply given up trying to remove.

There is an alternative ?
A revolutionary low cost KISS propulsion system that will go for years without costing you a fortune !
Any guesses what it is

 

[BruceK]

There is an alternative ?
A revolutionary low cost KISS propulsion system that will go for years without costing you a fortune !
Any guesses what it is

Mobility scooter?

 

[volvopaul]

I did it once: never again.

My spine has mostly straightened out again, and I can walk almost upright.

You know how I feel then after a day

 

[BruceK]

You know how I feel then after a day

How you survive in tiny engine bays is what really impresses me. A 10 second lift of an outdrive is momentary. Kneeling bent double for hours on end AND STRUGGLING is what I find soul destroying and it's my engines and I love the little beasts.