exhaust bellows

[wellcraftv20step]

Good morning all. I have a question on exhaust bellows. upon looking at my neighbors 88 mercruiser outdrive we noticed that the Exhaust bellows is disconected from the oval port on the drive side, we then noticed that the oval port on the drive side has a v shaped chunk missing about the size of a quarter. what is the level of dificulty on this repair and is that port replaceable or is it part of the casting ? Thanks for any help.

[smokeonthewater]

yes that's part of the casting
if you aren't worried about the noise take the exhaust bellows off and toss it in the trash

other than being a little louder there will be no other adverse effects

If you ARE concerned about noise switch to one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Exhaust-Tube-Bellows-for-Mercruiser-Alpha-and-Bravo-Stern-Drive-Replaces-78458A1-/370728731296?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item56512782a0&vxp=mtr

[THEFERMANATOR]

Ditch the bellows and put a tube on it. No need for special tools, or to even remove the outdrive. The last one I did was a twin engine boat, one of the exhaust bellows refuses to stay on. The problem is it keeps catching the drive bellows when it comes off, so were going to switch it to tubes here soon and be done with it.

[wellcraftv20step]

Thanks Smoke and Firm, I will pass on the info.