"Lawrence James" wrote
Check for play by twisting. As long as they do not
have any play then I'd grease them up and go.

That was my initial feeling. They appear fine other than a little rust on
the outside. (The u-joints on my truck have been performing fine for years
with rust all over them.) It appears I'm going to need to scare up some kind
of close quarters grease gun adapter to grease them without disassembling.

You can also check the gimbal bearing inside
the drive housing while you have the drive out.

My gimbal bearing looks good so far. It had a lot of grease on the outside
and after wiping that away it looks shiny and newish. I'll get a better look
and feel in a few days when I finish removing the bellows.

Most people replace both bellows and the one on the shift cable at the
same time.

That's my plan. I'm also replacing the shift cable, water hose, and trim
senders.

Did you check the raw water pump too?

I'll be rebuilding the pump as well. I replaced the impeller two years ago
when I got the boat, so I figure it's due again.