Taking on water!

[novadoo]

Hey guys, I have an older 89 Malibu that's taking on lots of water in a 5 hours period. Where are some obvious places I should look for? this is my first direct drive boat so any help is appreciated. I'm guessing seal in the thru hull but how can I find out for sure?

Thanks in advance

Novadoo

[WakingMeHappy]

Search the threads for infamous HDS leak. There always a discussion going on.

[novadoo]

Thanks WakingMeHappy, I found a lot of your comments.. didn't even know what an HDS box is but it's what I suspect as a logical place that leaks. Your fix is a great resource. I'll have to do some testing.

Cheers,

Novadoo

[martinarcher]

Your boat won't have the HDS box which is a good thing IMO. It will have packing nuts on both the propeller shaft and the rudder. Might be worth dropping the boat in the water and monitoring the drip rate on both these locations. The prop packing nut should drip about once every second when in gear at idle. Watch your tie while checking!

The rudder doesn't need to drip much at all since it's not turning quickly (requiring cooling and lubrication from water like the drive shaft packing). Just tighten it until the drips stop or the steering becomes too tight....whichever comes first.

Other things to check are the swim platform mount bolts and the points which the Airguide tubes come into the hull (speedometer pickups), and the D rings on the transom and bow.

Good luck. Mine is taking on a bit of water this year. After I get the carb running good again that's my next project.

Edited June 1, 2011 by martinarcher

[Aquadisiac]

prop shaft packing, rudder shaft, swim platform bolts

[WakingMeHappy]

Your boat won't have the HDS box which is a good thing IMO. It will have packing nuts on both the propeller shaft and the rudder. Might be worth dropping the boat in the water and monitoring the drip rate on both these locations. The prop packing nut should drip about once every second when in gear at idle. Watch your tie while checking!

The rudder doesn't need to drip much at all since it's not turning quickly (requiring cooling and lubrication from water like the drive shaft packing). Just tighten it until the drips stop or the steering becomes too tight....whichever comes first.

Other things to check are the swim platform mount bolts and the points which the Airguide tubes come into the hull (speedometer pickups), and the D rings on the transom and bow.

Good luck. Mine is taking on a bit of water this year. After I get the carb running good again that's my next project.

Oops. I didn't pay attention to the year.

[Baddog]

Could also have leaking from any of the water hoses around the engine or the raw water pump housing (like mine is doing currently, easy fix though). Check them all. BUT don't overtighten any of the hose clamps on the engine. Don't ask me how I know.

[hethj7]

The prop packing nut should drip about once every second when in gear at idle. Watch your tie while checking!

I thought it should drip about once every 8-10 seconds.

[Steve B.]

Of course, check to find out if it leaks with the boat just sitting without engine running, or with engine running.

Steve B.

[Sixball]

I thought it should drip about once every 8-10 seconds.

one every second is to much.

[martinarcher]

Oops. I didn't pay attention to the year.

No worries....I got your back.

[martinarcher]

one every second is to much.

Mine drips too much then. I just need to take mine out and replace it with the virtually dripless packing from SkiDim.

[Hydrogasm]

Another way to check the hull would be to have the boat sitting level on the trailer and put water in the bildge then go under the trailer and see if you see any dripping out. If your boat has a paddle wheel as mine does for the old Perfect Pass, make sure that is down tightly in place. Mine got pushed up from the bunk on my boatlift. That allowed a surprisingly amount of water in. Some areas to check. Good luck, Gary.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Hydrogasm

[noonewakeboards]

ok, my drive shaft is flowing like someone left the faucet on! It is a Vdrive, so is this something I can fix? or do I need to take it to the shop or get a new seal?

[Baddog]

ok, my drive shaft is flowing like someone left the faucet on! It is a Vdrive, so is this something I can fix? or do I need to take it to the shop or get a new seal?

Probably just need to tighten the packing nut.

[noonewakeboards]

repacked and fixed, now just has to be tested

[Wake My Day]

did you do the re pack yourself or did the shop do it???