98 Sunsetter verified hull leak from Rudder need help on how to fix

[maroon88iroc]

I bought a 1998 Malibu Sunsetter last year in the late summer an spent most of the time diagnosing/fixing an intermediate running issue with the boat. At the time it had a slow leak which I never worked on just ran the bilge pump often to evacuate the water. I just got the boat out this year (on the trailer not on water) and filled the bilge area with water so it was higher than the HDS box (where I thought the issue was) Now under the boat I have a pretty steady stream of water coming from the rudder, it looks like it is more so coming from th 4 bolts the rudder mounts to the hull but may also be coming from the center.

How do I fix this and where can I get parts?

I did pull the access cover inside the boat and cant really access the rudder that I can tell. It looks like I may have to remove the fuel tank to get to it.

I am hoping this is not a big repair job although I am a mechanic and can fix it myself if you guys can steer me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance!

-Gibson

[maroon88iroc]

I found this article which is great, is the 1998 sunsetter the same process?

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/page/articles.html/_/89-and-earlier-malibu-rudder-rebuild-r22

[solorex]

Yes your Sunsetter should be pretty much the exact same process. It's not that big of a deal to remove the rudder, once you drop the brass plate I think you'll likely discover your issues. I would guess that it's probably the stuffing around the rudder shaft, its just leaking out the screw holes as it hits the plate. 3M below the water sealant will be your friend once you button everything back up.

[Skier007]

would this the same issue on a 94 echelon lx. i installed the dripless shaft packing last year, still get alot of water in the bilge area, seems to be coming from either the rudder area or the shaft bracket area.

[JasonK]

The rudder has flax packing like the prop shaft. Try to tighten the nuts at the top of the rudder a**'y.

[maroon88iroc]

Can anyone verify 5/16" is the correct shaft packing I need to buy?

[maroon88iroc]

I ordered the 5/16" shaft packing by GTU it just came in early this week.

for kicks I called a boat repair place a friend recommended to me and they said the repair cost was $85 for that rope seal. That seems EXTREMELY cheap. The how to article shows removal of the entire rudder, this seems like ALOT of work for $85.

I'm looking at the how to and don't understand why I have to completely remove the rudder. the Rope seal is in the top nut of the rudder, why would you not just remove that nut and replace the packing??

Edited May 21, 2015 by maroon88iroc

[maroon88iroc]

OK so can anyone out there help me out. I keep the boat an hr from me at the lake so I was not able to look at the rudder and verify what type. I bought the 5/16" GTU packing and went to the lake this weekend to change it..

My boat has an entirely different style rudder system. It has a zerk fitting and no packing nut. All I can see is the mounting plate with 4 bolts going through the hull & a zerk fitting and the rudder arm that the steering cable attaches to.

The rudder is leaking.. can anyone help me out with how to rebuild this rudder, or will just adding grease to the zerk fitting in the shaft seal it up?

[malibuparadise]

I would try greasing first. Worth a try. I would also first change the zirc (get a ss one) to ensure there is no problem getting the grease into the rudder post cavity. I had two zirc fittings on mine though--one in front and one in back of the rudder assembly. I also had an upper and lower internal O-ring inside the cavity.