Hello, Newbie here. Have owned a 1989 Supra Mariah for 3 years.


I have a constant stream of water coming in from the rudder. When I look between the back seats, the rudder has what seems like a big nut similar to the one that is on the propeller shaft. I just repacked this one (prop shaft) - so I figure it is a matter of repacking the one for the rudder. But it seems impossible to get to it without removing the fuel tank.

So my questions are:

1. am I correct that I need to repack the rudder like I repack the propeller shaft?
2. do I need to remove the fuel tank to do it?
3. how do I remove the fuel tank? I siphoned out the fuel - released the straps and the hoses (except for the hose to fill the tank - couldn't get much movement on that one - yet) - I just couldn't really lift the tank much (at the other end) so I decided to wait on removing that hose. I am trying to lift the tank out - but maybe I should be removing the rear seats and shoving the tank forward?
I was planning on bringing the boat to my shop where I can use some straps and a forklift and give it a nice pull.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you in advance.