My new (to me) inboard

Hello WakeWorld! I've been stalking this site since I picked up my 02 Supra SSV in October and I thought it was time to introduce myself and ask a couple questions too. I bought it winterized so wasn't even sure i ran it until this weekend. Overall everything is good except a couple small issues.

It looks like there is a leak coming from the Vdrive. If my research is correct I should just have to tighten a nut up to slow the leak down. I also might have to change some rope inside if it's worn out, does that sound right?

Even though the boat didn't come with any ballast bags, it did come with the pumps. We tried to test the pumps with very little success. The blue fitting is the fill line right? The front only pumped a little bit of water and the rear didn't pump anything. Also the drain tubes (if the blue is the fill tubes) are blocked off (see pic below). Could this keep water from coming out?

The biggest issue I have is my non working depth gauge. We go in some pretty shallow places and a gauge is a must. Right now it's showing a bunch of random numbers. Also, one of the 2 speedometers is really off. Any thoughts on how to square this away. And what's the point of two speedos anyways?

And now picture time

Nice looking boat! Do a search on shaft packing or shaft packing nut. You may be able tighten it up and get the leaking down to where it should be without changing out the packing. Others will probably chime in on this. As far as your ballast pumps, make sure that the shut off valves on your intake hoses are opened up. If they are closed no water will be able to be pulled in through the bottom of the hull. Trace back your hoses to see where they come in through the hull...should have some type of ball valve or way to shut off the water. I always close mine off during the winter. Enjoy your summer!

Congrats on the new boat!

You should be able to tighten the packing nut to slow down/stop the leak.

Locate the pumps and check the impellers. They might be shot from being run dry at some point.

They used two speedos to help the driver keep a steady speed. Check the pitots on the transom for clogs and check the tubes for leaks also.

Good luck!

Depth finders are cheap, just get a transom mount, epoxy it in bilge by the Vdrive, route your wire up to your new gauge, takes 15 minutes. Pumps could have valve turned off or they just need to be replaced. Tsunamis pumps are cheap on Amazon.

Is there anyway to test my transducer to see if it's bad?

I had the puck style transducer that is inside the hull and it was doing what yours was doing, just blinking .5' or 200'. checked out the transducer and it had broken free from the hull. it was right under the transmission ( I have a direct drive) I got some new epoxy, cleaned the hull and glued it down and it works fine. You have to get a really low viscosity epoxy so there are no air bubbles only solid material between the transducer and the hull.

The point of the two speedos is to help the driver drive a perfectly straight line. First things first, get a 3/32 drill bit and mount it in the end of a wine cork. Run the drill bit by hand, clockwise, in the little hole at the front bottom of the pitot tube. This will clear any debris out of the pickup. In an extreme case, you need to blow the entire line out. You can pull the tube off the back of the gauge and blow it out from there. If the pickups are kept clean, you will rarely have to blow out the entire system. 99% of the time it's just a bit of debris in the hole. If it clogs while you're on the water, take your drill bit on a cork and stick it down there and give it a spin. The cork keeps you from sending the drill bit to the bottom of the lake.

There should be a calibration dial on each gauge that you can adjust. Get yourself a gps speedo app for your phone. Take a ride and adjust the speedos on the fly at various speeds by going off your gps app. They won't work perfect but, at least you'll have some sort of base line and they won't look like your cross eyed cousin. Eventually you'll learn to ride off of the tach or you'll break down and buy a perfect pass. Either way, it'll be much more accurate and consistent.

When you adjust the packing nut, you need to do it on the water. It needs to drip at least once every 10 seconds. That shaft is water lubricated and the drip ensures that it's getting enough water. I set mine at ~8 seconds.

Fantastic looking boat by the way! Always loved the lines of that hull. Great colors too. Nice find.

You will find a ton of info on the packing nut and replacing packing by searching this forum or on the supra boat forum. Moomba forum is also a good one and a lot between the two makes corresponds. There are two large brass nuts. One that is skinny that is a locking nut and one that is larger and fatter. Loosen the locking nut (towards stern of boat) then tighten the larger nut down. Usually as tight as you can get by hand is about right. You want the nut to have a slow drip to keep everything lubricated. Finding the right wrench to use is a pita. I used big channel locks for and a year until I found the skidim website and bought a packing nut wrench. Make sure to tighten the locking nut, small skinny nut back against the large packing nut.
Not sure of exact type of ballast setup that is in boat. Along with what others have said about opening the valves to allow water in system you could have an air lock in the lines if the valves are open. Get the boat up to speed, 25mph or so, to force water into the intake with some pressure. Switch the pumps on and off as you are at speed to purge the air from the system. If you have the sprinkler type valves to control which bag is filling they could be bad also. Get them at lowes in the irrigation section. Something like $12 ea. I don't think supra used them until around '05 but possible they were put in.
For your depth gauge. Keep in mind that if you are in an area that has an extremely soft bottom the transducer can have a hard time bouncing back up to itself. If its shallow and really soft on bottom you might not get a reading. Can happen in deep water also. Could be something that simple.

I've got a 2003 ssv and just replaced my packing last year. Probably a worthwhile endeavor with your new ride.

It looks like you have the old waterbed connectors on the ballast system. If so that was probably fed by a single rule 2000 pump and sprinkler valves. You will be very disappointed in the system fill time. The ballast hoses for the front bag are pinched between the aluminum floor and really need to be opened up. I had a great how to but can't seem to find it in the archives. You can also opt for multiple fills ports or enlarge the current one based on your needs.

Put 750s in the back even though they won't fill all of the way. You can also get an 1150 for the bow which makes for a great setup. Put on the Acme 1235 prop and another 1000lbs and you've got a great setup.

Thanks guys! Unfortunately I just had eye surgery so I can't go out side to check this stuff out for a couple days. I'll let you know what I find when I get out there again

You should have a manifold under the back seat with 3 petcock valve that supply the ballast system. Make sure they are in the open position. Being you are not getting flow they might be closed.