2008 Ski Nautique - Where are the impeller pieces?

[Randy C]

I have a 2008 Ski Nautique with the 5.0 L motor and apparently suffered the "white box" impeller failure with less than 10 hours of use. I was trying to track down where the pieces went - as in all of the blades. I pulled the thermostat housing and hoses to the manifolds and found nothing. I made a quick run to the local dealer for a new thermostat (because the motor has 1200 plus hours and is relatively new to me) and gasket. I asked one of the guys at the dealership where the impeller pieces typically end up and he said "in the bottom of the engine. You have to take off all the hoses and backflush when you winterize or you won't get all off the water out of the block".

Does anyone have any more specific information on where the pieces wind up and how to accomplish this procedure ?

BTW, I did replace the impeller with the old one and haven't had any overheating since. A new impeller is in hand and will go in as part of this process.

Thanks