Just wondering if someone can point me to the best place to buy good quality Merc parts for my 2006 496 HO engine?? Thanks for any help!!

skip the rebuild kit and just go with this from Hardin Marine I changed mine over several years ago on my 496 and never had another issue just change the impeller depending on use, it cost a little more but they are worth the money!
http://www.cpperformance.com/p-15774...d-502-mag.aspx

That's a good option and when my next one goes out it's what I'm going to use. My stock pump was the brass body style I have a good relation with my mechanic he sold me the pump complete for $529 and had it shipped overnight for another $70. I called around trying to find one local price ranged from $700 to $750.

If you need someplace local here in Portland for OE parts try Pacific Power Boats they are on Marine drive and NE 33rd. Definitely not the cheapest place but if you needed something fast and don't want to wait they are good.

http://www.pacificpowerboats.net/

https://www.mercruiserparts.com/mercruiser_parts.asp

OR me - you can get the back half with wear plate now thru Merc.non air actuator style. Have no idea why they never did this in the first place. I also can sell you CP or Hardin marine products as well.

For future reference do you give member discounts? ...Always looking for good connections! Lol

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251542597363...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The problem with this repair kit from EBAY is you are using the same depth impeller that is used without the small inner SS wear plate insert dropped in.

Impellers work, prime , flow , and volume flow correctly with engineered designed tolerances of the impeller itself amd the internally housing measurements

When you put that small SS insert wear plate into the impeller housing you are closing the impeller housing depth up the thinkness of the wear plate.

However thick that wear plate is - that thickness needs to have the same shorten in the impeller.

Example - If the wear plate is .090 thick then that's how much the impeller needs to be .090 shorter.

If not you are squeezing a .090 to big of an impeller into a space ( the impeller housing) that is now ,090 shorter because of the added small insert wear plate that you just dropped into the housing.

the housing depth internally does not match the correct impeller depth. The Impeller will hang .090 over the housing really squeezing / compressing the impeller down when you bolt everything back together..

Sorry for the redundancy as I am trying to make all of this to understand fully

The kit is a band aide that will wear your impeller out faster and cause just as much cavitation if not more than before.

Kind of like putting a 10 incher object in a 9 inch hole, jam / cram that thing right on in. Its going to get hurt especially if it spins a million miles per hours. just saying

http://www.jcmarinellc.com/water_pump_kit.htm