Questions about my water pump. Options

[Araykhel]

I am finally free from my treacherous school semester and its summer time. That means lots of sun, drinks, and good times with the convertible... That I put away in the winter because of a water pump issue. Ouch... I wanted to confirm with all the engine-savvy 6gc'ers that my water pump was still leaking, so I used good old distilled water in my radiator. Drove fantastically for the day, passed the night test into the working day today, and I arrive home to a slow drip coming from what I assume to be my water pump housing.

I'm a recovering college student so money doesn't come in anything more than a couple hundred a week or so and I know this will cost me money to fix at a garage so I came hunting for tips. Of those of you whom have already replaced your water pumps/ timing belt assemblies, how much did you have to spend? I want to know the appropriate prices to aim for when I go shopping.

This post has been edited by Araykhel: Jun 14, 2011 - 3:00 PM

[Spider77]

Water pump, timing belt (w/ accessories like tensioners), new thermostat ran me about 150 after shipping. Overall the job took about 12 hours (mostly cause whoever changed the belt before me used an impact to torque the crank bolt), fairly simple all in all.