After finding coolant leaking from my beloved 94 Infiniti j30t (169k miles), my mechanic says it's the water pump - and that it'll cost me $700 for them to replace it. Thinking I may be close to that nebulous threshold of "is it worth it" or not...I started searching here. A friend who will be here in a week, and is pretty mechanically inclined says he can change the pump if I can get one - he recently put a new starter in my van. The timing belt was changed already a few years ago.

I was hoping to find a thread that talks specifically about changing the water pump on this model so that he has as much info as possible about this particular car, and any glitches to expect, but I only find what refers primarily to the timing belts on several other models.

If my friend can do this, I'll plan on keeping the car....but if not, I'm going to be thinking about selling it to someone who has the skills to do the maintenance themselves. My skills are more in the line of repairing my big coffee roaster - cars are a whole 'nother deal. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

The timing belt and water pump and thermostat are always changed at the same time. to avoid repeat labor.

If your car is not worth $700 to you, that does not speak well for your maintenance practices.

And I thought I'd find helpful responses here.