2000 Altima - Slew of Problems

CEL came on the other day so i took it to Nissan, apparently the Catalytic Convertor has gone bad, the water pump is on it's last leg, driver side CV joint is cracked open, power steering line is leaking, idler pulley is almost gone, and the crankshaft is leaking oil. Ok, i was aware of all of those problems except the Cat and i was pretty sure the water pump needed to be replaced - all the other things are just in the early stages of malfunction, but Nissan played it up, i'm sure for their $3000 estimate on all of that.

what i'm getting to is: how important is the cat convertor? (i live in alabama, no real epa laws) and what does it entail to replace the water pump myself, as i can get the pump for $50 as opposed to paying Nissan $488 for the job.

If you are mechanically inclined, you should be able to handle the water pump, leaking power steering hose (with new clamps), front crank seal, and idler all in an afternoon. A weekend tops, if you run into a snag. I would wait to change the axle until it makes more noise than you can stand. You just have to change it by the time it starts making a noise while traveling in a forward direction. Since you have no state emissions test, then I would leave the cat alone till you just had to change it. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

thanks alot, toolman! any good links to instructions on the water pump and all that other stuff? also, how will i know when i should change the cat?

Sorry, I don't know any links. You might try a Haynes manual for you vehicle. Perhaps Google Haynes or Chilton, I don't know. I think the hardest part of the job would be taking out the upper motor mount, but that is easy. Take a jack (with a block of wood on top) rest in underneath the oil pan, so that it will support the engine. Then take out the mount. You may have to play around with the jack, so the bolts come out smoothly, but like I said nothing difficult. What I meant by changing the cat when you had to was if Alabama ever changed the law, or if you wanted to sell it.

oh ok, so no real consequences for a bad cat? jw if my mpg would get murdered or any other problems from it.