Costs on water pump for 97 Grand Am?

[CindyLynn]

Hi- I have a 1997 Grand Am and I just found out that the water pump needs to be replace. I've called a couple of garages and was told that it is a gear-driven water pump that is run by the timing chain, thus the timing chain would need to be replaced as well.

I was wondering how much a job like this would cost? I was told that the labor estimate in "the book" calls for 5-6 hours of labor....

Does anyone have an idea of what price range I'm looking at? Any suggestions on how to keep these costs low?

Thank you

[inafogg]

how many miles & what engine 4 or 6 cyl??