Cadillac Repair: 97 cadillac deville water pump, cadillac deville, expert estimate

Question
97 cadillac deville leaking coolant, engine temp climbing---took in and had diagnosis of bad water pump. Estimate of $550 but when looking up part online it appears to be average of $50 part. How difficult a replacement is this?  Worth the money to have it done or can it be done without expert? Estimate seems terribly high to me. Any special tools needed? Is part easy to get at? Approximate time needed to replace?  Thanks for your assistance!

Answer
Water pump is extremly difficult to get to and it helps to be double jointed. Time to R&R is approx 2 1/2 hours plus the cost of the anti-freeze, gasket cement, cooling system pellets, etc, etc.

If you are fairly mechanically inclined, I can provide the manufacturers pictures and directives if you want to do it yourself. If you do, contact me at onlineautohelp@msn.com