Chevrolet Repair: steering pump, backyard mechanic, dollar job

Question
At the garage they told me the leak is my steering pump.
They quoted me 9 hrs labour.I have a 97 chev monte carlo 3.4, v6.Is there any way around this 1500 hundred dollar job? They say it needs replacing.

Answer
HI Sean,

This is a very bad job.  This pump, is tightly packed in.  The lines to the rack have to be gotten to.  Then there is the part price.  

You may be able to find an independant garage who can do it cheaper.  Or better yet, a backyard mechanic...like me.  Is this a dealer or an independant garage?

You can probably find the part cheaper yourself.  But the garage cannot upsale that so they won't want to use it.  

Is the 9 hours book time, or actual estimate.  Booktime hours tend to get you to pay more for a job than the job will actually take.  9 hours may actually take 5 or 3.  Dealers are good for this type of charging.  

You can shop around, try to get someone to charge less hours, try to use your own part, etc.  But you will probably end up paying a considerable amount anyway.  This job is a tougher one.

C J S