My dealership reported a slight antifreeze leak from the water pump and quoted $415 to replace it. Is this a reasonable “dealership” price? Is it a simple enough procedure for my grease monkey buddy to tackle instead?
You can pay the dealer price, pay less (probably) at an independent shop, or DIY.
What sort of work does your grease monkey buddy do? If he or she is a mechanic this should not be difficult. Even a non-professional with a good supply of tools should be able to do this with the help of a service manual for guidance.
Remove the serpentine belt.
Remove the alternator.
Remove the six bolts for the water pump.
Remove water pump/water pump O-ring.
Tester
If your engine is the 2ZZ- , you will want to leave the belt on to assist in keeping the water pump pulley from rotating while the bolts are removed. A square bladed something could be used as a substitute for the special tool. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/repairinfo/repairguide/repairGuideContent.jsp?partName=Removal%26Installation&pageId=0900c152801afe25&partId=0900c152801afe25