Coolant spewing out of block. Mechanic claiming $1700 repair.
 

Hey all. Coolant is spewing out of my block so naturally I’m assuming the water pump needs to be replaced. The shop is telling me that it is a 9-hour labor job. In which they need to remove the belt, lower the oil pan, replace the engine timing cover gasket. I’m struggling to see why they need to replace that when it’s coolant leaking
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...acd217351.jpeg
. Am I making poor assumptions? I’ll attach the notes from the mechanic. I drive a 2003 Ranger 3.0.

I would be degreasing the engine and pressure testing the cooling system so that you can see exactly where the leak(s) are coming from.. Since the mechanic also wants to deal with an oil pan leak, are you leaking a lot of oil?. I would be seeking a second opinion since a water pump itself can spew out coolant faster than a gasket failure on a timing cover. If something is cracked, that's another story.

We don't know the rest of the info to make a good decision.
Year , mileage general condition of the vehicle.

There is a little expression that goes like, "We don't have the time to do the job right , but we always find the time to do it over".

That appears to be the situation here. There is a right way and other ways to handle this.
If you just want to get the immediate condition taken care of because you plan to dump the vehicle, that is one instance.
If you plan on keeping the vehicle ., the recommended work is a worthwhile consideration, depending of course on your wallet.

The design of this engine requires some intelligent planning so money is not wasted going back into work just done to really do the job right.

A second and even a third opinion is never out of bounds. Time and knowledge will help make the best decision.