Change water pump?

[pjtoy2]

I have a 2003 Tahoe LT w/ 52k miles and a few days ago i thought I smelled coolant and then my low coolant warning came on. I stopped and poured coolant in the truck and most of it leaked out before i made it a mile down the road. I left the truck at my friends house because I didn't have time at the moment to fix it. My buddy took a look at it and said he thinks its the water pump. I have a few questions:

Is it normal for the water pump to go out with only 52k miles? Or is the fact that its 8 years old possibly the reason?

Is it difficult to change and on average how long would it take? I work 2 jobs and go to school so I don't have to much extra time to work on it but my friend said he can probably do it.

Last, is there any other things I should replace as preventative maintenance or even performance-wise that will be easier to do at the same time?

[blueflamed03]

age more than anything, had dealer replace mine under warranty, IMHO, replace belts while you have em off.

[heftylefty58]

Just went through this last month.... I went ahead & had both serpentine & a/c belts replaced, too. In hindsight, I probably should have had the radiator hoses replaced as well, but I didn't think of this until they finished the job. (I'm the 2nd owner of my 2003 Yukon, and it still has the factory hoses.) I guess I'll just have them replaced in a year or 2 from now.

[pjtoy2]

Thanks for the advice but I had the water pump at home and decided to do this at 3AM this morning because I needed to use the truck today. Since no auto parts store was open I was only able to replace the water pump. It fixed the problem at least! I am planning on changing the belts in the next few days though.

[ScottyBoy]

I strongly suggest the Goodyear Gatorback belts. Most autozone store sell them, or can order them. I have used them on several vehicles now and they last a very long time. Because of the rib design, they do not crack or split hardly at all. Mine are over 2 years old and they still look brand new.

http://www.troyerperformance.com/cgi-bin/itemimgs/Gatorback.jpg