Welcome to CEG. Yes, the water pump is a problem with the Duratec because of its plastic impeller, which eventually comes apart. The more anal members change pumps every 30K miles. The pump sold by Autozone has a metal impeller and is said to be more durable. Finally, the price quoted seems pretty high; if you're handy with tools you can change the pump yourself--it's one of the few accessible things under the hood. Good luck.
