E34/M50 Water Pump Query

[Seeker <rfg@xxxxxxx>]

	I am, so far, the happy owner of a 1992 525i (E34/M50).  No pocket
rocket, but a nice steady, comfortable car for those long highway drive
from Washington DC to Boston and Charleston, SC.

	In the Issue of the Roundel which hit my mailbox yesterday, in the
Tech Talk section there is a letter about replacing the water pump on an
E34 525i.

	The writer notes he has 90k miles on the odometer and has been
advised by his mechanic to replace the the water pump before the plactic
impeller disintegrates, thereby possibly risking pieces of plastic lodging
in unreachable places in the cooling system potentially requiring
DISASSEMBLING THE ENGINE!  Boy, did that get my attention!!  Mike Miller of
Tech Talk responded that "early" M50 engines were produced with plastic
impellers.

	Not wishing to be the UNhappy owner of a 1992 525i, is there anyway
to know for certain if my '92 525i is indeed an "early" model M50 and has a
plastic impeller?

	Finally, what's my mechanic likely to charge me for a new water pump?

	Many thanks,
	Bob G.

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