My 1990 loyale leaks coolant off the plastic cover on the front of my engine. Me and my dad think it could be a bad water pump, and how hard water pumps are to replace? Thoughts? Ideas?

Where exactly is the leak showing up?  There are several opportunities for leaking near the front of the engine.

 

The waterpump is not difficult to replace.

Timing belt cover = plastic cover on front of engine? If this is the case removing this cover will make future maintenance much easier and give you access to water pump.

Leaving off the covers as the previous poster recommended has its pros and cons.  I would suggest considering your needs before leaving them off.

Northwet I am fairly new here and in all my searching have not found a post saying to leave the covers on. For the OP and me what are advantages of leaving them on if you are not doing hard off roading.

Biggest is safety:  Depending on who you have around the running engine, the chance of serious injury is much greater without covers.  This may seem unlikely, but this is the reasoning behind mechanics not wearing jewelry, loose-fitting clothes, and unrestrained long hair while working.  The risk/reward gap is too great.

 

To be clear, I wasn't saying that people should not run without covers, just that it should not be put forth as the default for everyone.

 

Cheers!

Could be the bypass hose (small diameter, 90 degree hose on top of the pump, hides under the A/C compressor) could be leaking, or the gasket for the water pump could be leaking. There are two small oval rubber plugs on the center timing belt cover that you can remove to see if the belts are wet. This can help in determining where the water is going or coming from.

 

Also, the main advantage to running without the covers is the ease of changing them in the future and visual diagnosis. However, it is more dangerous to limb when the engine is running and it also leaves the rubber belts and pulleys susceptible to water/snow, debris and other stuff that you generally do not want between your belt and cam sprocket. If they are broken or will not come off without destroying them, so be it. But, I'd advise to put them back on to try and maximize the life of the belts. Besides, if the oil or coolant is leaking, you'll see it at the bottom of the covers. They aren't fluid tight...