4.0 swap- what else while i'm in there?

Guys,

I'm in the middle of putting a crate motor in my 88. I'm replacing the standard items while in there such as :
- belt, hoses, studs, gaskets, motor mounts etc.

are there any other major things i should look at replacing? flex plate maybe(mine seems to be in good shape)?

any lessons that others have learned are welcome.

thanks again

Water pump?

water pump- are they pretty reliable in the 4.0? mine seems in decent shape despite the 200k miles on it. that reminds me, a new thermostat might be good too.

Water pump for sure and factory stat #83501426.

I'd do the water pump. It's cheap, and so easy to do while it's out. No sense in putting a 200K mile pump on a brand new motor.

I'd probably stick a new thermostat housing on it and themostat as well.

Harmonic Balancer? Really easy to do before it goes in the chassis, kind of a PITA after.

What kind of shape is the radiator in? If I was doing a brandy new motor I'd do the cooling system too. No sense in all the crap getting run through a brand new motor's water jackets, that and I wouldn't want to risk a crate motor for $300 worth of radiator/surge tank and hoses. I guess tihs would depend on how the old one failed. If it milkshaked the coolant from a head failure or someting, for sure.