Regarding the oil pump seal, do you know if it has ever been done before? If it is original, I'd be surprised if it wasn't leaking a little bit. If you decide to do it, the screws on the cover are easy to strip, so watch some of the OTRAMM or other videos on how to remove them carefully. This...
Yeah, I did a big tear down like that a couple of years ago at about 240,000 miles. I also did the front main seal, oil pump cover seal, distributor seal, all vacuum hoses, decarboned throttle body, replaced some EGR and VSV components, fuel injectors, new alternator brush, power steering pump...
I went with the TYC1918 when I did a complete overhaul on my cooling system and its performance is incredible. Even when heavily loaded or towing in hot temperatures up steep grades, my temperature never gets above the the mid-190s. The radiator was cheap and definitely not as heavily built as...