Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) New parts while pulling radiator

[dward]

I ordered the vacuum pump seal ki from Gould today. What an amazing guy. I inquired about the best way to replace the seals and was leaning toward sending him the pump to do.
He basically talked me into doing it myself and told me if it leaked to send it to him and he would do it for less than $200 and he would refund the cost of the kit I ordered. He also told me if I needed any help to call him and he would walk me through each step, although after watching his video it looks pretty straight forward.
You sure don't find customer service like that anymore!!
Since my radiator needs to be cleaned from the dreaded blow by oil issue I thought now would be a good time as it will make removing the vacuum pump much easier.
As its original, I want to replace the hoses and thermostat and probably serpentine belt.
Whats a good place to get the hoses and thermostat? I usually go to Napa
Also, should I stick with the stock 190 thermostat or does something else work better? I watched 2 videos and 1 used RTV around the housing and 1 didn't. Do they come with a gasket?
Anything else that I should do or replace at this stage while these parts are removed?

 

[BorderCat]

Belt, hoses, and t-stat are good idea at this point for sure and nothing wrong with getting them from Napa. I would do the belt tensioner as well if it has not been done. 190* stat will work best. Pretty sure it will come with a gasket, but if not RTV will work just fine.

 

[MLee]

dward;
what are you working on? 24 valve what year? not meaning to sound mean but if you ask a question like you have, we can't really answer your question.
You have no signature to go by. So fill that in for more Ideas from us.

 

[gtwitch]

All parts or most are available from Geno's Garage.

gtwitch in wyoming

 

[Joe Mc]

Tell NAPA you want the "Gator" belt, they have it, it's just got a NAPA wrapper but in small letters it says Gates, it'll have a green coating on the non-ribbed flat area. It will cost you about $50 but you won't be sorry. Also, as mentioned above you should consider the tensioner too. The gator belt and new tensioner should eliminate the "sneeze" at shut down.

 

[dward]

I filled out my profile but guess something didn't work.
I have an 02 4x4 DRW 6sp.
Looks like Genos has everything I need.