Pulling the 4.0, what to do?

[four100d]

Hey guys... I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I would see if I could get some opinions on what all I should replace when I pull the 4.0 this weekend.

My girlfriend and I recently bought a 94, 4x4, 4.0 Automatic Ranger and the rear main seal is leaking like crazy. Also, it appears to have a bad head gasket. The engine runs really good, but it definitely needs some TLC. My girlfriends cousin is going to help me take the engine out this weekend, and I'm trying to figure out what all I should replace.

Here is what I'm thinking of doing:

Sending in the heads to make sure they are not warped or cracked.

Replacing the timing chain, oil pump, seals, and gaskets, plugs, wires, etc.

There is lifter noise, so should I replace the push rods? I read somewhere that there can be problems with the 4.0 push rods on high mile engines. I do not have the money to do a complete rebuild, I just want to fix the leaks and help the engine live a little longer.

Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

[disciplerocks]

Oil pump, oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets (dont use cork) and a thorough tune up.

 

[four100d]

I'm definitely planning on all of that... Should I replace the pushrods? The engine has 247,xxx miles on it...

They still make cork gaskets?