Improving the GA16DE on the cheap

[ZzEwokzZ]

First, a little back story. I've got a 99 Sentra GXE with a GA16DE that has a timing chain idler issue. I tried to work on it over the weekend and eventually gave up due to the fact I had to remove the head and drop the oil pan to get the lower cover off. I need the car so all this work would be hard to do over the weekend and it has 176,000 on the motor. So, I found another GA16DE with 100,000 miles and runs great. I figure that doing a full out swap would be easier than working on the present motor under the time contraints.So, to my question. Is there anything that you guys would do to the stock engine while I have it out of the car to improve performance, gas milage, and reliability? I'm on a tight budget and the car also needs CV joints, ball joints, and little nic nack stuff here and there.Also, anything to watch out for while replacing the motor would be a great help. I've replaced a motor before on a 97 Corolla and on a 93 Escort, so I'm not a complete noob.

[nametakennow]

Standard tuneup parts, if it needs them. Other than that, the GA is pretty simple, so good luck with the swap!