I have the oil pump out because I am replacing the rear seal. I would like to clean the pump and strainer. The FSM says that if you remove the strainer you have to replace it with a new one to insure an airtight seal. Any thoughts on this.

 

Why wouldn't you? Might as well put a new pump in there anyway. They are known to crap out around 150K.

 

Absolutely put in a whole new pump since you're already in there. Cheap insurance for such a vital part. I put a high volume pump in mine and the pressure stays at 40 psi when idling hot. It used to be 20. I've got about 185K on mine.