1 hour ago, Captain Obvious said:

I used Melling as well because I liked the cast iron body instead of aluminum. 

You'll need a better Sawzall blade now too.  

32 minutes ago, siteunseen said:

You'll need a better Sawzall blade now too.  

Haha!! True that, my friend! I lubed the bolts well with anti-sieze when I put it on. Hopefully I won't have to resort to that ever again!

Well that wasn't so bad...

I  took my trusty angle grinder and sliced the housing at the point of the stuck bolt, and it popped right off.  

Thanks for all the info and advice gents.  The tips you gave me really did help even if I didn't take the exact approach recommended.  The best part was learning how ubiquitous these oil pups are so I can easily get a replacement.

Edited March 20, 20223 yr by ArcticFoxCJ

7 hours ago, siteunseen said:

I used the Melling 152 turbo manual transmission oil pump on mine. It stays on the high side of the gauge. Seems like it was $60 in 2016 from Advance Auto. Probably a $100 now. 

Found on google.com...

non turbo L28 (75 to 83)
model M90 = 2 gallons/minute at 491 rpm

turbo L28 with automatic trans
model M111 = 2 gallons/minute at 491 rpm

turbo L28 with manual trans
model M152 = 2.25 gallons/minute at 491 rpm

Now, I found the M90 on Amazon but it insists that this part number won't fit my 1977 280Z.  Is that just because this is an upgrade that still works fine?

41 minutes ago, ArcticFoxCJ said:

Now, I found the M90 on Amazon but it insists that this part number won't fit my 1977 280Z.  Is that just because this is an upgrade that still works fine?

Yes, I have the 152 on my '77 too. I read about that upgrade at the very beginning. Also turbo head bolts are a reccomended update. I don't think you can buy any others now anyway, just turbos.

Glad you got the pump off without damaging anything other than the pump. Good work with the grinder. 220. 221.... Whatever it takes.

So about the Melling pumps:

The M90 is for the manual trans cars without a turbo.
The M152 is for the manual trans turbo cars and it has the same pressure limit as the M90, but it pumps higher volume.*
The M111 is for the AUTO turbo cars. It has not only higher volume, but higher pressure limit at the top end.

Even though my car is non-turbo, I'm running the M152 in my car. Works great in my tired engine with worn old clearances everywhere.

* They achieve the higher volume by using longer rotor gears in the M152. About 20% longer maybe? I've got pics if someone really wants to see it.

Oh, and make double dog sure you get all that grinding grit cleaned up before it gets inside your engine.   

just curious is there a downside to running a pump with higher pressure and volume? I have a Melling pump sitting in my garage, I've yet to install it....

11 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

Oh, and make double dog sure you get all that grinding grit cleaned up before it gets inside your engine.   

Well the reason I was taking it off in the first place was to take the block to a machine shop to get it reconditioned anyway.  When I got the car compression was a joke and even though it was probably just stuck rings, I wanted to start off fresh.