Year and a half ago when we cleared the first 3.5 acres of our place and cut pads for the barn, drive, trailer, etc. we ended up scraping the topsoil into windrows to get it out of the way. As we only had a week off from our collective jobs and were using rented equipment (D4), redistributing this dirt was a low priority. I'm now doing it with the 3510 on evenings and weekends. This dirt also contains a ton of tree trash from the clear cutting including a bunch of 'small' 4-6" diameter tree trunks. The job of putting it back is slowed immensly by needing to take time to pull the wood waste out and burn it. OK - enough background.
On the day in question I was cutting a water relief channel through one of the windrows to fix a little erosion problem. Little did I know that at the point I was cutting through, the berm was mostly tree trunks, laid together and perpedicular to the front of the tractor. The trunks were covered with 4-6' of dirt. As I dug away I found the end of my cut was blocked by a large stump (removed with the dozer earlier but still needing to be pushed out of the way). As I set up to push the stump, the last of the dirt on top of the previously undiscovered tree trunks wiped away and the front wheels dropped. On the way down the tractor slewed a little to the left. No big deal really - figured I'd just walk out on the FEL with the DIF lock engaged. Done it before. Minor detail - when I dropped and slewed an uncut tree stump ended up between the FEL bracket and the front left wheel. Can't go forward, can't go back and can't effectively slew the tractor back to the right. Bright idea - cut the stump off. A little shovel work and some blocking to make sure the tractor is stable and we're in business. Painfully aware of the proximity of the chainsaw chain to the PS tank I proceed, but without putting something in there to protect the tank - In hindsite the only thing that would have fit would have been an old set of saw chaps.
Stump is cut, I'm feeling like the day won't be a total waste when I go back to touch up a sharp splinter on top the stump to avoid the need for a new tire. It is then that I catch that painful little glint out of the corner of my eye and realize it's hydraulic fluid flowing out of the tank. One little careless touch while tired and there goes the day. Further extraction efforts are hampered by the need to shut down every 30 seconds and refill with hydraulic to avoid running the pump dry.
I can recomend marine epoxy and blue shop towels (as reinforcement) to fix holes in these tanks. Made a rather neat repair that would probably have lasted years. But as this was the fourth need for repair on the PS system it was time to visit the dealer.
There you go - short story, long.