5-19-08, Update: Photos attached showing the results of cutting open the oil filter. Possible reason my oil light came on is the bearing "Babbitt" mat'l has damaged the oil pump or plugged the oil gallery's, causing even more bearings to fail due to lack of oil. I won't really know what bearings have failed until I pull the pan. It's obvious from the amount of material ( heaping 1/4 tsp found) that this failure has been going for some time, not just the last two hour session when the light came on at shut down. That is what was so mysterious, why the low oil pressure light then and not hours before. And now I am faced with the thought of the whole inside of the engine has these little bits and pieces floating around just waiting to plug or jam something, if they haven't already. I'll wager if I pulled the brand new filter and cut it open I would find the same thing. How many filters or oil changes until its clean??? I checked with a Kioti dealer who told me that a replacement engine installed is $5,000.00. Sure makes my bargain priced tractor be right up there with the high priced colors. I'm thinking that when the low O.P. light comes on then in every case we could say it is a bearing failure because the oil clearances are too great to provide pressure feed back to the pump and thus the light. Why don't we just id the light to say "bearing failure" instead of low oil pressure, and then we won't have to wait and wonder. Of course I'm just being silly. I did speak to Rick Wallace's' Mech. "Mike" who said that the plastic tubing coming out of the rocker box cover is normal and that it ends where my photos show with no filter etc. on the end, or redirected anywhere else. I can understand the pollution reduction value of redirecting the breather tubing into the air cleaner; autos are set up that way for that reason, thus the requirement of a PVC valve for the smog circuit. Maybe some states require that of tractors, sure would be nice to have as now dust cannot get into the engine with that set-up, you are lucky your's is that way. As far as the year, you got me wondering now. My tractor is painted 3054 "XS", so I know it's not the "earlier" 3054 with the compression release or the exhaust sticking up through the hood. Mike also said that inside of the cover is a screen to prevent dust from entering, I say no! the screen provides a cooling factor for the fume laden air from leaving the crankcase full of oil. the oil drips off of the screen inside the valve cover. Mike said he will check with Kioti to see if this open breather tube set-up is correct or not. I have found several other's who have had bearing failures with the same first indication (the oil light coming on) and no other symptoms, noise etc., I think I counted four or six? so far, I ran across them in my search of TBN and other forums, to find out why my oil light was on. Verrry interesting, wouldn't you say. BTW I used a sharp chisel and hammer to cut off the thread end of the filter to open it up...end caltrac