Mr. Thomas: Excellent topic and very good reading throughout the whole thread. I did look through the whole thread and really enjoyed it. However I do think that we should keep safety in mind when you stated to lift front end with FEL or jack up the front end and then crawl under the tractor to deal with the issue of changing filters etc.... I ALWAYS place jack stands under the front axle and block the rear tires with heavy steel angle iron. I work as an ICU Trauma nurse in a big Level One Trauma center and I am also a Paramedic-Firefighter that handles heavy rescue incidents. Most of the serious farm accidents we get called to are roll-overs but a few are collapse crush injuries caused by lack of stabilization of heavy components. They are quite often...fatal to the operator. Very sad indeed. Do NOT ever trust the hydraulics on ANY machine. It just isn't worth it. The smalle compact tractors can be just as deadly. Don't let size fool you. So take the extra time and be safe so you can continue to enjoy that tractor for many years. Thanks for letting me vent my concerns.
