I just did my 50 hour service and I was worried about how much fluid I would get on the tractor, the garage floor and me. I was worried after reading a number of horror stories about the amount of hydraulic fluid some owners had gotten all over everything. I hardly got any on any one of the three. One thing I found was useful was to lay a 10' X 15' piece of 3-mil plastic down on the garage floor and then drive on top of it. I did get some drips here and there but not much else. This may be an inexpensive solution for those who have gotten large quantities of fluid on their garage floor and then spent a lot time cleaning it up. Worked for me. Simply gathered it up after I got done and threw it away.
Another thing I found that worked well was some old cat litter pans. I collected the oil and hydraulic fluid in them and then pored it into containers. They are not tall and they allowed me to do the job without taking off tires, the MMM or the FEL. The rear tires in the center on the MMM were a pain to deal with but the litter pan fit right above them. They have such a big open area that they worked great when the hydraulic fluid came rushing out. The litter pan wasn't big enough to handle all of the fluid from the plug near the PTO so when it got nearly full, I put the plug back in, emptied the pan and then continued. I actually got the rest of the fluid in without having to empty it again.
BTW, the best hydraulic plug to take off first is the plug near the PTO. That leaves very little to come flying out of the two plugs on the sides.
Hope that someone will find these uselful.
Another thing I found that worked well was some old cat litter pans. I collected the oil and hydraulic fluid in them and then pored it into containers. They are not tall and they allowed me to do the job without taking off tires, the MMM or the FEL. The rear tires in the center on the MMM were a pain to deal with but the litter pan fit right above them. They have such a big open area that they worked great when the hydraulic fluid came rushing out. The litter pan wasn't big enough to handle all of the fluid from the plug near the PTO so when it got nearly full, I put the plug back in, emptied the pan and then continued. I actually got the rest of the fluid in without having to empty it again.
BTW, the best hydraulic plug to take off first is the plug near the PTO. That leaves very little to come flying out of the two plugs on the sides.
Hope that someone will find these uselful.
