And the rest of the story.
7. Even if the cork gasket is leaking and you are going to remove the hydro to replace it, you need to check all the other seals so you know how far into the hydro you will need to go. There are four seals you need to check, one on the front charge pump, one on the back of the hydro and two on the sides of the hydro.
8. When I am checking a seal I will clean all around it with a paper towel, then place a paper towel under the seal and run the tractor through the checks I mentioned previously. Since the hydro fluid is hard to see the paper will absorb it and it makes it easier to see. Here is the right side seal, it is on the stub shaft of the swash plate and can probably be changed when the hydro is out of the tractor without disassembling the hydro transmission.
9. Here is the rear seal and it can probably be replaced without removing the hydro from the tractor. You can see the two casting on the side where the two seals for the swash plate shafts are located. You need to clean under the castings and then check for seepage after running the tractor.
10. This is the left side seal on the trunion shaft, if it is leaking you will have to remove the hydro and it will have to be dissembled to replace it.
Hopefully someone can use some of this information. I can’t stress enough to find all of the leaks before you remove the hydro or you will replace something, put it back in the tractor and find you will need to do it all over again.