Drain the oil. You're going to have a mess - ONCE. Then visit your
friendly
neighborhood hardware store, drain plug in hand, and buy a black-steel
pipe
nipple with the same thread size as the drain plug, and long enough to
extend
past the edge of the mower. You're probably looking for 3/8" pipe, by
maybe 6"
long. Get a threaded cap, too. Thread the nipple into the hole where the
drain
plug goes, and the cap over the other end of the nipple. Throw the plug in
the
trash. Refill the oil sump.

Next time you change oil, put a pan under the pipe nipple and take the cap
off. No mess.


Not a bad idea. I'd need a pipe at least 2' long though (the oil drain
sleeve is about a foot long, but way too short to clear the tractor). Also,
I'd have to drill a hole in the side panel of the tractor (not a big deal).
It could work. Now the question is, if you thought of it, how did the
engineers at MTD NOT think of it? -Dave