Does the free wheeling (bypass) valve operate smoothly in & out when you perform the purge, or if you are doing it to roll the tractor by hand? If the bypass valve does not move freely, and "click" into its proper detent positions.......it could be still bypassing a small volume of oil. As to "worn gears" being the source of noise AND ALSO being related to poor performance: Highly unlikely. The gears in this unit are the few that are required for just ONE reduction ratio between the drive motor and the differential section of the unit, and the differential gears themselves. The final reduction gearing would only be noisy during periods where the tractor ground speed was pretty fast and the pitch of the noise would change with any increase or decrease of ground speed. The differential gears themselves DO NOT have any relative motion to each other EXCEPT when executing corners (turning tractor to left or right) or when one wheel is spinning due to a loss of traction. At all other times the differential gears may as well be welded together as they remain stationary relative to each other. I suggest you might want to completely disassemble all the brake and friction pack parts for inspection, cleaning and lubing (where needed). Because Hydro Gear does list brake adjustment disorder as a possible cause of noise and poor performance, I am inclined to think that there may still be something about that friction pack and the brake caliper/pucks that may be at the root of the problem. If you put the trans into free wheel mode, are you able to roll the tractor at all by hand? If not....that may be confirmation of a dragging brake. If you undertake the disassembly of the brake and friction pack, be sure you take plenty of photos as you take it apart so you will know without question where each part came from and how it was oriented. Don't rely on the other manuals for that, they can sometimes be vague, but your own photos will be clear.

seil: I've had this peace rose for about 5 or 7 years now and its always grown the same way... in a large T shape and always full of blooms along that top T line. This last year its been a real pain. I have had it tied up along a fence then moved it and tied it up along a flat straight up trellis attached to the side of our redwood shed. This year its been a real brat and not wanting to cooperate with me. Hopefully now that I've hacked it down to the stump and this new growth is taking off, it will look better. When I had it along the fence my neighbor would come out and cut it down level with the top of the fence. Every year I saw buds starting to form the next day I would come out and look to see the entire top level with the top of the fence. So my husband and I dug it up and moved it away from that fence where the neighbor couldn't reach it. ANYTHING that grows up above the top of that fence they hack right off. Yes I've asked them not to touch our things. Even balled my eyes out after they dug up my flowers from my front yard right before mothers day this year. I yelled at them through tears on mothers day... Would you PLEASE leave my yard alone!! Stop touching my things!! Mind your own property and leave ours alone!! We still hold out hope that the peace rose is going to look better next year now that its out of the reach of our hacker happy neighbor.

Your local code should account for a normal amount of snow.  If you can an EPIC amount of snow for where you live, you'll want to shovel.  Use a plastic shovel.  My neighbor didn't shovel his, though, and while the snow pile up above his deck railings, his deck was fine once it reappeared in April or May.

LOL! Thank you. Yes, pretty much all of them, except the climbers, Hugonis, Roxburghii and the Ausins (which aren't worth the effort in this climate) are now moved to new homes. Engineered soil requires mechanical digging to excavte a hole. Refill it with the native, unamended soil and plant on top of the uncompacted mound. It will settle with time and the "bucket" you've created will eventually collect water. The difference is, that is all very much inorganic sub soil which often has ground water in it. Inorganic material doesn't sour when submerged under water. The deeper tap and anchor roots of pretty much any plant is suited to finding that kind of water and making good use of it. The feeder roots remain in the upper inches which are initially above grade but which will settle with time to about the soil grade level, and will spread out in the upper layer of "top soil" always installed over the engineered soil. That's the issue with planting trees in the stuff. The builders place a thin (often much less than a foot) of "top soil" (read "dirt") over the engineered soil bed then plant in excavated holes which the roots can't penetrate due to lack of air space and drainage. The tree roots grow to the surface where there is oxygen and where they splay out under the turf, resulting in surface roots running in all directions. Some tree and shrubs generate them naturally, such as liquid amber and pepper trees. When planted in engineered soil, their bad traits are exacerbated to the extreme. I plan to have them mechanically removed and the soil excavated to create a bed of loosened sub soil. All organics will go on top of that layer where they will break down and condtion the loosened sub soil as they digest. White Birch? Nope. Hateful things. Not that they aren't "pretty", but they are much prettier where they are suited, meaning where there isn't aridity, alkalinity and saltiness and where there aren't drying winds and extreme sun and heat. They like cooler, damper climates where their foliage doesn't fry easily, much like avocados and Japanese Maples do. Birches generate a tremendously thick, dense, fibrous root mass under the turf, very much like a carpet backing. I've dealt with many people who love the look of the birches and who virtually always want pansies planted around their trunks to flush out the "Connecticut in the desert" look they desire. Try it once. It doesn't succeed here. The only way to accomplish it is to create a planter around the trunks using large stones; lay in a heavy plastic liner and fill it with potting soil. The stones hold it in place and hide the edges of the plastic from view and support the soil. Do NOT puncture the plastic sheeting or the tree roots will inflitrate the potting soil in a matter of weeks, destroying the whole project. Then plant the annuals you want in the potting soil. IF you're lucky, it will take a year for the tree roots to grow up between the stones and the plastic liner before they infiltrate the soil in it and kill the annuals. I've repeated that process around the same birch trees for the past eight or so years and it has worked as long as there are no drainage holes to give access to the tree roots. When you replant, you often have to rip it all apart and surgically remove the tree root infested root ball, cutting it away from the ground, then replacing the stones and a new liner with new soil and new plants. Because the surface of the makeshift planter is wide enough and it isn't deep, any water that fills the bottom of the liner is either utilized by the annuals, or evaporates quickly enough to prevent it from souring. I have seen that birch root mass literally expand, pushing Schedule 40 PVC sprinkler lines to the point of shattering. Their roots are perfect for stabilizing creek banks, nearly eliminating erosion. They aren't good to deal with in any area you hope to be able to actually PLANT anything in. If the trees are young, without a great deal of spread yet, you can establish beds of agapanthus or other invasive types and they can do battle quite effectively with the tree roots. A friend has that combination around the front of his home where they have successfully growth together for over thirty years. But once the trees are established and those bloody roots have generated their characteristic mass, you are NOT getting a shovel into the ground from outside their drip zones anywhere near the trunks. Hateful things. Kim