Whether the engine has to be removed to replace the seal or not depends on the on the mower. Some of the John deere mowers you have to remove the engines. Had a customer bring in one of their zero turns and I thought no problem. Boy, was I wrong there was just enough room in the frame for the crank shaft to stick through. After taking the engine off and looking at the problem the bottom bushing in the oil pan had worked its way down and ruined the seal. Had to replace the oil pan to fix the problem. Will not do one of those again. They can take it to John Deere to get it fixed. People buy the Deere mower and then don't want to take it back to the dealer and pay their high labor prices to get it fixed.
