I bought a used Toro Groundmaster 223D riding mower this past fall. I also separately bought a used snowblower attachment for it. For various reasons I didn't start putting the snowblower on until after Thanksgiving. I should have done it as soon as I mowed the lawn for the last time when it was still warm outside. I worked on it as much as I could today because it is only going to hit 18 degrees tomorrow.
Installing the snowblower has been a huge pain in the rear. I've now had to remove the front wheels, the seat assembly, the frame the seat sits on, and the fuel tank to get at some bolts to remove them. The brackets the deck and the snowblower attach to seem to be slightly out of alignment and I couldn't attach the snowblower. I loosened up the bolts on the brackets and was able to get the snowblower. Now that the fuel tank is out I decided it was a good time to remove the leaking hydraulic cylinders while I could easily get to the bolts. I will take them to the hydraulic shop on Monday to get them looked at. At least next year the snowblower should go on a lot easier.
At the rate it is going it will be summer before I have the snowblower attached. Every time I take a piece off I find something else that should be fixed or replaced. I decided I should shorten the hydraulic cylinders after I removed them and ended up with oil all over the floor. I forgot about them being full of oil.