Our tractor seems to have a hole just under the engine, with a twisted shard of metal hanging out of it. I could probably pull it out, although I've no clue what this hole is, or what this piece of metal could be. Any ideas?
Don't pull that out, It is a cotter put there to keep any oil that may leak from the rear main seal from filling up the clutch housing. Or oil that may drip from the transmission into the clutch housing. The cotter keeps the hole from pluging and will move around and turn a bit as you drive the tractor though, say tall grass. Or it will move just from vibrations from the tractor itself. It also will let any condensation that collects on the bottom of the housing drip out. Dandy Dave!