Oil leak on tine axle

Head bolts are probably loose, check the 3 nearest the mouffler and of course check all of them.

You could try putting the tiller to use, preferably where it will have to work hard to till the ground it unsuccessful you may need a torch and some good old fashion luck to loosen tines from shaft. Now consider this; if the bearings are worn so that the shaft is loose new seals will not hold up and you will risk doing further damage to the worm gear located on rear shaft and possibly other damage to your transmission from contaminated oil.

http://www.mtdparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/OperatorManualView?storeId=10101&catalogId=19502&langId=-1

Go to this website and type in PONY for your model number and find your operator manual by your serial number. The operator manual should have detailed instructions on how to replace your seals.
On the Horse model you remove the wheels and then carefully use a couple of screw drivers to pry out the old seals being careful not to scratch the wheel shaft sealing area. Then polish the wheel shaft with fine emery cloth to remove any sharp edges. Then grease the wheel shafts and carefully slide the new wheel seals on and use a piece of plastic PVC pipe cut square that will slide over the shaft and gently drive the seal to the depth the old seals were installed at. You dont even have to drain the gear oil. Getting the wheels off the wheel shaft is sometimes a problem if they are rusted on. if you can get the wheels off its not to hard to change the seals.

Frank

Your tiller is a pony.

Have you tried soaking the shaft area with either PB Blaster or Deep Creep penetrating oil. Try this for a few days before trying to tackle getting the tine attachment off.

I presume you opened the port and removed the grade 8 placement bolt? If you have then you need to polish the shafts with 400 then 800 sandpaper, clean then lube them before trying to slide thru the support bearings. If your tine shaft is bent? your screwed, or just remove the shaft seals with a screwdriver and replacing them without removing the shaft. REmember to put a thin coat od RTV arround the outer lip to help make a better seal

The recommended lube for a Troy Bilt transmission is 140 Gear Lube. It's tough to find. If you use lighter oil, the trans seals will likely start to leak.

on my pony the disc came off when i removed all of my tine shafts. then i pulled the old seals out an drove the new ones in

Trans oil! 90 or 140 wt.
I use 140 in my older tiller.
G

If the seal fits over the axle shaft it should be ok. be sure your axles are very clean as not to ruin the new seals when applying them. probably a good idea to replace them as a pair (right and left side) to save you time down the road.