Hydro Gear ZT-2800's fill plugs

[NH73]

I changed the oil on my Hydro-Gear ZT-2800 a couple weeks ago. Does the fill plugs need to be as tight as when I took them off. My transmission has a drip of oil hanging from it. But only a small spot on the cardboard under it. Do you think that is just the residue oil that got on the outside of the transmission when changing the oil or shall I torque them tight?

 

[JTK]

I know when I had my Cub Z-Force ZTR with ZT2800's on it, when it was still new I broke each fill plug loose, just to make sure I could get them out when I wanted to. They were TIGHT! There's probably a torque spec for them per Hydro Gear somewhere. I put some never-seize on them and snugged them back up. Hopefully the next owner saw some appreciation in it. I didn't own the machine long enough to change the drive oil and filters. Out of curiosity, did you mail-order filters or get them from a dealer? I've seen them on eBay pretty cheap.

 

[NH73]

I bought from the dealer I got the mower from. They had them for 13.95 each. I looked online and saw the dealer was fairly comparble. Yes, I know what you mean by tight. Thanks for informing me first, so I torque them open. I know I got a little oil spilled on the transmission, so I am trying to figure out if it is really, really slowly leaking or just the residue collecting. I just checked and there was a little bit of oil under the plug. I guess I will have to hank them tighter.