John Deere 245 LG tractor

I have a John Deere 245 L&G 1994 tractor with a leaky bottom oil seal. It has a Kawasaki 14 hp engine. I am wondering if it is a big job to change this seal myself. The dealer wants $75.00 dollars an hour to do the job and would not tell me how long it would take. He said that on a tractor of that age,
other problems could affect the job. Can anyone who has changed this seal give me some pointers on what problems I might have such as special tools,assembly or disassembly,parts availability, etc. Your input will affect my decision on how to proceed with this problem. Thanks in advance.

I am not familar with that model Deere, But the time spent depends on several factors, such as if the engine must be removed in order to replace the seal.

A lot of times the seal can be replaced with the engine in the frame after removing the electric clutch and the transmission drive pulley.

Either way, the electric clutch (I am assuming it has an electric clutch, most Deere riders have one) must be removed. Sometimes they just slide off the crankshaft. More often some sort of puller must be used to remove the clutch. I have heard of them being rusted or bound so tight to the engine crankshaft they had to be cut off the crankshaft of the engine with a grinder. Obviously This will greatly increase the time a mechanic spends on this type of repair, and no way to estimate how long it will take to do the job.
The same goes for the drive pulley for the transmission belt.

The seal itself can usually be removed by hooking the lip with a suitable seal puller and popping it out of the engine oil sump. Of course care must be taken not to damage the surface of the crankshaft where the seal touches it.

The replacement seal is slid up the crankshaft and pressed or driven into its bore with a sleeve-type seal driver that fits over the engine crankshaft. Often, it is necessary to use some kind of seal protector on the crankshaft to avoid damaging the working lip of the seal when it is driven into the crankcase sump.

I have used the side cut from a 20 ounce soda bottle wrapped around the crank. I have also used a wrap made from a 12oz. aluminum can. Other mechanics have their own recommendation for a seal protector when installing a crankshaft seal. Of course, care must be taken when removing the seal protector not to damage the sealing lip of the new seal.

One other thing: Lots of times on engines with considerable wear, or blown head gasket(s), replacing the seal is a very temporary repair. The wear in the engine is allowing too much combustion gas into the crankcase where is creates positive pressure that forces oil through the seals.