The dealer greased the pins alot, they are very slick. I did try to get some paint out with a file, did the best I could and it kinda helped but not enough to make it easy, still have to hammer the pin to get it in and twist it back and forth a ton of times to get it to slide out. getting it off the mounts isn't a huge issue its the pin thats the issue. I tried positioning the bucket in various areas but it never got any easier on that side no matter how I had it. Its on a concrete floor so its definately level. The rear tires are very muddy but I don't think that is throwing the tractor off level, its only the grooves in the industrial tires that have mud you can still see the edges of the treads