The oil filter is not protected. The mower kicked up an object and hit the oil filter leading to catastrophic engine failure. which required a full engine rebuild and no use of the tractor for 6 months until, finally, Mahindra covered all but about $2000 of the repairs.
It never ran right after the repair and I found that the injector pump had failed. The engine had never run out of fuel. and the pump rebuilt by an esteemed injector pump shop failed after it was re-installed and couldn't start or get timed. The shop then found that the pump was not rebuilt properly and redid t for another $2000 and got the thing started.
I now have a tractor with under 300 hours and with $9100 in repair costs.
Apparently, there is an issue with the design (per a tractor mechanic) in that the gravity fed injector pump needs an electric fuel pump to keep primed and not damage the injector pump.
My IH 986 has never had a pump rebuilt at nearly 8000 hours.