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The plate I was referring to was the dust cover plate that appears to be already gone - that's why you can see up to where the coupling is. Those plates are frequently missing (as is mine) so don't worry about it. If you have a pressure washer, blast the pump and reservoir - otherwise just some solvent or gas and putty knife, wire/plastic brushes and lots of rags. Even if it's cold, it should only take five or ten minutes. If you can find the leak before dropping the pump, it may be well worth your time. I know when it's a caked mess it seems impossible to find a leak with all gook that's already there but you'd be surprised. Get it cleaned up and the source of that leak may well be obvious. You want to be careful tightening those pipes - you don't want to crack the fittings on the pump they screw into. I'd fill the reservior at least until you can see the oil on the dipstick and run the tractor to warm it up - with the clutch out in neutral it's running the pump whether you have the lever engaged or not. Warm it up and drain it a couple of times and you should flush all the water out. I'm going on about this as, again, if you can find the leak and fix it before dropping the pump, you will have saved yourself a world of time. To answer your question, yes, you can run the tractor without the pump.
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