Sight glass

[redman1533]

My eyes are bad, I repaired leak in line, it's so hard to tell fluid in the glass, I may overfilled, or lost way more than I thought..is there any kind of a trick with a colored light? Permatran 3 is hard to tell, wish it had a dip stick.

 

[old and tired]

John Deere Hydraulic dye... it turns red, I used half but you could use 1/4 many places to buy.

MT3668: Hydraulic Oil Dye​

 

[5030]

Most all hydraulic fluids are hard to see but you can purchase oil dye to color it, I believe on Amascon or your local JD dealer. I say most, but not all. I use Chevron All Weather THF synthetic which comes pre dyed in orange of all things and it's easy to see in a sight glass or on a dipstick.

 

[WranglerX]

ON my MF GC1715 the background color od sight glass is silver, if fluid on in sight glass the portion of background covered takes on a greenish cast.... Otherwise hydraulic fluid die is going to help....

 

[ning]

ON my MF GC1715 the background color od sight glass is silver, if fluid on in sight glass the portion of background covered takes on a greenish cast.... Otherwise hydraulic fluid die is going to help....

Mine also is silver; I had the same issue as the OP long ago and didn't realize that I was overfilling because the oil was just barely golden. You don't realize the difference till you've taken a good look at it both ways, and probably don't fully get it until it's too late.

The good thing is that overfilling is at worst going to make a mess when the fluid heats up, expands and then you go up a hill and it blebs out the filler tube...

 

[Thomas]

I agree...had sight glass L2800HST seem I was always checking the level.

 

[ning]

Solvent Leak Dye Tracer Liquid

I used this, bought elsewhere for much less.
1oz treats 100-200 gallons. I barely used any for a 5 gallon bucket and it made a huge difference.

 

[WranglerX]

There is a ton of different dyes out there....

hydraulic fluid dye - Google Shopping

www.google.com