Better fluid level indicator??

[Sarge338]

Sorry missed the part about being self contained in original post. Not sure what would cause being over filled other than running PTO will heat the oil from splash and gears turning which should not cause excessive over fill. Any chance the vent or breather for the transaxle is plugged?

At this point, I think just about anything is possible. The difference from fill date to over-filled date is ridiculous.

I really wish this thing had a gauge, or at least a sight glass, for the hydraulic level rather than that tiny little dip stick.

 

[houdel]

I bought something like this on Amazon. For what you want to do it would be nice. I always remove drain plugs when doing fluid replacement because I don't trust the tube to get it all. It is useful when transferring oil, fuel and hydraulic fluid.

Amazon.com

I have one of these, they are great little pumps. I've used mine to suck the fluid out of an automatic transmission before doing a trans filter change and refill, saves a lot of mess. Also use it to refill my Silverado diesel when doing an oil change, much easier than trying to pour 2-1/2 gallon containers of oil into the fill tube. They are quick and easy to set up and pump a surprisingly high volume of oil. Only use with oils though, they need the lubricity of the oil to keep from burning out the pump vanes. Antifreeze or water will destroy them quickly.

 

[oldnslo]

If you have a port or two you can run a piece of clear hose or tubing external from tractor for oil level indicator. You would need to protect it from damage.

 

[Sarge338]

I have one of these, they are great little pumps. I've used mine to suck the fluid out of an automatic transmission before doing a trans filter change and refill, saves a lot of mess. Also use it to refill my Silverado diesel when doing an oil change, much easier than trying to pour 2-1/2 gallon containers of oil into the fill tube. They are quick and easy to set up and pump a surprisingly high volume of oil. Only use with oils though, they need the lubricity of the oil to keep from burning out the pump vanes. Antifreeze or water will destroy them quickly.

Awesome! Thanks for the info.

 

[TORQUIN]

As oldnslo said, you could, if you can get the necessary fittings and protect the clear tubing from damage/snags, run a tube from the drain to the fill hole. Then you'd have a sight glass you could look at. You could also put a valve in that tubing, at the level you choose, to drain off excess fluid, if necessary.

Chris

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Depends on the threading of your drain plug and how vulnerable it is to impact. You could install a small ball valve, or an "EZ Oil" drain plug, if your drain plug thread works. They are usually some common standard thread, as teh manufacturers rarely want to pay for custom stuff if they don't need to.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Another idea, would be to put a drain plug at the site glass location. Then you can then just open it, and any excess would run out. If, I ever have to go into the axle/transmission I will figure out a way to do that. But, unless it is disassembled I would be afraid of getting metal chips in the transmission.

 

[bgr]

John Deere 318 and 420 garden tractors actually had a sight glass to show oil level attached to the back of the rear end/transmission housing. The oil levels would rise once the oil was warmed up because the more viscous oil returned to the transmission faster. Even that was slow to show level increases as oil was added. I always worried about cracking the level tube or breaking the 3/16 plastic hose which ran to it, but it never happened.

In your situation, I think that you probably put in a lot of oil fairly fast, and checked the level right away. I think if you had filled a bit more slowly, and not to the top, but to the bottom of the dipstick and then waited 10-15 minutes to check for a final level, the dipstick might have read more accurately. Also , running the engine and warming the oil up, once you were close to the minimum mark, and then stopping and checking the level would be the way to do it.

At least now you know that your particular design tractor is slow to show oil added to the trans casing. You know, in future, to fill slowly and not try to go to full mark and pause 10 or 15 minutes to check level before you top it off. There should not be any surprises for you from now on.