Anyone savvy with hydraulics (tractor content)?

I have an older (1979) Power King garden tractor with a hydraulic lift. My dad owned this tractor since new (then handed down to me) and for as long as I can remember, the area on and around the hydraulic fluid reservoir has always had an oily film on everything. Now that the tractor is mine, I would like to do something about it.

I have checked all of the hoses and everything seems tight - no obvious leaks. The cap for the reservoir has a hole in it (by design) that I'm assuming was intended to help prevent the container from being over-pressurized. My theory is that something is plugged or gummed up, that little breather hole is not breathing, the reservoir builds pressure and blows out a mist of hydraulic oil that settles in the vicinity of the tank. Does this sound plausible?

I'm not experienced with hydraulics so I'm only guessing that is why the cap has a hole - a crude/simple design for pressure relief - which isn't working quite right.

Thanks!

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Anyone savvy with hydraulics (tractor content)?