what is this hose?

[oz16us]

okay, i just noticed after taking my truck for an alignment, I jacked up the rear tires to check out a few things. I noticed that a hose was sorta dangling and cut off in the pic below. Can someone please tell me what hose this is? is there a danger in not getting this fixed right away? Not sure what caused this
https://www.dropbox.com/s/46zkxku6uq7fh4b/Photo%20Jun%2024%2C%204%2042%2029%20AM.jpg?dl=0

 

[MAS Tequila]

Vent hose, it's supposed to go up fairly high and have a cap the lets it vent.

Get another one on there ASAP.

Getting water in the axle is not a good thing.

MT

 

[oz16us]

thanks. I was able to do a little research online. My guess is that the end of the hose is just no longer gripping, so I was thinking of just cutting it off and then put it back on the nipple along with a zip tie. How does that fix sound?

 

[MAS Tequila]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/321697658395


Or like you said use a zip tie or hose clamp.

But get a new piece of hose, it will start coming apart very soon.

MT

 

[oz16us]

it must have come off when i went through some puddles last week when it was raining here. It amazes me how these vehicles are engineered. Why couldn't Ford put a hose clamp in the first place...SMH. It seems now, I have no choice but to drain all the differential fluid and seal it up again...all that hassle when I just did this last year and I have other things to fix on this vehicle. Just one more thing. I appreciate the help though

 

[koda2000]

it must have come off when i went through some puddles last week when it was raining here. It amazes me how these vehicles are engineered. Why couldn't Ford put a hose clamp in the first place...SMH. It seems now, I have no choice but to drain all the differential fluid and seal it up again...all that hassle when I just did this last year and I have other things to fix on this vehicle. Just one more thing. I appreciate the help though

Ford probably doesn't use a hose clamp because the vent hoses don't have pressure in them, so there's nothing to push them off. The tension of the rubber holds them on. All manufactures do the same thing for vent hoses for front and rear diffs and sometimes transmissions and xfer cases. It's just one of those maintenance things you need to keep an eye on. With age the rubber rots and can just fall off. No reason you can't add a clamp, but if the rubber is rotten, it'll just break off above the clamp.

 

[oz16us]

is there a way to test if water already got into the differential oil? I'd hate to have to go through draining/refilling procedure. Maybe use some sort of litmus paper?

 

[swshawaii]

Use a 3/8" ratchet or breaker bar and remove the fill plug. DO NOT STRIP. Water mixed with oil or gear lube turns a milky white color.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3083992&postcount=3

 

[oz16us]

I'm guessing like a chocolate milkshake? If a little got in, won't it be a little hard to tell visually?