Front diff breather hose disconnected - how? (1 Viewer)

[drowzyGX]

Hey Y’all,

getting ready for a road trip in 2 weeks, and was checking under the car. The front diff breather hose is not connected to the diff. There’s about a 1 inch gap.

i’m trying to figure out how this happened, and how concerned I should be. No water crossings, but have driven plenty in the rain.

i haven’t done any work that involves that hose. The only time I’ve touched the diff is when I changed fluid in January.

could this have happened when I got the steering rack replaced last June? The steering rack looks like it runs right up against the hose. Is this something that could have just popped off?

I tried moving it back on to the diff, but couldn’t get the hose to move much at all. Shop that did the steering rack is gonna take a look at it Wednesday. Passenger side CV axle seal is leaking, and they replaced it last June.

if this has been disconnected for over a year...should I be concerned? Diff fluid looked fine when I drained it January, just dark. No metal on the plug or in the fluid that I could see.

 

[Tanner H]

Very common for shops to forget to put the hose back on the diff. It probably slipped off when they were working on things down there. If you havent done any water crossing and not a ton of rain driving...I'd just put it back on...even with a hose clamp for peace of mind.

For added peace of mind you can always drain and refill with fresh diff fluid.

 

[drowzyGX]

Very common for shops to forget to put the hose back on the diff. It probably slipped off when they were working on things down there. If you havent done any water crossing and not a ton of rain driving...I'd just put it back on...even with a hose clamp for peace of mind.

For added peace of mind you can always drain and refill with fresh diff fluid.

thanks for the info! no water crossing, but a fair amount of rain driving. that was my main concern.

safe to use pliers or something to help move that hose? tried moving it by hand earlier while under the car, but it wouldn’t budge much.

 

[2017Taco]

Hey Y’all,

getting ready for a road trip in 2 weeks, and was checking under the car. The front diff breather hose is not connected to the diff. There’s about a 1 inch gap.

i’m trying to figure out how this happened, and how concerned I should be. No water crossings, but have driven plenty in the rain.

i haven’t done any work that involves that hose. The only time I’ve touched the diff is when I changed fluid in January.

could this have happened when I got the steering rack replaced last June? The steering rack looks like it runs right up against the hose. Is this something that could have just popped off?

I tried moving it back on to the diff, but couldn’t get the hose to move much at all. Shop that did the steering rack is gonna take a look at it Wednesday. Passenger side CV axle seal is leaking, and they replaced it last June.

if this has been disconnected for over a year...should I be concerned? Diff fluid looked fine when I drained it January, just dark. No metal on the plug or in the fluid that I could see.

View attachment 2399508

Hello. I have the same situation with my truck. I was under the truck to pump grease on my front propeller shaft and i noticed that my front diff breather hose was disconnected. It seems like it got pushed away from the front diff connection. Just like you I had my rack and pinion assembly replaced over a year ago. What did you find out that caused the breather line to be disconnected?

 

[drowzyGX]

Never learned the cause, but the shop that did my steering rack popped the hose back on for me. Sorry I can’t be more help!