Mysterious hose?

[apeder]

I have a 91' explorer 2WD, 4.0. I recently removed the spare tire and found a hose connected to the top of the rear axle. Its in-between the middle and end of the axle on the drivers side. The hose is connected but i cant find where the other end goes. There is a clamp on the lose end so it was connected to somthing at one time. ANY REPLY IS GREATLY APPRECIATED_THANKS

[C. Cleve]

Hi, Don't panic,,,,It's a vent hose for the differential, It cinnects to a vent tube, It's there, just keep looking....See Ya, Clay....

[apeder]

Thanks- i was'nt sure what to think because the vehicle still ran ok. i will take a closer look.

[SebringYves]

I have the same hose disconnected on my 95 Explorer. I guess this hose is just on Explorer until 95, they use A4LD transmissions.
Is this hose necessary to run in 4WD mode?
Otherwise it will just run in 2WD mode?
Am I right?

[shorod]

Where is the hose that you are referring to? Is it on the rear axle, or the on the transmission?

The transmission has nothing to do with 4WD, that is controlled by the transfer case. I'm not sure what years they use an electric motor to control the transfer case (as opposed to vacuum control).

Likewise, the rear differential doesn't know or care if the truck is in 2WD or 4WD, it functions the same either way. It is also independent (physically) of the transmission. It is connected to the transmission via the driveshaft, but isn't specific to the transmission used.

Before we can tell you what the "same hose" is used for, we need to establish you really are referring to the same hose.

-Rod

[SebringYves]

Thanks for our fast reply shorod. The hose comes from the rear axle, the other end is open. Definetly the truck runs in 2wd and 4wd - so the hose has nothing to do with 4wd. It just looks so strange: a hose coming out from the axle and is just hanging there.
Okay, i guess its realy just a vent hose.
I still dont know if the open end has to be connected to a tube or not?