Okay, I'm a girl and I'm learning a lot about this truck and how to do things, and I like to save money and do it myself if I can...and I have changed the oil before! But today went weird on me.

I was struggling to get the filter loosened, and got ticked at my filter wrench because it was hard to get in there right, so jammed it around a bit. Got the filter out, went under the truck to reinstall plug, and there's this hose laying on the ground under there! Where the heck did this come from? I figure I knocked it loose when I was jamming around in there. It's dirty with old oil, and originates from some gizmo that is mounted on the front axle next to the oil pan. The end has a strange pluggy thing on it that wiggles but doesn't come off, and oil seeped out of it. My stupid books don't give me any pictures of the thing it originates from and I can't figure out what it is. But from the forums here I am gathering that perhaps it is the breather tube?!

There is old oil filth all over the underside so I figure this is the gunk that gets spewed out? Apparently I have no breather bottle? The hose does have a mounting thing on it, the kind that gets pushed into a hole somewhere to support the hose. There was also some old dried up electrical tape that fell on the ground so I think someone tried to hang it up in there taped to another hose.

Question is, am I right about this? And where the heck should it go? I want to finish this job but don't know what to do with this thing and don't want to put the new filter in if I need the space to deal with it! Help!

 

That is most likely your crankcase breather. Sounds like it has been modified at one time or another and got extended.

On your oil filter remove your air filter box and intake tube going to the turbo, gives you a lot more room to work with.

 

How big around is the hose?

If it's pretty thick, then maybe it's your crankcase breather hose.

If it's rather thin, they it's most likely your front differential breather hose.
It connects to the front axle right near the top of the differential, then goes up and clips somewhere up high to keep it out of the water.
Not quite sure where it connects though, either end, as my 2002 has the axle connection on the front differential cover which was new in 2002.


phox

 

I would say it is on the thinner side, maybe a finger's thickness. So, it sounds like the differential breather hose for the front. So, anyone know the proper location for this thing to be mounted? It's got the plastic mounting bracket with the pointed peg that looks like it pops into a small hole.

 

It's your differential breather and clips in to the fender to the rear almost under the factory air cleaner box.
You will have to remove the airbox to reinstall it, this is done by pulling straight up.
By the way loosening the clamp to the air intake to the turbo and removing the airbox makes it much easier to get at your oil filter.