After a recent service (oil change, tire rotation) at my local Ford dealer, I noticed this rubber hose hanging down just in front of the spare tire under the rear of the truck. One end of the hose is attached to the rear driver's side of the rear axle, the other end is open. This is a 2020 Lariat SCREW with 3.5 EB and a 3.55 electronic locking rear end.

A search on the part number shown on the label glued to the hose (see picture) reveals this hose is described as a "Differential vent hose", which seems logical to me without consulting a service manual. Searching underneath the vehicle, I noticed an empty small slot in a bracket attached to the frame, just above and in front of the spare tire. There is a plastic clip zip tied on the end of the vent host that allowed me to clip the end of the hose to the bracket (see last pic), thus the hose no longer hangs down as in the first picture shown below.

I am hoping someone can verify this is the correct installation or configuration for this hose. I am guessing that the tech at the Ford dealer who did the oil change must have accidentally detached the hose from the bracket and didn't clip it back into place.


loose rubber hose

part number

Clipped to bracket above

 

Here is where mine is clipped.

 

Did they rotate the spare?
That may explain why the hose is not attached.

 

Thanks for the comments. XLT - looks like your vent tube is clipped to the frame around and on top of the spare tire, so that confirms what I suspected. I guess the important thing is the open end of the vent tube should point up, not down, and be further away from the road to minimize dirt and water. Frankly I am surprised that this part of the truck isn't a little better thought out, given how many F150's Ford has built.

Cowboy - no the spare was not rotated - it is a steel rim and my truck has the factory aluminum wheels.

 

Weird to me. My truck came with four steel wheels but the spare tire is a nice looking factory aluminum wheel. I bought the truck new.

 

Thank you very much! I just had the exact same issue with my truck. Got it back from shop after a rear end collision repair and just noticed the hose dangling. Will crawl under and fix it in the morning. Terrific!

 

@cberti75 Welcome to the forum.

 

Traditionally the vent hoses normally have had a metal....older, or plastic newer style cap. My 2012 has a plastic piece on the end of the hose with a cap that lets air in or out. The rear axle on mine has the that cap inside the bed channel with the hose connecting up to it.

My front axle has the same plastic cap/hose next to the master cylinder. I would think that the hose would have something on the end. But maybe Ford is not doing that anymore......?

 

The rear axle vent hose on the Gen-13s is just open ended with no cap or vent valve. The front axles are vented similar to the Gen-12s.

 

Does it really matter?