Does your year XJ have a front axle vacuum disconnect? The hose might be the connection from the transfer case to the front axle. If it does, then the front axle won't lock up and you won't have 4wd. Good luck!/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

 

My 89 has a vent up there that broke off once. Could be it. THe line was black Rubber or plastic.

 

I don't think that the hose connects to the front axel. I know that I have 4 wheel drive and on the other laredo that I crawled under, the hose seemed to connect on the top of the transmission. There is very little clearance under there so I wasn't able to properly feel for the actual connection point but it definitely connects up there somewhere. I have looked through the haynes manual cover to cover but the book is not detailed enough to pin point the hose. I will check it again tonight. The hose is larger than the small vacume lines and has a hose clamp on the dangling end (one of the clamps that reqires pliers to spread it open. I guess I'll just have to inspect another Laredo to figure it out. This is REALLY frustrating, it shouldnt be this hard to figure out.
thanks alot for replying, I'm of work now will check the front axel and other options once again,
Rick

 

Is this something that could cause damage if not repaired, also what is it venting? Actually, I just found the location of it in the Haynes manual. I think that you are right, that is the area that it apeared to attach on the other XJ. You said that your vent broke, was this a big problem to get to and fix?
Thanks alot for the help,
Rick

 

Well the story go's as follows. The moron that owned my XJ before me did nothing right repair wise to it hense the liquid nails repair on the broken shift knob. I got the bright idea to take it off one day while I was on break at work so as to check the thread size/pitch so I could find a suitable replacement at the bone yard the next day. Well to make a long (and expensive) story short, the whole damn shifter twisted off right at the shift knob. And I thought it was short to begin with. Boy was I wrong. Well I took the console off, pulled the shift boots off and lo and behold there was this line that ran across the top of my tranny. I pulled on it and wow there was the end. Then I looked closer. The 90 degree elbow that screwed into the trans had broken off. So I drove it hunched over to my mech and had him order the parts. Had him change the lube in the tranny and t-case as well as the trans lube pretty much gets shot out of the vent hole with out a line on it. Ithe location of the hole is up high near the front of the trans on one of the sides. You can probably follow the trail of gear oil to the hole. I'd fix it if I were you. The purpose of venting is to avoid pressureizing the tranny, t-case, axles etc. And allow moisture to escape. With out the line all that escapes is the gear oil. The lines all run to the pasenger side of the firewall if I remember correctly. Hope I was of help.

 

Very helpfull, I'm going to reconnect the hose and check the fluid level. This is probably the best time to get the synthetic gear oil and stick it in there. The transfer case was recently rebuilt (under warranty) at a transmission shop that took 3 weeks to get it back to me. I hate sending my autos to the shop. I don't know what they are doing and what parts they are using, I guess I have a lack of trust for repair shops these days. I figure they either forgot to connect it or knocked it off while working. I just hope it's not broken.
Thanks again for the help,
Rick

P.S. I know that there are some damn good and honest mechanics and shops out there, I just wish that I could find them/afford them. Warrantee companys certainly don't send you to them.

 

How many miles are on that tranny? If it's more than a few you run the risk of giving yourself some leaks due to synthetic oils tendency to leak through places mineral oil couldn't even get to.

 

The xj has 26 K on the odometer, but I am not the original owner and I have a feeling that the trans was rebuilt. There is blue or orange sealent pressed out of the trany, I figured that this was not the original sealent. Am I wrong??? I was actually worried about that, since I had heard this before about synthetic oils. Do you know whether this can damage the seals permanately, or would I be able to switch back to mineral oils if leakage where to occur?
Rick

 

Perhaps the original owner merely had the trans fluid and filter replaced and whoever did it used that color of gasket material that you see.

If the synthetic oil leaks thru your seals, the seal will need to be replaced.

/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

 

Thanks for the tip, I'm just gonna stick with mineral oil and avoid any complications. I really appreciate it, I probably would've chucked it in there and thought about the consiquences later.
Rick

 

Hey xjy173 he's got a manual tranny. No filter. You mighta got away with switching back if it leaked(i.e. low or no seal damage) but I think you chose wisely. Good luck.

 

Oops, sorry./wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif Must have missed the part about the manual tranny. Thanks for the pickup, Andy/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

 

No problem. We all miss something now and again.

 

It sounds like the vent hose for the transfercase.. The end on the bellhousing probaly has a little bent metal tube on the end right...The
other end should attach to tcase, back by the tail shaft.. How you figure it out....