is this a cable or hose connected to transmission?

[gsmith410]

is this an electrical cable or hose connected to transmission?

Bought a 93 4.0L Ranger. It needs some work! Hot oil destroyed this line circled in red. It looks like a hose or an electrical wire. It is connected to the transmission close to the front diff. On the other side of the picture you can see the oil filter .

MY best guess is this is an electrical cable that grounds the battery to the chassis? IF so can i just crimp a new terminal on an mount it somewhere else? Not sure but is the cylinder above it the starter? does it need the ground located close by? I dont think ill be able to keep hot oil from spitting out in this area anytime soon so i would like to relocate it. Thanks!

If it is in fact a hose, what is it?

 

[adsm08]

Hard to tell exactly from the picture. I would hope you'd be able to tell if it is a wire or not just by handling it.

There should be a ground cable attached to the one starter bolt, which is supposed to have a piggy-back stud on it.

It isn't necessary to have the system ground near the starter, as starters ground through their case being in contact with the engine. That is just where Ford chose to put the main engine ground on the 4.0. On my one (the Ranger I think) I have the main ground relocated to be under one of the alternator bolts, and it works fine.

 

[Ewgoetz]

It’s the main battery ground.
Like ads said it can be relocated anywhere, on the engine is is preferred though.