Don't get me wrong, I've been gathering parts to do this mod, so hope I didn't come if as a negative Nelly. But I'm not sure the knuckles I got are worth the swap. Got 4WD 4Runner knuckles, but they're in pretty bad shape (see my build thread). I wanted to do gussets and @eimkeith LCA reinforcements at the same time.

Manual locking hubs is at the top of list of "Sicmods I have no practical use for but would probably do anyway if I had money to throw around and more faith in my wrenching abilities." A e-locker swap is also up there.

Someone told me the cv axles on a manual locking 4runner/Tacoma are skinnier then regular cv axles.....

I thought about doing the e-locker swap but decided to go air I like the arb kit and the compressor could be useful out on the trail

It would still be cheaper to replace I am expecting to break things

pretty sure it's just the stub axle in the hub that's narrower than the ADD version. The CVs and shaft are the same, right?

Thank you every everyone for the thoughts and advice after a very short thought process I called up my buddy and have some manual locking Tacoma knuckles and cv's thanks again

That's why guys with manual hubs break the hub all the time and not the CV. It is the weak link in that system. It's also really easy to repair in the field. Hell, you don't even have to take the wheel off. lol

Correct me if I'm wrong but swapping to manual hubs makes the ability to shift into 4hi while driving irrelevant right? I mean you can still shift into it but it turns nothing because the hubs aren't connected. Living where I do in Colorado where the road to my house is part of a named mountain pass I rather like that ability. Unique situation I get it but still.

If your hubs are unlocked then the front driveline doesn't spin at all so you'll grind the gears if you pull it into 4HI while moving.

If you think you'll want to shift on the fly then just lock the hubs and drive around. It'll be like you still have ADD. If I'm running fire roads I just leave my hubs locked for mixed dirt/pavement driving so I can get right into 4WD when I want it.

I actually just finished reading through your build thread. Really nice rig you have built. the biggest benefit to having the manual locking hubs seems to be being able to continue on after you break a cv and it will be easier for trail repairs

This is still semi-false!

You can continue in 2WD, sure, but if one breaks a CV, it’s safe to assume that was while in 4WD, and 4WD will still be needed to get out/home!

I don’t understand how trail repairs of a broken cv would be any different?!

Since you can proceed in 2WD at least you have more flexibility than ADD where you pretty much have to fix it where it is. Swapping out CVs is similar difficulty with the manual hubs being perhaps a little more complex since you have to take the locking hub off, but you don't have to take off a jumbo axle nut.

Not true. I've driven on a busted CV plenty of times. All it does is make noise and rattle around. I usually break at the outer cup but have also broken at the inner cup. Usually the tripod joint breaks. In that case the joint and shaft are still contained in the cup. They still spin. There is no reason that I have ever run across that you couldn't drive on a busted CV.

In reality these breaks usually happen in technical terrain where you have almost no chance of getting out in 2wd. I broke a CV on Thompson Hill last year. It was towards the top and I thought I'd be able to get through with 3wd lo/lo. That was a bad call. About 50 yards later I blew the other CV. @AssBurns was nice enough to give me a tug the last few hundred feet to the top. I drove on 2 broken CV's another mile to camp and changed them both in the morning. lol

I knew there was something simple I was missing. My experience with manual hubs is limited to my 85 F250 snow plow so not exactly apples to oranges as far as shifting on the fly.

Appreciate the kind words. If I could do it over again I wouldn’t have bought half the parts but such is life. It’s a moot point for me as I already have Lotus Axles for my ADD. Buying three more just to swap to manual hubs makes it a less tempting proposition. I have seen people carry a machined chunk of inner axle shaft and outer axle shaft to plug the hole in the diff and keep the outer hub together respectively. I can’t remember who but I want to say it was Glen