So I already ordered my arb air lockers for the front and rear. I kind of want to do manual locking hubs as well but is it over kill? or I it worth it?

There's been some debate that I just recently came across on this. What I've seen is that the manual CV's are not as strong as the ADD CV's (linky). The question really is, would you rather have stronger CVs and then break more expensive stuff, or weaker CVs and then break those since they're easy to replace. Stub shafts on the front diff is also a weak point as well.

I would much rather have the cv's break first because there easy to replace and I can always carry extra so maybe manual wouldn't be a bad way to go

I got manual locking hubs for peace of mind, knowing that if I ever break a CV while wheeling, I can unlock the hubs and drive home without needing to fix the axle on the trail.

To me, the ability to do that is worth it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that without Manual Locking Hubs, your CVs are always rotating while driving (even in 2wd), so your CVs wear much faster. If you unlock the hubs, the CVs do not rotate while in 2wd. So you could make the argument that manual locking hub CVs are stronger because they don't wear nearly as much, especially if you have a lift.

Plus you get slightly better gas mileage (~1/2 an mpg or so).

I honestly never thought about that definitely leaning towards it now.

F*ck Yeah it's worth it. With lifted rigs and even with a diff drop, your CV boot ribs will most likely rub together and cause a premature tear in the boot. You can do a boot stretch mod to combat this, but now that puts extra strain on the boot as well. With manual hubs, the only time your CVs are turning is when you lock the hubs. This saves wear and tear on the joints and the boots.

Say you bust an axle out in Bum F*ck Egypt. With an A.D.D. set up, you're pretty much forced into performing a trail repair because the CVs always spin, even in 2wd. If you break a CV axle with manual hubs and the terrain is such you can get out in 2wd or maybe be winched or pulled through a few hard obstacles, you can do the repair when you get off the trail or just wait until you get home.

Another cool thing you can do with manual hubs is use 4lo gearing for steep sustained road climbs. If you have an automatic transmission and monitor your trans temp, you know how quickly the trans temp rises on steep grades. And, when you're going fairly slow, turning off Overdrive does nothing to lower your temps. So, with hubs unlocked, you can put it in 4lo, crawl up that steep grade keeping your trans temps down and then switch back into 2hi once you're at the top. This would also work well when pulling a boat up a boat ramp. With an A.D.D. system, you should not drive on dry pavement (no snow or ice) because when you turn with no wheel slippage, you'll put a ton of force on your CV shafts and differential gears and potentially break something.

But, this mod can be a little pricey depending how you obtain the needed parts. I bought a used set of Tacoma manual knuckles and CV axles for $400. After rebooting the CV axles, buying new bearings, snap rings and seals, I was into it for $800. For $800, I think it was well worth it. For anyone wanting to do this, just be patient and wait until you can find a good deal on a used set of knuckles and CV axles. You can buy all the needed parts new but that is a huge expense and I wouldn't advise this unless you have money to burn.

thanks! I have a 5 speed and I plan on a 3" lift the kit I have been looking at comes with a 1" diff drop I actually have access to a set of manual Tacoma knuckles and cv's so I guess theres no real reason not to.

Change the boots on the Tacoma CV's before your install them. You can get high quality, and more durable boots from ORS. They'll hold up better than OEM boots due to the material they're made from.

Mike

thanks for the tip. I will check them out

I considered it... then thought of these:

- 800 vs the amount of gas saved?

- If one were to break a CV out in the middle of BFE, chances are, they used 4WD to get there anyway. If the argument is to get home by unlocking the hubs, now one is back to 2WD. I would think it likely that 4wd would be needed to get home, hence a quick trail repair, which should only take 20-30 minutes for those who are experienced.

- I have 2LO after doing a simple wiring mod and adding a switch anyhow.

If I ever break a spindle or finally have to do the front wheel bearings, I'll consider it, but not for now.

You make some sound arguments against this mod. Sort of similar to when I considered buying a $3000 supercharger and decided it wasn't worth it to me. I'll just drive to where I'm going a little slower and spend the money on something else.

In the broken axle scenario couldn't you unlock the broken side and leave the other locked in. If you had an ARB up front you'd still have 3 wheel drive.
I think its also possible to ride the brakes a bit with an open diff and get some power to the unbroken side. I think thats how some traction control systems work, they brake the spinning wheel. I've never actually tried it myself...but it sounds good lol.

Ha, but the super charger is so much fun!

But as corny as the saying is - “yolo”. Do what’s fun and makes you happy!

You’d still have to do 2WD, otherwise the tcase is driving the front diff and still spinning whatever connected broken part of the CV is left.

The hub disconnect point is, well, at the hub. The idea is everything inward from the hub all the way back to the tcase doesn’t spin when the hubs are open.