jkeith.w
Official Vendor
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?
Are manual locking hubs worth it?
- Thread starter T4R_Fanatic
- Start date
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?
T4R_Fanatic
New member
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
theesotericone
New member
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
TCMach
New member
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.
JZiggy
Senior Member
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.
T4R_Fanatic
New member
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
rideexileex
Senior Member
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?!
JZiggy
Senior Member
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.
theesotericone
New member
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. [MENTION=118730]AssBurns[/MENTION] 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
TCMach
New member
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
JZiggy
Senior Member
Good perspective backed up with practical experience. Thanks!
mtbtim
Elite Member
I would have to agree with you that more than likely if you break a CV you'll be forced to fix it anyway to get out but there are plenty of trails with a "Gate Keeper" sort of section and then the trail mellows out for a long time. So, you'd have the option to unlock the hubs and keep driving and maybe just get tugged or winched through any upcoming hard sections until you reach camp or the highway. With unlocking hubs, you could drive highway speeds with a broken CV but I don't think that would be prudent with an A.D.D. setup.
I think I'd still like the option of being able to unlock the hubs and not have the CV grinding around under me making me wonder if it's doing some other damage, possibly to something critical like brake lines.
AssBurns
New member
I personally don't think manual hubs are worth it. Why take the weakest link and make it even weaker? If you break a CV on the trail, you should just stop and fix it whether you have ADD or Manual Hubs. It takes 30 minutes to do and keeps you in 4wd when you need to be. No point in limping home. You can drive on a broken CV, just don't go fast. That's literally the only benefit I can see with manual hubs is going fast with a broken CV, but who needs to do that when you can just swap it out.
This is what I've done. After I broke my 1st CV, I cut the ends off and now I just keep the stub shafts to plug the axle and diff if I break my spares on the trail. It's basically free to do.
JZiggy
Senior Member
Another reason to do manual hubs we haven't touched on in this thread yet is if you're running a limited slip in the front diff. This is not a conventional choice but has some benefits depending on what you do with your truck. I've been super happy with mine. With ADD the drivers side axle and the stub shaft on the passenger side are still turning all the time and it doesn't play nicely with a limited slip. ECGS can install a high performance bushing in the carrier that largely eliminates the wear problem but it's still a consideration.
DaMonkey
New member
Just curious (and I consider your opinion valuable - as it relates to these trucks anyway lol)...
Would you think differently if your truck was built mostly for street driving but able to make that turn off the hwy and be capable for real trails?
I daily my 4runner with a lift and the CVs are constantly working. If you drive a lot of highway miles, is it better peace of mind to hit a trail with fresh manual stubs that are smaller, or with CV that turn unnecessarily for 15k miles per year?
That said, I really don’t know if you daily your truck or if you do put many miles on it, but I do know what you do on the trail :hatsoff:
I’ve been thinking about this swap and would consider it if the swap parts cross my path. A broken CV is easy on the trail, but it just seems silly to always be turning them on the highway everyday and having to check the boots for a blown wad.
To hell with compromises. Seriously. I just wanna go fast.
T4R_Fanatic
New member
This is really my thought process behind it. I'm no where near done with the truck yet but when it is finished it will be driven a lot. Between camping trips and lugging around the little one that's on the way it'll have some miles put on it. not to mention its a long drive to get to any good trails as I'm in Maryland and there isn't a lot of trails around at least none that I know of so I think it will be beneficial.
TCMach
New member
Couple thoughts on this. I never really daily drove my 4Runner in the sense of 15k miles a year or whatever is standard, but I tore boots all the time. I fully believe my numerous torn boots were caused by excessive lift and not the fact that they were spinning. OEM CV boots can last 100k+ spinning all the time (my own first hand experience, YMMV) . I would venture a majority of torn boots are caused by excessive lift in relation to the CV itself and not generally accepted lift heights. I dropped my front lift down to somewhere around 2-2.5" and haven't torn a boot in a year and half with similar driving habits.
As far as the joint itself goes, I really doubt spinning it on a daily basis is putting that much wear and tear on it. As long as its greased up (back to the boot issue) you should never see a problem on pavement because they were designed to spin.
DaMonkey
New member
My unknown boots tore in short order as I lifted 2” at 195k. I have a few thousand miles on new boots they are fine so far. I’m sort of inclined to spend the money elsewhere and just let em spin. If donor setup was easily avail I’d prob have done it already but I’m not going to buy an $1100 kit for it. I don’t have a locker yet, for me that’s the next chunky.
TCMach
New member
For me this falls into the same category as the full floater rear end from FROR. Sure it would be a nice peace of mind to know that the only thing holding my axle shaft inside the rear end isn't a press fit wheel bearing but am I really going to spend a grand on something I may never see the benefit of? Probably not.
weekendclimber
New member
I see stories like this and it always makes me wonder if I've not really lifted the front as much as I thought. Been a while since I've measured, so might do that. The rig I drive has the SS 1.2 rebuildable (2015 version) with 2" Radflo's up front and when it was lifted I bought two AA CV's in anticipation of ripping a CV boot. They've been sitting in the garage unused for 4 years now:boxer:
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