Manual Hub Conversion

K

Ken-Cade

New member
I'm curious if anyone has tried to (or has done) a manual front hub conversion on their 5th gen.

I did a search of the forum but nothing really came up.

If so please let me know if you thought it was worth it. It seems like you could same some gas mileage and wear and tear over the years by locking out the front shafts when not in use.

Thanks in advance,
Ken
 
Register to hide this ad
Well, after using manual hubs on previous 4WD vehicles for over 50 years before we bought a new 2016 4Runner, I can tell you I do not miss anything about manual hubs. Good luck locking/unlocking the manual hubs with your bare hands when temps are low.

Some are still fans of manual hubs....Maybe this link from 2017 will help you decide:
Locking hubs on a 5th gen.
 
Ken-Cade said:
I'm curious if anyone has tried to (or has done) a manual front hub conversion on their 5th gen.

I did a search of the forum but nothing really came up.

If so please let me know if you thought it was worth it. It seems like you could same some gas mileage and wear and tear over the years by locking out the front shafts when not in use.

Thanks in advance,
Ken
Click to expand...

There's a guy in Hawaii that sells a kit. You'll never make up the cost by fuel savings though. There is already ADD automatic disconnecting axle in the front axle.
 
Manual hub front conversion

Thought about installing them on my 4 Runner. I drive from Louisiana to Colorado (1200+) miles at leas 2 times per year. I installed them on my Toyota truck for the drive before I bought the 4 Runner. I thought it would improve fuel economy, but it didn't make any difference. What it did do was to save a tremendous amount of wear and tear on my front drive train (axles, bearings, cv joints, etc.) I have over 200k miles on the truck and the front wheel drive components are like new even after years of hard use in the swamps of south Louisiana.
 
Ah yes all those high mileage 4runners blowing out the front end...

If your concerned about economy you prob shouldn't have bought a body on frame suv with a 10+ year old drivetrain design.

Not trying to be a penis head but think about it for a second.
 
jhebert9 said:
Thought about installing them on my 4 Runner. I drive from Louisiana to Colorado (1200+) miles at leas 2 times per year. I installed them on my Toyota truck for the drive before I bought the 4 Runner. I thought it would improve fuel economy, but it didn't make any difference. What it did do was to save a tremendous amount of wear and tear on my front drive train (axles, bearings, cv joints, etc.) I have over 200k miles on the truck and the front wheel drive components are like new even after years of hard use in the swamps of south Louisiana.
Click to expand...

That's the main reason I was asking... figured any savings on gas mileage would be minimal if at all. But preserving the front drive line components could definitely be favorable if the price is right. I was just curious because I haven't seen it on a 5th gen yet, however I see 3rd gen owners doing it while replacing CVs and boots with a couple hundred thousand miles. It might be worth it to some to make the conversion on their newer less worn hubs to save every having to replace the CVs and boots.
 
Ken-Cade said:
That's the main reason I was asking... figured any savings on gas mileage would be minimal if at all. But preserving the front drive line components could definitely be favorable if the price is right. I was just curious because I haven't seen it on a 5th gen yet, however I see 3rd gen owners doing it while replacing CVs and boots with a couple hundred thousand miles. It might be worth it to some to make the conversion on their newer less worn hubs to save every having to replace the CVs and boots.
Click to expand...

How many 5th gen threads do you see about blown cv’s?
 
There are only a few instances where I could see this having value. The one I'm thinking of would be if you were running something like the MCLT suspension. They've had difficulty keeping the CV boots together because the system runs very high angles - especially at full droop. The CV's can handle it, but the boots don't hold up as well. Probably why you also see them for sale in Hawaii. They tend to run maxed out angles - when you cross deep water mostly and flex doesn't really matter and you don't drive very fast or very far ever, why not? In that case the hubs could be useful.

For moderate lift heights - the benefit is just so small that it's not worth the effort.
 
Last edited:
Mutant138 said:
How many 5th gen threads do you see about blown cv’s?
Click to expand...

DUDE.... I get it... you love to hate on newbs!! Sorry I even brought it up... If I had known that someone as perfect as you would be reading my tiny little post that was merely asking a question I would never have posted it.

Don't worry you've succeeded in your mission of insuring that I never come back to this forum for questions or advice on my truck..

HATE ON BROTHA!!!
 
Ken-Cade said:
DUDE.... I get it... you love to hate on newbs!! Sorry I even brought it up... If I had known that someone as perfect as you would be reading my tiny little post that was merely asking a question I would never have posted it.

Don't worry you've succeeded in your mission of insuring that I never come back to this forum for questions or advice on my truck..

HATE ON BROTHA!!!
Click to expand...

No need to be mad.
 
I seriously considered changing my '97 over to the manual locking hub set-up from a Tacoma, when it was new. Then I decided to see how durable the stock ADD system was.

22 years later all the front drive components were still original and working like new.

I'm not worried about it with the 5th gen.
 
Last edited:
Ken-Cade said:
DUDE.... I get it... you love to hate on newbs!! Sorry I even brought it up... If I had known that someone as perfect as you would be reading my tiny little post that was merely asking a question I would never have posted it.

Don't worry you've succeeded in your mission of insuring that I never come back to this forum for questions or advice on my truck..

HATE ON BROTHA!!!
Click to expand...

I'm being blunt my dude. This is not a personal attack. Or hating. I'm just trying to make it clear to you so you don't waste your money and time. You asked a question and you got an answer with no fluff. I'm not in the fluffing business. That costs extra ;)
 
Mutant138 said:
I'm being blunt my dude. This is not a personal attack. Or hating. I'm just trying to make it clear to you so you don't waste your money and time. You asked a question and you got an answer with no fluff. I'm not in the fluffing business. That costs extra ;)
Click to expand...

The OP is just hurt that not everyone thinks his idea is a good one. I didn't see you comments as "hating on newbs". Seemed like good "think about it" advice to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 181 (members: 0, guests: 181)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,306
Messages
3,554,045
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top