Manual locking hubs?

I own a 1991 toyota pickup and am looking to upgrade to a 2000-2003 tacoma. Did toyota make any trucks with manual locking hubs in these years? Any feedback or comments welcome, thanks

 

no the 95.5-97 Tacoma's has locking hubs but 98- present is all on the fly

 

Thanks for the info, I guess I'll look into the Downey manual hub conversion.

 

Get ready to shell out alot of $$$. The Downey kit is expensive.

I

 

Wrong, I have a 00 and it has manual locking hubs.

 

No, thats not true. I have a 2000 SR5 and it has Manual locking hubs.

 

well it looks like you guys made a lier out of me!!!! my 99 is shift on the fly. I wish i had manual hubs

 

I just bought a shift-on-the-fly 00 (2.7, 5sp man, SR5,TRD, locking rear) and I was impressed with the utility of the ability to shift in and out of 4wd while moving. Why do you prefer manual locking hubs?

 

Manual locking hubs are generally prefered by the hard core off road set as it is possible to lift the truck higher without having to do a front diff drop or damaging the cv joints in the front. I believe it is because with unlocked hubs the front diff and cv joints do not spin so are not damaged by the high angle driveline, where as with a shift on the fly set-up those parts are spinning when the truck is moving, and there is a series of automatic clutches that put power to them when you engage the 4wd system. Just my theory though so don't take it as fact unless someone else confirms it.

 

I wonder what effect manual locking hubs has on gas mileage compared to shift-on-the-fly. Anybody know?

 

You get slightly better mileage with manual hubs....as you are not having to always spin the front end components.

Plus, lots less wear and tear on the CV joints when having a 3"+ lift.

 

I bought my 00 because it had the locking hubs.

I average 27 mpg on highway.

It's like having a 2 wheel drive until I need the 4 x 4.

Which is only in winter in the heavy snow when have here.

 

followup question: About how much is a kit to convert to manual hubs? Most of my driving is going to be highway miles. I'm looking at all possible tweaks to eek out another mpg or two.

 

i had a 96 V6 with ADD lol...my gf's dad has a 2000 with manuals... btw its best to actually have the add truck then convert to manual...since you will still have the bearings in axles instead of bushings like a factory manual hub truck... (last longer and better fuel enconomy in 4wd)

 

where is the shift-on-the-fly switch on the manual tacoma? (i don't have one) i have manual locking.

 

Here is my Jackass analysis of the manual locking hub debate.

Manual hubs allow the front axle of a four wheel drive to be locked or unlocked manually. They are an old four wheel drive engineering design, which is almost extinct in new vehicles. There are very few manufacturers that still make manual hub style front axles. I think the larger Ford Pick-ups are the only ones that still use this system.
Americans, as we all know, are very into convenience, and manual hubs are not very convenient to use, which is why they are almost completely extinct. They do, however, have some major advantages over the current modern convenient automatic everything four wheel drive systems. They age much better since the C/V axles or axle, and the front gear shaft does not spin when the hubs are disengaged. They also have much less electronics so there is less to go wrong with their electronics.
This is the very simplest way of explaining manual hub four wheel drive systems. Tacoma World subscribers please don't rip me a new one for not going into a long detailed explanation of manual hubs. I did not want to bore this subscriber to death with a lengthy explanation. From the sounds of it, it sounds like this person is just starting to research four wheel drive engineering.

Take it easy,
Paul

 

It was a rare option on later model 1st gens, most are ADD. It's preferred in the same way that manual windows and locks are preferred by some...one less electronic thing to have to worry about breaking on you or just not working at some point. I get the appeal but ADD isn't all that bad, I think it's proven to be fairly reliable. I'd like to have manual hubs but I don't think I'd ever go to the trouble to convert. Doing it for MPGs is silly, if there's any difference it's gotta be close to negligible. I'd do it just for the added reliability and less overall wear on the front axles.

 

Last reply to this thread was on September 23rd, 2007 - lol!

You wouldn't have a switch for shift on the fly on a manual locking hub Tacoma. You either have manual hubs or push-button 4WD - you can't have both as far as I know.

 

Sad thing is most of the original posters have faded off.

 

Nah.

Been here since Day 1.