Man. or auto locking hubs
 

What do you guys think of the manuel vs. the shift on the fly 4WD systems. My '99 Toca V-6 has man. locking hubs. The dealer tells me there is no difference in the reliability of one system over the other. All the new Tacomas have the interior selector systems. Just makes me wonder.

i prefer manual. in addition to extra reliability (you can't trust what a dealer says), i just prefer to be in charge. plus, even if the auto is as reliable as the manual hubs, with the auto you still have your front axle turning all the time which puts extra wear on the cv's. also, i often have to parallel park on a pretty steep hill. rather than burn out my clutch, i find it easy just to put it in 4-lo. with the manal hubs unlocked, 4-lo is really 2-lo, so it makes it easy to park.

Although I have auto...I think if I would have had the choice when buying a my truck I would have gotten manual hubs. Although rare, having 2-low is nice, plus not turning all the front end stuff...diff, shaft etc etc...would be better for mpg. Of course it has its downfalls too, like if its pouring down rain/snow and you need 4x4 for one reason or another you can just shift into 4x4....I dont offroad to much so the only time I use 4x4 is in the snow and the only time I use 4lo is pulling people out of a ditch in the snow or pulling a boat up a wet ramp....

Thank you for the educated opinions. I too pull a boat and use the 4lo for ramps ect. It does make scence the less weight you are turning, the more MPG. Thanks guys.

Most people here prefer manual hubs. Remember that you can drive around all day with the hubs locked...it's like having ADD. So if you know you're going to need 4x4 you can just lock the hubs in advance, then shift into 4lo or 4hi from the cab just as easily as you can with ADD. You can also have both ADD and manual locking hubs; best of both worlds!

A lot of people with manual hubs will leave them locked all winter so they can shift on the fly while driving in snow.

Another misconception here is calling the ADD "Auto locking hubs" as they are not auto hubs.

Auto hubs were used on only a few years, they are to be dreaded like the plauge.
'84 to '89 they were used.
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/autohub/

They often come unlocked when you are backing up on a trail.
Not good.

I put manual hubs on my truck. For the first year or so I was worried about that 'emergency' situation where I needed 4 wheel drive in an instant since I'd basically defeated the ADD setup. That situation never happened and I'm happy with my manual hubs. As Roger says you can always leave them locked when the weather is bad. Which is almost never out here in sunny Los Angeles!

I've always heard that putting the truck in 4wd without the hubs loked is bad for the Tcase or something? Is that true or am I just making it up :dunno: 2Lo would be cool sometimes but I wouldn't want to mess anything up :saw:

PS - ADD is dumb. I'd rather let the driveshaft spin all the time over the CVs. What's the point of letting the whole front end spin except the driveshaft? I don't get it.

I've never had a problem with it. Consider what's happening: The front driveshaft is turning the axleshafts and the axleshafts are spinning free inside the hubs. So really there's nothing to get torn up. I've used 4 low a lot of times when I'm stuck in traffic going up hills. It's kind of nice to not be slipping the clutch so much. I've also accidently left it in 4 high and driven on the freeway with unlocked hubs. No problems. I agree with you about the ADD. But it's a good convenience for people that don't know better.

Yeah I can't really think of why it would be bad. I also hate riding the clutch in traffic going uphill and stuff.

i use 2 lo every now and than, and its really nice to have, especially with bigger tires... parking on hills its great.

definatly get manual hubs if u got the choice.

IMHO go with a man hub. if you have auto already then get a set of after market, with the cost of fuel being what iti is they will pay for themself in the 1/2 to 1 MPG gain. Not have to turn/drag all that stuff upfront also provides a little more peppy from the line and with the 3vz every little bit helps. plus a lot less wear and tear all the way around.....as for the 4x4 with unlocked hubs.....as long as upkeep has been done then no harm should be caused.