Hello everyone,

I was wondering about a Toyota Manual Hub Conversion for a 97 Tacoma. I?ve looked at both the ORS and Downey products however I live in Guatemala and I was hoping to use ALL Toyota parts for this. What would I have to change besides the obvious. Hubs, spindle, CV joints, wheel bearings. Is there anything else. that I would need to look for? Are the steering knuckles the same? Thanks <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cyclops.gif" alt="" />

What is the reasoning behind the conversion? I work in the oil fields and am in and out of 4x4 at least 25 times a day. I would be ready to cut my wrists if I had to get in and out of the truck all the time to mess with lock out hubs. ADD equals dependable, no maintenance shift on the fly in and out of 4x4.

I considered the conversion as well for a decrease in wear and tear but the cons outweighed the pros. There is a lot of good information on the TTORA forums that I looked at to come to my decision.

I had manual hubs on my old truck and they were a pain in the butt. Never locked in when you want them to be. I would avoid oportunities to have a little fun because it would meen getting out and locking in and then getting back out 30 seconds later to unlock to continue on my way.

Stronger for extreem trail use, I don't doubt it. However, for what I use the truck for, as long as the ADD continues to work well, I am all about it.

Hey guys,

I live in Guatemala and my work means that if my truck breaks down I can have a very long walk home. I don?t mind getting out and locking/unlocking hubs if I know that it will not break on me as the ADD can do.

You may be at the wrong forum. Tacomas have a totally different front end than your truck. You might want to look in the Truck forum.

If I remember correctly, adding manual hubs to your truck may be as simple as removing your hub by-pass plates and bolting on the hub unit. I may be wrong.

You will probably also need to swap out your front axle because hubs will not help you if the ADD fails.

It says that he is looking into a conversion for a 97 Tacoma so this would be the right place unless he is doing it to the truck in his sig. The hub conversion is not as easy as just removing the hub bypass plates and bolting on the hub unit, it needs the new cvs and spindles and such. Usually people swap on parts from a truck that had manually locking hubs (from junkyard, someone doing an sas) because it will cost less then buying the parts new and it would be as he desired, all toyota original. Maybe the original poster could be more specific with more details about the plans for this?

The other part I find interesting is that he is from Guatemala but driving a Tacoma. My understanding is that the Tacoma was North America only. Guatemala should be a HiLux. The front suspension on a Hilux is carry over from the old pickup. A lot different from the Taco. Arguably stronger.

I should clarify some things. I am in Guatemala, and while the Hilux is sold here. Many used cars from the states are imported here for considerably less cost than a new car sold here at a dealership. This is why I have the Tacoma. My old truck is an 8922RE as described below. The tacoma has the ADD system and I want to change it to manual hubs for reliability. I know some people swear by ADD. But hey I swear by Aisin. HA! I understand that it is a complicated swap but I feel it is somewhat necessary for what I do.

Thanks

We have a couple conversion articles in the driveline section

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/ That might help you out.