One of the best four speeds I've ever rowed was in a 1965 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4.
The guys who did the design work could have taught BMW and Honda lessons on how a gearbox should shift.
Manual transmissions in pickup trucks.
- Thread starter sloinker
- Start date
The guys who did the design work could have taught BMW and Honda lessons on how a gearbox should shift.
I sure like towing with our manual vehicles, over the 5 spd auto in our CRV! But it was especially terrible as you could only use all 5 gears or the first 3, when it really needed to sit in 4th... Instead of 5-4-5-4-5-4-5-4 on repeat, up any long incline.
In a vehicle with an automatic not setup for towing, I'd rather have a manual, just to save the endless shifting of a clueless automatic everytime your foot twitches...
For me, something like a double cab Hilux with a small non epa turbo diesel and a wide ratio 6spd manual, and dual range 4wd would be a perfect blend of efficiency, longevity, towing, and off road ability. Hauls and tows plenty for me anyways.
Sure, if you suck at driving a manual… otherwise it’s pretty easy to do
That said…. 4th gen Ram trucks have a little plastic cover over a hole in the firewall where the slave cylinder and clutch pedal would be. In theory it wouldn’t be that hard to convert one
It's how I learned to drive: on a 1960 Willys pickup with a three-speed manual and locking hubs.
Not much out there anymore for 3/4 or 1 Ton trucks with a manual.
In 2004 I bought a new Dodge 3500 CCLB 5.9 with a manual. I wasn’t a Dodge fan at all but I had it in my head I wanted a manual and they were the only company that offered it in a high trim level. I used it for work and daily drove it for 4 years, drove it for a couple months with a broken left foot. Got pretty good at driving it with one foot.
After 4 years of that truck I had ZERO interest in ever owning a manual that I was going to daily drive. Sure as a work truck you don’t spend a ton of time in or as a fun sports car but not for a daily driver. Autos are just to good these days plus we get lazier as we get older. Heck after having adaptive cruise control now for a few years I don’t even want to press the gas or brake lol.
In 2004 I bought a new Dodge 3500 CCLB 5.9 with a manual. I wasn’t a Dodge fan at all but I had it in my head I wanted a manual and they were the only company that offered it in a high trim level. I used it for work and daily drove it for 4 years, drove it for a couple months with a broken left foot. Got pretty good at driving it with one foot.
After 4 years of that truck I had ZERO interest in ever owning a manual that I was going to daily drive. Sure as a work truck you don’t spend a ton of time in or as a fun sports car but not for a daily driver. Autos are just to good these days plus we get lazier as we get older. Heck after having adaptive cruise control now for a few years I don’t even want to press the gas or brake lol.
Yeah the design sucks too. The slave is in the bell housing. And then Ford coupled it with a 2.73 rear end. Sloooooowwww!
JHZR2
Staff member
I don’t fully understand what design attributes affect this, but I’ve encountered this too.
My BMW even, supposedly has less torque handling capability in the MT design vs the AT.
It has to do with the clutch design as well.as the throw out bearing. Some 4 puck racing clutches can handle alot of torque at the expense of being difficult to engage. I know the Hellcat has a manual option but not sure if it's a bear to drive. I do know that the epa has it out for manual transmission vehicles. Unfortunately every transmission and drive configuration ie fwd rwd awd have to be tested separately at $1 million per test the last I heard. If a manufacturer sees less than a 10 percent take rate that option usually bites the dust.
I like the idea of user serviceable which manual transmissions are for me. Automatics, DCT, 10 speed, CVT....nah. I also vote yes on the auto and a comprehensive/long lasting drivetrain warranty. It costs as much to replace a tranny as an engine nowadays it seems.
I had a V6 Dakota with a stick and the heavy duty “1 ton“ package. A great work truck hauling ammunition (heavy!). Sold it for a Red V8 Dakota with a stick. Both great trucks…good ole days!
My old diesel suburbans both had manual transmissions but I had to swap them in, worth it.
I had a 95 Flareside 4wd w/ 300 5 speed but around 65 mph or so it had a groaning sound to it but never figured out what it was but always felt like the transmission because it sounded and felt like it was directly under you, came with 3.55's so wasn't geared low or anything like that, it wasn't built for speed by any means but it sure was a runner.
I pulled between 8k-9k lbs of cattle over the mountain here with it, going up I would pull over and shift it into 4-lo and finish climbing in 4th gear and at the top I would put it back in 2wd but after dropping them off I could come back over and just leave it in 2wd. I had some big plans if I had kept it but the frame was just eat up with rust, the undercoating was just peeling off leaving a huge rust bucket underneath.
I would've liked to have figured out that noise, also a zf swap, gear vendors unit and possibly 3.73 gears along with an e-locker unit.
Doesn’t much relate to the present since auto transmissions have come a long way, but I swapped the E4OD in my ‘96 F250 PSD for a ZF6. It was the best thing I ever did for the truck. Probably wouldn’t feel that way if I did much city driving but I don’t.
Chevrolet Colorado or GMC Canyon were offered with a manual up until 2019. Can't remember if there was such an option, but I would love a crew cab Colorado/Canyon with 2.5L and 6-speed manual. Simple, basic, and efficient truck. Should be pretty reliable too. Ain't no 'Yota, but price usually reflects that.
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NV3500 5 speed, if I recall correctly in the Dakotas. Bigger trucks got the NV4500 (and it's propensity for 5th gear nut issues.
This is a big reason why they're dying off in "pickup" truck type applications even as they persist in heavy trucks.
Ever launch a boat with a manual trans? Go offroading on really rough trails? Try to launch with a REALLY heavy trailer?
All those are doable with a manual trans, but much, much less enjoyable and more stressful.
