manual or automatic - which is more dependable?

[Pit Bull]

Most miles without breaking anything and if they do break which costs more to fix? Reason why one might be better for one application then another? Any educational information that might help members that are trying to decide between a manual or an automatic. Why you bought what you have? If someone disagrees with you, tell them where to !! (just kidding, lets keep it about the transmission not about the person) This should be fun and educational

 

[CATCRACKER]

well i guess i will be the first one to chime in. i do not know what i was thinking (i wasnt)when i bought an auto. all i can say is that to repair a stick is much cheaper and easier than an auto. and it seems that the sticks have more life in them. the stick may not be faster but the seat of the pants feel will get more ooh's and aah's from your friends(i was one of the friends doing the ooh's and aah's). what i love to see is when pulling a trailer and going through the gears feeling the truck lift up from the torque of the motor. (its erotic) man i wan a stick:{ if anyone sees a 2001 4x4 silver 6speed swb QC email me -- email address removed -- i want one, i just have to find it. look at the price to bomb a manual it is cheap and you do not need any special installer that lives 400 miles away from you. just order a southbend and your done. none of this setting up valve bodies or messing with shift firmness etc. etc. this is just my stinking arm pit opinion i must say if you dont mind giving your left (you know what) the auto's set up right kick butt and will smoke the manuals in a race. but then again i did not buy this truck to race, maybe others did.

 

[WadePatton]

Generally speaking, if you keep the proper oil in a manual and don't grind gears, they last forever.



Specifically speaking, there can be trouble with the 5th gear nut on a couple years of Rams. And the oil for the 6-speed is special voodoo oil.



On the 47RE, some last, some don't. HP upgrades mean transmission upgrades. On the manual, it's CLUTCH upgrades. The clutch upgrades are generally less expensive, but require a similar amount of labor.



I simply don't care to drive automatics-period. They are the hot ticket for low ET's at the track--but that's with MOD$.



One more thing. No lockup controller is necessary for exhuast brake operation with a manual.



And I don't have to remember to turn the O/D off.

 

[slavallee]

6 speed stick

A 6 speed is the way to go. I didn't get my truck to be a speed demon. I bought it to last forever, pull anything anywhere and to enjoy the maintenence of a diesel engine. The auto may be nicer in stop and go type driving but its also fun to keep my 6 speed in 1st and creep along at idle during southern california traffic jams. Just look at the number of transmission problems these trucks can have. Sticks are not always without trouble either but I think you'll find malfunctions in manual trannys are less frequent and will most often allow you to get back home under your own steam. JMHO



-Scott

 

[tarussell]

Manual transmission's belong in TRUCKS ! IMHO

I ordered my truck with a manual transmission on purpose. I wanted a HD truck and all that is heavy duty to go along with it.



Don't get me wrong , I think that the auto's that are out now are some of the finnest that have ever been offered. GM's 4L80E /TH400 , all of the Allison's , what ever the Ford HD is called are all extremely well built-especially with after market help. They have all come along way and put up with more torque than ever before and do well. For ultra quick excelleration and ease of driving they are tops ; but for ultimate durrability ( in my opinion ) the manual transmission is the one to have. Simple and basic maintanence is all that is required if all is healthy to make one last for several hundred thousand miles. Clutch wear can vary depending on how the driver treats it . I have had a clutch last in my Chevy K-10 for 185,000 miles before the pressure plate just gave up and I am replacing the original clutch assy. in a Toyota Supra w/258,000 miles on it. I guess it all depends on how they are driven. On the other hand my Toyota P/U w/ an automatic in it has well over 200,000 on it and all I have ever done is change fluid regularly in the transmission. I think that "GOOD" maintanence and sane driving will help either transmission last for a long time .



It seems to me that a manual transmission has fewer potential problem areas, Ex: cooler lines/cooler leaks , hydraulic pressure problems from within ,and the case itself can wear out and be unuseable under extreme usage on an auto - while manual transmission's usually give a sign that something is wrong and you have a better chance of not being stranded.



One more thing , in the old days most all of the really work horse trucks used manual transmission's Ex: Wreckers-Tow trucks etc. I tease my best friend about all the money he keeps sinking into his 4L80E every so many years to keep it in top shape while I only replace the occasional clutch in the trucks that get abussed regularly. I tell him that Cadilac's come with automatics and 18 wheelers come with manuals , so which one is his truck more like.



I think that a clutch gives the driver more control over what he or she wants the motor to do at any given time. As far as the transmission goes what do you want - fluid pressure compressing drums and clutches or mechanical leverage through gears rotating ? Besides going off-road with a granny gear is awesome !



In my opinion - manual transmission's are the way to go !!!!!! Thomas

 

[Morphious]

Real men have sticks..... nuff said.



Morph.

 

[C Schomer]

Too many past heating problems with autos towing, even with aux. coolers. Manual was 215hp and auto was 180hp in 97 - easy decision. More hp required to drive autos - I want all I can get to the ground. I'm not so sure I would even want an Allison, it still has the auto drawbacks. $527 + my labor to fix 5th at 32k miles - so far so good. Autos cool primarily with the engine cooling system one way or another. I've talked to many who have to back off on passes and drop gears because of water temp - I never have to back off for water temp. I was used to OTR truck shifting, 5 + 4s and everything else. A 5sp is only 1/4 the gears I used to shift! Craig

 

[Dkevdog]

Cool Another transmission War!!!!:-{}



Just kidding.



Having owned both (heck I still do) I think it depends largely on what you plan to do with the truck BOMBing wise as well as use wise. My Automatic with the DTT setup was like buying a whole new truck when I had it put in. It ran 100% better than before, but it didn't come cheap either. For a daily driver in the So Cal traffic, it was great and I had no regrets. As for longevity?? Only time will tell with a modified transmission. I think again it really depends on how hard you are on the truck and how much HP you're making.



Driving the 6speed?? I really like having something to while driving around. It's a ton of shifting in the city, and with the 4:10 I seem to run out of gear fast. BUT... Put a 10K worth of trailer back there- and I would never go back. In my opinion it just tows so much more easily and you have so much better control. No more fighting between OD and hunting for gears. And when I need to upgrade my clutch (which I will :{ ) It won't set me back nearly so much as an auto would. I think for towing heavy especially, the Manual is the way to go.



Just my . 04



Kev

 

[athompson]

I have, personally, never had an automatic that could stand up. But then again, most of my manuals had a hard time, too.



I bought mine, with the manual, for several reasons. First, I have never had an automatic that shifted the way I thought it should. Upshifts are always too mushy. Downshifts are always too late. My last truck, even with the HyperTech programming, suffered from this. The HyperTech helped, but not enough, IMO.



Second, and very related to the first, I want total control on shifts. I shift when I want, not when the computer thinks it should. Try getting to 25 MPH, on level ground, without touching the throttle on an auto.



Third, I wanted the HO. But, even if there were an optional auto, I would have gotten the manual.



Fourth, I have never known anyone who owned a Dodge automatic that didn't have major problems. My Dad drove his brand new Dodge from Indiana to Las Vegas and had to have it rebuilt before he got home. Believe me, my Dad is not hard on trannies. He got home and traded it in on a Chevy. The Chevy automatic has made several trips from Indiana and back with no troubles.



Fifth, repairing a manual is less costly and easier that repairing an automatic. A good clutch costs less and is easier to install than a "good" TC, etc.

 

[Gizmo 007]

I'm all for the 6 speed. That's why I bought one. Stout as hell with an upgraded clutch. I loved mine. Then the worst thing that could happen... did. I broke my left knee and foot, which makes it really hard for me to use a clutch :{. Major knee surgury is in my future . Owning a stick was no longer an option. That's why I swapped my transmission out for an automatic. After a little work from DTT, it'll work really well I think. Driving my truck now with a stock auto (no chip of course ) and only having turned the line pressure up to help hold just the injectors, it drives really well.



Yes, it is expensive to upgrade the auto transmission, but it's quicker, easier to drive around town.



Yes, the manual is hard to break and will last forever, will tow more.



It really boils down to: Do you tow a lot? Do you drive in town a lot? Do you plan to bomb the crap out of it? Do you like to row to work? hehe, couldn't help that last one .

 

[athompson]

Kris,



Sorry to hear about the leg, but that definitely explains why you went through so much trouble converting yours to automatic. Good luck on bombing the transmission.

 

[Pit Bull]

WOW, I didn't think there would be this overwhelming response for the manual transmission. Looks like the consensus so far is that unless you can't use your left leg (sorry Kris) that you should get a manual.

 

[Boldt's Wagon]

You are comparing apples and oranges. You need to compare (manual trannys plus clutches) to automatic trannys. Most auto failures are clutches. Only a small part of automatic transmission failures are hard part failures that are equivalent to the manual transmission failures.



Did I just hear another fifth gear nut, output shaft, input shaft failure on that manual?



Lets start another thread on manual clutches.

 

[tarussell]

It seems to me that alot more of the CTD's Dodge trucks come with a manual transmission compared to GM and Ford products.



I may be wrong but fromwhat I have seen the norm is to order trucks with auto's on the Ford and GM lots and the Dodge lots will have a fair amount of five or six speeds around to offer.



I have read that Ford sells more diesel trucks than anyone but I wonder what percentage are manual and automatic between all the manufactures. Anybody have that info ???



Thomas

 

[Boldt's Wagon]

My local Ford dealer told me they sold 30 automatics for every manual, for whatever that is worth.

 

[LSMITH]

There are a lot of hotshotters out there that will ONLY run an auto transmission, and they get 200K++ out of them just as Ma Chrysler delivered them. Which one lasts longer is solely determined by how YOU use it.



Many of the most highly respected experts out there told me my transmission would be dead inside of 3K miles when I bombed to XXX level, now I am at XXX+X having driven about 60K miles at a level sure to cause death and nearly 15K miles at a level that is IMPOSSIBLE for the transmission to live.



The loose nut behind the wheel is the single biggest factor in longevity of transmissions whether auto or manual.

 

[Hohn]

6-gears!

I guess I am not the only 6-speed fan here!



I echo others comments on durabililty, simplicity, reliability, fun to drive, etc.



I also kinda wanted the truck to myself, since the wife can't drive a stick (yet



I figure the diesel needs more gears to get the most out of it, and a manual with a lot of highway usage seems to last forever.

Gas mileage seems also to be better on most sticks.



Finally, I am a major control freak when it comes to machinery, so I want as much manual features as possible-- I hate automatic locks, or automatic anything for the most part. If I wanted something a certain way, I WOULD DO IT!!



Can't say enough about how much I like the ETH/DEE combo.



HOHN

 

[HC]

Opinion:

1) In a Dodge, I would choose a manual.

2) In a Ford, I would choose an auto.



If you go back about 15 years, Dodge was clearly marketing the manual for heavy towing, but not their autos. Ford was exactly the opposite - they touted autos with extra cooling for heavy towing, and their manuals were lightweight affairs aimed at maximizing mpg. I believe that each company has an engineering "mindset" or "culture" that often lives on long after last year's marketing claims have been forgotten. For this reason, it is likely that 5 years from now, Dodge's "best" transmission will probably be a manual, and Ford's "best" transmission will probably be an auto.

 

[Mad Bomber]

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=60906&goto=newpost

The 6speed the only way. It was a lot of work to do the south bend clutch,but 750. 00 and a day to fix and my truck is good for a strong 400hp. I was talking to a member at the dyno day in monroe WA on sat. She said that her auto was about 4500. 00 for a DTT rebuild plus it took more than day to do.

 

[Rob Thomas]

Originally posted by CATCRACKER

well i guess i will be the first one to chime in. i do not know what i was thinking (i wasnt)when i bought an auto.

That outta just about cover it... ... ...





MANUALS RULE!!!





Later, Rob