Towing heavy trailers or any big load with a manual sucks....especially when you have to stop at a light on a steep hill and someone is on your ***. Fun factor though, manuals take the win.

 

my friends mother turned 60 last year and recently bought an accord 6 spd, so unless theres a physical limitation i dont see it

i love getting better gas miles with my stick than i would if the truck was an auto

 

I have an auto in my current ranger with a 4.0SOHC. I had a manual in my ranger with a 3.0OHV. I loved the trans in my 3.0 but I really love the pep of the 4.0. As soon as I'm outta school with a real job the 4.0 auto is going, and the 4.0 manual is going to be arriving. :)

 

wow.........you realize that you only replace clutches if you suck at driving them. my ranger has 148,750 and the clutch still seems new or slightly used. Clutches outlast most of the parts in the truck unless the driver just cant slip it right. :)

 

I gotta say, I've driven a bunch of different manual trans. over the past several years to haul various sized loads, all of them being on 3/4 & 1 tons. I know how to work the clutch in those, but with alot of torque and power it isn't very hard to get several tons moving. What's the secret to doing this in a Ranger? I've pulled out a few stuck trucks and tractors from mud, and almost every time I've made my clutch squeel (I hate that noise!). I've pulled a few small trailers with my ranger, but nothing too heavy. I'm also guilty of treating my ranger trans. like a heavy-duty one by starting off in 2nd; and I'm trying to break myself of that habbit too! Any ideas? I know that these are different from what I'm used to, but are they really that different?

Robert

 

Starting in 2nd gear, you're more likely to have slave cylinder issues down the line. I tried that on my truck a few times, it didnt like it (bogged down) lol But it had 3.73 gears and the 3.0L. 4.10's are a little lower, might not be as bad for it as it is for 3.73's. I just stuck with the rule, 1st gear only if you are stopped. If I would be at a roll I would pop it in 2nd and take off without any jumpy-ness.

 

I have a manual in my ricer and an auto for my truck. Sometimes I wish I had gone manual on both. Maybe I'll switch to a manual in the future.

Gah I do that whenever I drive my truck. The worst is definitely when I hit an uphill on-ramp cause I slam on the edge of the brake thinking its the clutch.

 

MANUAL 4banger hell YEAH

 

I wish I had a manual.... my auto just feels like its sucking all the power out of the already powerless 3.0... it feels like it just shifts horrible... well better after I got the x-cal, but I didnt see it when I got it but this auto just wants to slip into 5 every time... and I hate that... its always searching when Im going over a hilly road.... I have better experience in a manual.... but looking at the manual stick in the ranger I thought I would break it because of the long stick under all that trim.... I really want one now because all my friends that are girls want to ride with me... and the ranger can only take 5 including me... with a manual that girl in the middle would be getting an experience... ironically the one girl that always sits in the middle is really hott so hey a million points to me if the ranger was a manual lol

 

personaly id rather have a manual mine shifts fine but id rather replace clutches and ect.. the a entire tranny when my auto goes out again but ive got it pretty built up as well as possible and lets just pray it holds out to my abuse

 

My 2000 Ranger was an automatic and I didn't mind it but I really hated when the torque convertor would unlock then lock back up on the highway. I have a 91 ranger STX now and I got the 5-speed. Mustang is a 5-speed also. Nothing like powershifting

 

i love my a/t

 

Doesn't matter, more fun equals more fun, regardless of the vehicle. I wouldn't trade my stick for an auto even if performance was exactly the same or even a little faster for the auto.

 

as a polish coworker of mine once said, "most americans are just too ***** to drive one"

couldnt agree with him more

 

i have an auto and i hate it

 

I tend to agree but I decided to go auto for two reasons.
1) After having driven several 06-07-08 models of each I must say I was impressed with the auto tranny. The manual would slap me in the leg and the truck just bounced and moved much more.
2) Towing ability. I have a 3500lb boat/trailer and the manual isn't spec'ed to take as much loading as is the auto.

If I lived in a small town I'd have gone manual. But commuting in a large populated area a auto is nice. There have been days where it's taken me 2.5 hr to get to work going an avg of 10mph. Stop and go the whole way. And... I've towed my boat on 1200 mile vactations up through mountians.

I'm generaly a manual tranny guy.. but for me the auto is the way to go.

Rich

 

OK... so after driving in the snow/ice... I've decided the manual is amazing since I can compression brake and don't need to touch the pedal... I'm even more in love...

 

5-Speed FTW! No auto bs for me.

 

ranger auto's are problematic. if you could get a "old school" 3 speed like a C4 or C5 trans it would be different, but whats available just isnt reliable. the 5 speed manual isnt the best, but it is the best thats available. ive drug plenty of weight behind mine and had no issues, the manual is just downrated because ford didnt want to be having warranty issues with clutches, if you know how to properly drive it, your bigest issue isnt starting the load or driving with it. the biggest issue is getting stopped. i wish my manual had a lower 1st gear, if im off-highway or backing a trailer, i use low-range alot. it also helps on a boat ramp. thats the biggest reason to get a 4wd as far as im concerned. 4wd may be helpfull, but having a low range to lower gearing is evenmore helpfull, if only i could spilt-shift between low/high range. back when i paid attention to pricing, selecting the option of "automatic transmission" was about $1,000 extra. dont recall what 4x costs. there are some advantages to having a auto, but in a ranger, the manual is the better way to go.

 

manuals are the way to go. Except in stop and go traffic in columbus, then your constantly off and on the pedal. I drove a manual mustang 3.8 and then I got my 99 3.0 auto and instantly I decided it was a dog. I need to switch to a manual. Someone needs to make a swapover kit esp since trannies 4 rangers are hard to find.

 

My truck is an auto, unfortuneately. My 88 Ranger is a 5 speed. My 97 Thunderbird 4.6 is swapped to a T-45 5 speed. The only thing I didnt like about my 04 when I bought it was that it was an auto. I couldnt find any 4.0's in as good of condition as mine with a 5 speed unfortuneatly.

 

Auto with a stall for consistent launches. Full manual Valve body for control.

But in the truck, 5-spd all the way.

 

I say auto in a truck unless all you do is offroad in it and stick in a sports car.

 

You must have fast friends. My friends can only push me to about 20 before they pass out


New sig

 

I would have liked to get a manual but I found an amazing deal on my truck so I got an auto. If I ever buy something new I would want a manual.