I have been always buying manual Rangers as I always believed that they were more durable for working as in pulling heavier trailers and such. Is that true in Rangers, even though towing guides for Ford state differently, or am I truely better off with an auto for trailering?

 

From what I have read the Auto trans pulls better. I think the clutches can't hold the weight, also the slave cylinders are junk.

A manual tranny can tow just as much as a auto but you can easily glaze the clutch. The tourqe converters on the auto do much better when taking off

 

^^ what he said... i know ford rates the towing of the auto much higher than the manual

 

automatics are rated almost double what a manual is in a Ranger....

 

IIRC, one reason for the auto is because the average Joe cannot shift correctly with a ~3,500# trailer behind them, and recommend the 2WD auto as having the best towing capabilities.

 

Take this with a grain of salt, when I was going to put my Western snow plow on my 04 Ranger I was advised against it because the machanic at the dealership I worked at said that either the input/output shaft had a tendency to bend under severe loads. I decided to do it with an old explorer with a manual tranny instead (Figureing who cared if it broke) Liek I said I never investigated it more.

~HJ

 

Once the combo is rolling there isn't much difference at all between manual and automatic. The problem is at launch from a dead stop, especially uphill. Ford downrates the manual because it is IMPOSSIBLE to get the truck moving on the uphill test grade when it is loaded to the max GCWR of the automatic.

 

In my 2wd 4cylinder 5 spd manual work truck, I had alot of equipment and tools in the bed, and was heavy. All went well until I went to pull into the steep driveway of the jobsite in 1st gear. I had the clutch out from driving up the road and just turned in to come to a stop with the motor running, and smoke from the clutch coming out. I pushed in the clutch, and backed out and we took an alternate route in that was more level. The clutch did not glaze somehow, and all was fine. Ford tough.

The clutch in my 92/93 was alot more stout that the 2000 or the 2004 models.

 

What kind of mileage are auto tranny owners getting before they need serviced? Curious, as I keep my trucks a long time.

 

auto's tow better you only lose a couple hundred when you get a stick also even when u get a 4x4 you loose some weight compared to a 2wd.