Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives new pickups with manual shift??

I presently drive a 2001 F250 SD 4x4 w 5 sp. manual, gas v8.

I'm thinking of buying a new similar pickup, so stopped at the Ford dealer.

I dealt with 2 different people, and they both said that the only tranny available was a 6 speed auto. No manual shift available. Not happy news.

Are any of the new full size pickups, any brand, gas powered, available with stick shift?

They also told me that if you want to "order" a new 2015 model of the Ford F250, your order must be submitted by no later than mid April 2015. I wonder if that's true?

Thanks, folks.....

Lee

I believe the only way to get a stick shift tranny in a 3/4 or 1T pickup is to go with a Dodge diesel.

That is correct for any half ton or greater. I'm tempted to say the last manual, gas engine 250/350's were 2007.

My last truck was a 2010 Ram 2500 diesel with the 6 speed. Had to have it shipped up from the midwest to CT as there wasn't a single manual transmission in my desired configuration (nothing fancy!) on a dealer lot any closer.

Although I must say, now that I have an auto (2013 F150 ecoboost) I don't miss the manual much in my 30-40k mi/year I drive.

Does Dodge still use that clutch with the double flywheel setup? It's weak and won't last. I should know.

Rumor is the new Nissan Titan will be offered with a 6-speed manual, but I don't think they've even announced the gas engine options yet. Who knows what will make it to production. They are trying to bill the new Titan as a bridge between 1/2 ton and 3/4 pick ups. Think I've seen max towing of 12K lbs. but I haven't really looked into it.

My 2010 did have the dual mass flywheel. I never towed with the truck, and sold it with 50k mi and had no perceptible issues with it.

The manual mode of the current Ford 6spd does work quite well, I've got 55K on my '11 F250. It allows for 2nd and 3rd gear starts if one is concerned about wheel spin and downshifts well if one needs the engine/tranny to keep things slowed up going down steep grades. I'd have a hard time shifting a manual truck tranny any faster than the Ford auto shifts in Manual mode.

My 06 Dodge hasn't had any problems either. At almost 60,000 miles which includes a yearly trip of 650-850 miles over mountain ranges like the Rockys and Sierra Nevada, carrying my 10 ft. Lance Camper and towing my Jeep. E

Exactly.

Last new GM 1/2 or 3/4 Ton truck I remember seeing with a manual tranny, was probably at least 5 or 6 years ago? May have even been longer than that?

Looking at new trucks on the lot and found one 4x4 Work Truck with a 5 spd. but forget now what year that was?

Went from a '02 5 spd. to an auto in '06. Missed the manual for awhile, got over it. Last two trucks have been 6 spd. autos w/manual selection/tow haul mode. Suits me fine for pulling a double axle flatbed from time to time.

I don't tow much, so I can get by just fine with an auto, and truth be told, I have gotten lazy enough that the thought of driving a manual downtown every morning and back every night isn't very appealing. When I get nostalgic for rowing my own gears I can fire up my Jeep.

Same here. Have a small beater SUV at the cabin w/5 spd. for a mountain buggy of sorts. Helluva lot cheaper than a side by side UTV and nearly as useful.

Fun enough, no city traffic, just dirt roads and the woods. Wound it up a bit on the road this past deer season.

First time it's been in fifth for some time.

Last fall I spent several days driving my 23' long, manual shift Dodge pickup around Seattle. The shifting got really old really fast.

I have an 8-speed in my Ram. I don't miss the 4 or 5 speed manuals at all.

I have a 78 f-150 with a 4-speed if I feel like shifting gears.

I prefer a manual in that I can choose any gear I want and use only that gear if I want. Most times it doesnt matter but there are times one may want to be in 2nd or 3rd and stay in that gear wide open with no shifting, or may want a higher gear and lug the engine with no shifting. Not real familiar with the newer trucks but my dads 2010 2500 chevy has manual mode but not true manual control, the computer will step in.

Just driving around Seattle gets really old, really fast.

the truth of the matter is, with trans coolers and modern auto transmissions an auto is stronger than most manual transmissions.
we are not dealing with our daddy's TH350 and SM465.

Personally I'd like my old t-18 iron box Fords, but the new autos are pretty hard to beat.

Alot of class 8 truck are now using Allison autos and I haven't seen a school bus without an auto for many years.

With the push of a button I can also be in any gear I want.

The left knee doesn't care for manual transmissions anymore....

^^that^^ me too!

I still enjoy driving a manual. I used to own the last full size blazer made with a manual transmission. I ordered it and had to wait 6 months before they would build it. It was the last one off the production line before they became known as Tahoes. I have a 2012 tacoma with 5 speed. The only downside is Toyota has used cheap clutches and pressure plates for many years. I just replaced mine at 37K miles. Toyota would have done it under warranty at 36K. Just my luck I got an extra 1K out of it.

Hmmmm. I have a 2005 V-6 with the six-speed manual and 255,000+ miles on the odometer and we are still on the clutch and pressure plate that came with it from the factory. Yours must be a 4-cylinder?

Yeah. The 6 speeds use a different clutch than the 5 speeds. A lot of people aren't even getting 5K miles before they start slipping. I guess I was unlucky to make it past the warranty. There is a TSB out for the 4cyl/5spd for 2005-2013 models. I guess it is cheaper for them to replace than to buy a better product.

can you put it in 3rd and start from a stop on ice? Can you lock it in 2nd or 3rd and lug it down to keep going up a hill in snow without a downshift? Will it allow you to rev to redline and hold if in above situation you find that full bore wide open is all that works and you cant stop or shift without getting stuck. If it will do all of those thats pretty cool. All the above is extreme but are real issues one will find. For normal everyday use any tranny will do, and an auto has some big appeal for many uses. I havent seen an auto that will allow that kind of abuse except an old style with a full manual valvebody. But I dont drive many of the latest vehicles.

I think you can get one in a Tacoma.

The "stick shift" used to be cool in high school.

I ordered a 5 speed for a sports car.

These days the auto seems to have taken over.

I really like the way my auto downshifts on steep down hill drives. We drive in NW CT where there are some twisty roads with hills.

The 5 speed Chrysler 300 with a console shift works so well!

I can just ease the lever to the side and back. So smooth, easy, cool when in drive.

The OP was looking for a 3/4 ton gasser. In that type, there are none any more.

Yet you can't post a picture of anything you've actually hunted...

He been too busy huntin' for the right gears, is why.

Probably a dealer stock photo too, given the paper floor mats..............

Automatics are starting to grow on me for the reasons stated: they hold speed on a down hill, and are easier on the ole body.

For serious work, and serious play, the manual is still the only way to go.

I,ll take an auto, our hill to work is a very extreme grade nothing like losing forward momentum, on a hill with water on ice, and then having truck stall in a manual.

With an auto you can maintain some semblance of limited control.

Also in big snow and sand you do not lose ground when you shift.

tzone,

What's the problem?

I have posted pictures of what I have hunted.

I was pointing out how enjoyable that 5 speed auto is.

The Porsche 5 speed only ran a few months before it's shift handle came out of the floor. The cup that held the ball at the other end wore out!

Copr.

Great pictue taken in june. Do you hav any from anything you've shot?

Tzone,

Yes I do. However I sense that you will not respond to a normal discourse and I am sending you to ignore.

The Ford 6spd in the Superduty's will do all of what you described above in Manual mode.

I will say this, you worry too much. The autos are not the auto trans your accustomed to 10 or`12 years ago. Used to be autos were mushy and acted like the vehicle was driving in sand. They are much tighter and more manual like no days. Add to that ALOT more reliability. I never hear any issues with the auto trans that are in either the superduty or the f150.

The advantage to a manual trans IMO was in the past they were simply just more reliable. If you have an auto thats just as reliable why not get it, unless its a mustang or corvette and you like to burn rubber every now and then. even then IMO when you get more than 5 gears in a hot rod its too much shifting and its not as fast as an auto.

For straight line acceleration an auto will beat a manual every time. Manual comes into its own when the computer does not know what to do. In my examples that horse1 responded to many auto's get confused and do the wrong thing for the conditions. Also when pushing a corner hard they will shift at a bad time or not be there when you punch the throttle. Know several experienced truck drivers that love the auto's almost all the time. But when one needs to do something"weird" they cant do it. The newbee drivers all love not having to shift, since they cant, and dont understand the finer points of driving.

Ford's Super Duty 6spd in "M" manual mode will hold 1, 2, or 3 for as long as you'd like from a dead stop to bumping on the limiter and won't shift until you bump the "+/-" button on the shifter stalk, lugging or screaming makes no difference. In 4, 5, or 6, it will hold them up to the limiter if you're running hard, but, it will downshift past any/all of them if you lug too far. Case in point, you're running down the highway in M/6 and forget to downshift coming up the off ramp. If you have to start from a dead stop and do nothing, it downshifts to M/2 on it's own, then it'll hold M/2 until you start working through the gears on the "+/-" button again.

This 6 speed auto that's in the gasoline F250 4X4......does it have a hi-low range like a manual shift trans.?

Is 1st gear a true "granny/creeper" gear ratio?

Tnx folks........

Lee in Denver CO

F-250 has a 2 spd transfer case. Spin the knob to 4H, stop, Neutral, spin to 4L and you're in 4L until you stop, N, 4H again.

Low range and 1st gear is a "crawler". Probably 3MPH tops gets you close to redlining the diesel, I suppose the gasser w/more RPM available would get close to 5MPH. When you switch into 4 Low, the transmission will always want to start out in 2nd, you have to select 1st manually, it's that "creepy" low.

No Hi/low range without using the transfer case.

1st gear in 2wd/4Hi is 3.97:1.

Pickup wise.

Nissan Frontier.

Toyota Tacoma (but not from Gulf States Toyota which supplies most of the south ie I would have to go north to Missouri to get one.)

Dodge 2500 or greater with Cummins.

One thing about manuals is that they are more resistant to carjackings. Several folks in Houston TX have been ordered out of their cars at gun point only to have the carjacker get frustrated and run off on foot.

Best thing about a manual transmission is nobody asks to borrow your truck to haul their $%#@.

I've read several articles about thieves giving up on manual cars. Most of them would have a hard time with my Dodge pickup. The reverse slot is spring loaded and it's a heavy spring. It's easy once you get the feel for it but if you don't know how it works, it can be darn hard to get in R.

Put a push button ignition like an old school truck has, in it. [bleep] em.

My uncle had a 1956 Ford F series pickup that was a cool custom hotrod when I was a kid. Had a flathead and a 4 speed, loud exhaust, and a killer yellow paint job with lots of black pinstripes. Very sharp looking ride. Anyways it had an ignition button on the turn signal lever, turn the key to on, pump the gas pedal; mash the little yellow button on the lever, and it would rumble to life.

One night a couple guys decided to steal it and couldn't figure out the little yellow button to crank it over. Happily they didn't get his truck, sadly they ripped ALL the wiring out from under the dash in an attempt to Hotwire it. He had a fun afternoon of figuring which wire went where and soldering them all back together.

It kept my ex-wife from ever driving my truck