I've been pulling my horse trailer for 10 years with my auto transmission F250 CC Short bed....never a problem, life is good. Then I made the mistake of riding in an 2002 F350 DRW with a 6 spd pulling a trailer...i'm in love and I can't shake the fever.
So I'm writing a dear abby letter to all you that tow with the 7.3 and the ZF-6 tranny...is it really that great ...do you secretly want a auto??? Will I have buyers remorse or worse yet need knee (hard to say) surgery in a year?
I've got to shake this love bug or it's going to cost me some money...and the bad thing is, I just can't sell my F250...too many things I love about the old body style trucks.
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97 F250, 4X4, CC, DP, 4" Magna-Flow exhaust, Tymar Intake, BTS 4 Position Chip; BTS Tranny; Baby Swamps,Tru-Cool Max,Autometer 3 gauge A-Pillar,HX,Hot water mod, Centramatic balancers;Correct-Trak;Rhino-liner, SKY-FI, Prodigy Brake Controller, Bilsteins all around, Royal Purple in the Diff, Pro-Tech Headache Rack, N-Fab Nerf Bars, Heated Seats..aaahh. Auto-Dimming Mirror with Temp/Compass; Polk Audio with SONY Head Unit. GOS Headlight Harness with Diode Mod.
Love my 6 speed. Granny low and reverse makes low speed maneuvering a dream. I have only had the diesel for a couple of months but that is the icing with all that low end torque.
I have driven gasser 5 speeds for years. I had one auto among the sticks, it had the biggest engine and didn't pull hills as well as smaller engines with a stick. To be fair, automatics have improved a lot since I last tried one towing.
The clutch is a bit stiff (a lot stiff compared to my F150 5 speed), if you already have knee problems you may want to stay with the auto. I look at it as exercising my leg and knee, now if I could just figure out how to do the right leg.
It has it's ±'s. If you like the truck that you have now then keep it. My last truck was a '99, 7.3, 6speed. I loved the truck and it towed great but I missed some of the aspects of the auto. The granny-reverse location on the ZF is a nice feature for trailer parking. Did you know they actually designed it that way so you could quickly shift front to back for parking?
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'06 F-350 Lariet,CC,SB,6.0L,AT Bone Stock
I love my 6pd. I often have to tow with my bros automatic and hate not being able to put it in the gears I want. Especially on a downgrade or stopping. I live in traffic hell So Cal and usually never had a problem of my leg falling off from the clutch.
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2001 F-350 7.3--Banks Kit--BullyDog 6 bank chip--4" Turbo Back Exhaust--6 Speed Manual 4wd--125k
I don't even own a truck anymore, but i drive any standard i get into without clutching once i'm moving, any reason why you couldn't do that with a six speed.
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'95 F350 Dually reg Cab. Util Bed. Heavy Front Sus. 4WD 5Speed -SOLD
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: boobowski</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It has it's ±'s. If you like the truck that you have now then keep it. My last truck was a '99, 7.3, 6speed. I loved the truck and it towed great but I missed some of the aspects of the auto. The granny-reverse location on the ZF is a nice feature for trailer parking. Did you know they actually designed it that way so you could quickly shift front to back for parking? </div></div>
I figured it just had something to do with the fact that all heavy truck transmissions have been that way for decades (some older ones had the position of reverse and first reversed from where they are now). That being said, in the larger trucks first is usually almost useless, I generally go forward in 2nd if manuvering real slow, 3rd or 4th depending on load status on the road, so shifting from first to reverse is not all that much better than the old 5-speed way.
That said, I don't like driving my 6spd in stop and go traffic. It's a slow shifter compared to our 5spd Jeep and 5spd car. Makes the truck feel very slow and cumbersome.
But most of my driving is highway and there you can't beat the manual tranny.
Me too. I rarely use the clutch after I am going. The 6 speed is easier to shift v/s the 5 speed w/o the clutch. The down shifting on the 5 speed is difficult.
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1996 F-250 extended cab long box five speed. Home made Tymar, 203 Stat, 60 gal in bed fuel cell, 315/75's, no muffler, ebpv welded open 3" to 3" DP, Babies. 290K, still chugging, and still smoking when cold.
UPDATED 8/1/08 Replace so far. 1 LUK flywheel+clutch, 2 thermostats, 2 set of brakes, 1 set of calipers, 5 CPS, 3 sets of tires, 2 Transfer pumps, 1 Injector modual, 1 Computer, 2 Alt, 2 sets of batteries, 1 Water pump, 6 Belts, 1 PS hose, 2 Sets ball joints, 2 set u-joints, 2 carrier bearing, 2 Speed sensors, 1 oil pres sender, 1 temp sender, 4 sets of e-break cables, 1 front fuel tank, 2 rear fuel tanks, 2 set of glow plugs, 6 Glow plug relays, Oil galley o-rings, Turbo pedistal o-rings, EBPV o-rings, 3 sets of Injector O-rings, 1 Vac-pump, 1 new carpet.Total $$$ in repairs v/s miles driven = 3.0 cents per mile. Add fuel to that it jumps to 14.8 cents per mile over the life of the truck.
And, you know, in traffic, that's not a bad thing.
I too like my 6spd. In traffic, I like to try to let it roll as long as possible. I'll let some space get in front of me and just creep along while everyone else runs up & stops then jumps out & stops again.
I really like the control with the trailer. I'm not saying the torqueshift is a bad trans, but I just like the control better.
If you like mindless driving then an auto is a good choice. But, if you like to be fully engaged in driving - a manual is the only way to go.
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Feb 03 6.0 Silver F-250 SD SC XLT long box, 6-spd 3.73ls, Fx4, Stock, Spray-in liner, Contico box.HARPOONED.
I love my 6spd. I tow frequently and often alot of weight. It's the best way to tow on a grade! The only time I would want a auto is if it was mostly for city driving which mine isn't. And the only downfall I've found with mine is that I can't shift as fast as the automatic PSD's, so I can't get going as fast, as fast as those. Other than that minor detail I'll stick with the manual doesn't over heat and rarely needs replacement
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1999 F350 PSD S/C 6spd Dually 150,000 and counting
AIS, 4" straight pipe,
Boost and Pyro guages,
Exhaust brake, IC foil delete,
DP tunes, Stock, 20T, 80E, 120R
4.10 LS rear axle, F550 rear suspension,
B&W turnover gooseneck hitch
I will always drive a manual shift truck as I don't have to worry if the transmission is going to make the next shift or not. Also, my transmission doesn't have a temp gauge to warn me about high temps to be worried about too.
Automatic tranmission? No thanks!!!
You can pry the gear stick out of my cold dead hand.
CaptRon
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May 2003 F-350, CC, DRW, 6.0L, 6sp man, LB, Al Wheels, Moon Roof, 52gal tranfer tank. Hitches: Draw-Tite 16K 4X and B&W GN, 8040lbs GVW. Towing 35' Newmar Kountry Star 5th Wheel Camper, 14,000lbs GVW, or Wells Cargo 24' Car Hauler, 12,000lbs GVW.
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