Auto or manual transmission question

[torino73]

I just ordered one with the stick. Get what you want to get, man. The manuals in these trucks are smooth and easy to shift- despite the "dinosaur" comment. See, since he doesn't like them, no one else should have one, either. I find that stop and go traffic isn't a problem at all, as long as one of your hands isn't busy piloting a cell phone, eating, or reading a newspaper. You also get the added bonus of the granny gear, which will launch you off the line like no auto can.

[torino73]

Your significant other not being able to drive a stick CAN be a blessing, as it is in my case. My wife won't drive my truck, therefor, she won't crash it. Now THAT might be the cause for a divorce!

[macmaniac1]

yes I have seen higher resale values on older manuals rather than autos. They are just more durable. If you buy an older auto especially if it has been used for towing or the engine has been modified more than likely it will have to have work done on it. I know this because I have shopping around for one.

[RatherBNtheWoods]

I like the 6 speed gearbox or most any manual over an auto for hard working trucks. I know the new autos are better than autos of years past, but I have never ever been left on the side of the road because of a manual gearbox failure. I have, however, been on the side of the road and suffered thousands of $ repair with autos.

But,,,The OP said he didn't tow/work the truck, so I would rather have captains chairs in a DD versus a "REAL MANS" transmission.

All trucks have transmissions, MENS trucks have gearboxes!

[lowerd96]

I'm going 6 speed on my next super duty again for sure. Much to the dismay of my wife, but I have to have it. She won't drive my current truck because it's a stick, and sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes it's a bad thing, but I just love rowing through the gears. The ZF6 is easy to handle, and even in California traffic it's not too bad. As far as re-sale goes, I don't think you'll have a problem getting rid of a stick. As mentioned before, the hard core manual guys will swoop it up fast! I already have people lined up to fight for my truck when I'm ready to sell it....besides, who cares about re-sale, get what you want, not what everyone else wants....

[ketchum]

Hey I've driven sticks most of my life.But they get tiring,harder to get repaired these days because more auto's are out there.Lots of 2500/3500 trucks with 200k on a auto with no issues.Even big rigs have more autos then ever before.I DO worry about resale with a truck kinda like my home.I get what I want but I also want to keep the value of it up for as much return as possable when the time comes.The BIG three have some NICE autos these days.Better then ever and going to keep improving.Sticks are well sticks. There was a time also that autos went longer between repairs then manual shifts.That was a industary fact.Not something I'm just coming off with.I have a buddy with two Fords with the ZF tranny.One a 351 4x4 club cab 150 and the other a stake body dually with a 460.Both have less then a 150k.The 150 had trans bearings go out last year,needed overhaul,clutch,hyds etc.The 460 truck now is in the same boat,needing bearings etc.Thats NOT that many miles for somewhat cared for trucks.We live near the ZF plant and he found/was told about a ZF employee that does trannys on the side fix the first one.He'll get the dually by spring to do.

[snakyjake]

Originally Posted by 1abnengr2

I've got both an auto (99) and a stick(08). To me, the 6-speed gives you better control when towing and hauling but the auto wins for everyday driving. The mileage difference is minimum and has more to do with how heavy your foot is. I just got a steady 19mpg last week going from Huntsville AL to Fort Bragg and back. Around town I get 13-14mpg. My 99 does worst on highway but better in town. For daily driver get the auto.

In your experience, do you think the manual is better at heavy towing, when starting up a steep hill? I figure the momentary lack of forward power between the shifts would cause "jolting". This can't be stopped because the clutch disengages the transmission from the engine. A manual shift in certain situations may be uncomfortable for towing horses, or some serious jolting on the power train.

I don't know automatics all that well, but figure the torque converter maintains power to the wheels (however slight) during the shift. This reduces the jerking motion, which doesn't jolt the power train, nor whatever you're towing.

Jake

[OMCUSNR]

In your experience, do you think the manual is better at heavy towing, when starting up a steep hill? I figure the momentary lack of forward power between the shifts would cause "jolting". This can't be stopped because the clutch disengages the transmission from the engine. A manual shift in certain situations may be uncomfortable for towing horses, or some serious jolting on the power train.

Try staying in the power band longer. You may go slower, or, it may rev higher, but if you take the revs up, your shift will be smoother. Once you get the feel of your transmission, shifts are pretty smooth.

OMC

[canadiansalmon08]

I currently own an auto PSD but have driven many sticks as well. It is definitely personal preferance. I am not sure if they are the same trans in 08 gassers but we have a 350 stake truck with 5.4 6spd and 3.73 rrs and it is the worst stick I have ever drove. Rev and low are so far to the left that the stick is pushing against your knee. If this is the same 0n 08 PSD that would make my
decision. I would definitely drive one before commiting.

[snakyjake]

Originally Posted by OMCUSNR

Try staying in the power band longer. You may go slower, or, it may rev higher, but if you take the revs up, your shift will be smoother. Once you get the feel of your transmission, shifts are pretty smooth.

OMC

Thanks for the advice. I think my next truck will have the manual transmission. More reliable (probably because there's less parts and complication), better performance because the human mind is usually better than a computer on an auto-tranny, less maintenance, and less expensive (less parts and less complex). The only drawback might be parts or a replacement. If for some reason I lost the manual transmission, will they still have parts or a replacement at a reasonable cost in the distant future? But then again, a manual transmission should be easy to rebuild.

Another positive for manual transmission is stopping performance on iced roads. The main reason is because when you brake on ice, you are also braking the transmission since the transmission is still sending power to the rear wheels (unless you're in 4x). Another way of saying this, you have power going to the rear wheels when you're trying to stop. And what usually happens is that your front tires lockup before your back tires. To overcome this in an auto, I usually downshift as much as I can. This is still a disadvantage on ice because it isn't as immediate as taking your foot of the go pedal of a manual tranny. And before I come to the place I want to stop, I put the auto tranny in neutral. Or another way to overcome this is to have a vehicle with anti-locking brakes. But even my new anti-locking brakes don't always work below a certain speed level.

So it sounds like the only reason to get an automatic is if you want the luxury to have a programmed computer with a limited set of only known driving variables automatically do the work of a manual.

Jake

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by snakyjake

So it sounds like the only reason to get an automatic is if you want the luxury to have a programmed computer with a limited set of only known driving variables automatically do the work of a manual.

There are several reasons the automatic is better for most folks.

• Stop-and-go city traffic. A coupla hours on the parking lot called the Valley Highway in Denver during rush hours will convince you that the automagic tranny is well worth the money. Sam ting in Dallas, Houston or any other big city.

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• Engine lugging. That's a big no no - especially with a diesel engine. With an automagic tranny, you cannot lug the engine - it will downshift before it allows the engine to lug. But with the hand shaker you have to be awake and paying attention so you don't lug the engine. Inexperienced drivers - or those who don't understaand that lugging the engine is a terrible thing in a diesel engine - will allow the engine to lug because it's too much trouble to downshift.

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• "Nobody" can drive a stick shift anymore. That may be a good thing if you hate for others to drive your truck, but if you really "need" someone else to drive it, they may not be able to do it. Any lunkhead can drive an automatic, but millions of Americans can't drive a stick shift.

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• Handicapped. Many folks, my wife included, is an excellent driver and grew up with stick shifts, but her arthritis now makes it too painful to handle the stiff clutch of a PSD handshaker. She doesn't drive Sierra Blanca very often, but every once in a while she needs to. So Sierra Blanca has the slush box.

[OMCUSNR]

Originally Posted by canadiansalmon08

I currently own an auto PSD but have driven many sticks as well. It is definitely personal preferance. I am not sure if they are the same trans in 08 gassers but we have a 350 stake truck with 5.4 6spd and 3.73 rrs and it is the worst stick I have ever drove. Rev and low are so far to the left that the stick is pushing against your knee. If this is the same 0n 08 PSD that would make my
decision. I would definitely drive one before commiting.

Finding one to test drive is going to be a difficult proposition, there are so few of them on dealer lots. There are only 2 within 300 miles of where I live (and those are 90 miles away). Most dealers don't stock them, for a couple of reasons - not many want one compared to autos, and autos have a larger profit margin.

I'm not sure the trannys are the same from your description. Low is the closest gear to my leg, and it doesn't touch at all. Reverse is just forward of it, and thats further away still - 'course, I'm not the longest legged guy out there either, so maybe my leg position is just different.

OMC

[luke0204]

I owned two six speeds and they were by far my BEST Ford Trucks. The 6 speed didn't mate up so nicely to the 6.0L, but at least I could go down the road towing without screeming rpm's like the Torqshift. I actually at some point want to go back to a stick again but that will have to be a Ford or a Dodge.

I love these stick/auto battles.

Traffic: Letting clutch in and out sometimes a PITA, but I usually put it in Low or 1 and let it ride similar to a tractor trailer operator.

Nobody can drive it: My friend and I used to joke about letting them run in a parking lot at a fuel stop "If you can drive it, you can have it." I guess it takes a little more coordination to shift but people these days can read the paper, suck on a coffee and talk on the cell while driving take a couple of those out and you should be capable of shifting and the road would be a h$ll of a lot safer.

Maybe I'm a little biased here because I dislike the Torqshift but if I bought a Ford I'd be rowing until they come out with a 6 or more speed auto that splits the gears more conveniently for the type of driving I do especially while towing.

Sorry for the sarcastic rant, and good luck with your purchase.

[JJW-ND]

I had 2004 6.0 6sp and now a 2007 6.0 Auto. In out fleet (Govt) there are another dozen 2004 - 2006 all six speeds. For 2007 we thought we would try autos as we were not impressed with the 6sp for our work. The 6sp and 6.0 IMHO is not a towing friendly setup. Every one our 6sp trucks has little if any off the line power. In many occasions we would have to shift to Low range to get the load moving. The trucks don't have issues....that is how they are. They all run great when crusiing but little power below 2K rpms. We run all SRW F350 with 3.73 gears. If you are used to rowing other brand 6sps, the ford is again not the easiest.

Having had a season of heavy towing with an auto (same engine, same gears, same trailer/load, same F350 layout) the auto is the only way to go. Torque off the line was much imporved. Rarely need low range. Never in the wrong gear. We run alot of gravel and alot of towing miles in a short time (6000 miles in 10 days) with 15 - 20 stops a day....lots of running through the gears. The auto as compared to the 6sp was a dream.

We got 2 - 2007 autos. The other driver had the same impression....never go back to manuals.


jjw
ND

[jpb620]

job 3 comes standard with 3.55 gears for better mileage on srw