How good are the 5 speed trannies?

[Jim up north]

At the moment I have a automatic tranny , but I find that where I live , lots of hills and curves to deal with , that maybe I should look into going back to a 5 speed . Any thoughts .
Jim

I have been corrected ,I was not sure if the diesel`s were 5 speed or 6 speeds!

 

[Crumm]

Not too sure that a manual 5 speed was ever offered in a Diesel engine equipped Superduty. If you want a 5 speed manual you would have to go back to a OBS truck. The 99-up Gas engine equipped SuperDutys did come with 5 speeds but the Diesel engines have the 6 speed behind them. I can say that the 5 speed in my OBS truck has held up well and I have not heard of many problems with them other than clutch failure when heavy doses of hp are applied. I have heard good things about the manual 6 speed and would probably look into one of them rather than a 5 speed.

 

[95_stroker]

Are you having troubles with the 5r110 auto tranny now? Those things were near bullet proof and other than having troubles I cant imagine wanting to go to a 6 speed manual.

 

[Jim up north]

Hello Crumm

I see you are driving a late model 7.3 , how are they as motors . For I may have to look into a 7.3 manual , for I do not seem to come across any 6 speed 6 litres , everybody has automatics.
Jim

 

[Jim up north]

Reply to Stroker

Nothing wrong with the tranny , I just find it constantly changing gears { fuel consumption} when I drive up the mountain to get home. I find I could control it better with a manual. Highway , works great , but on the hills and curves of the mountain , well ! At almost 18 feet long you cannot take curves at 100 km [60 to 80 mph], so it's slow down ,speed up .
Jim

 

[Crumm]

I see you are driving a late model 7.3 , how are they as motors

While they don't have as much power as the 6.0 the 7.3 has gone down in history as one of the best engines Ford ever put in there trucks. I really like mine and they are a little more trouble free than the 6.0 from what I have seen.

 

[95_stroker]

Hmmmm, if an auto tranny is shifting gears according to road and driving conditions then I suspect you will be depressing the clutch and rowing gears in a manual at about the same rate. That or lug the engine and really shoot your mileage in the foot.

 

[Maxtor]

One of the advantages of a manual transmission is that when going up and down hills or mountains, you have more control of the rpms. When we go West,North, or East we are in steep mountain country, where the manual transmissions shine.

 

[dennisj2003]

Not to shoot anyone down, but I will put the auto I have against any manual, on a hill, mountian, or level ground. My auto does exactly what I need I live in the mountians also.

The main point here is its like the old Ford vs Chevy, Its not what it is but only what you like.

I have always had a manual tranny, but these new auto's are awsome.
it has the take off and hold back power, Plusss YES NO CLUTCH!

maby my knee can rest now.

 

[06silvercrew]

When I set out to buy my superduty I was absolutley dead set on a 6spd. After test driving many trucks, many manual and many automatic, there is absolutley no way I would have chosen the manual. The "get up and go" of the automatic is night and day better then the manuals. The 5r110 is an amazing trans, I wouldnt trade it for anything. No granted if I did have an OSB truck I wouldnt consider anything but a manual as the auto's offered in those years were well lets just say they left ALOT to be desired.