Who still drives a stick in 2025?

[WinterDeere]

Manuals are maintenance free, now automatic transmission required filter change, belt and oil change (CTV).

Says the guy who's never replaced a clutch?!?

Like scootr, I seemed to go through them faster when I was young. Conversely, I think my wife's last manual car had close to 150k miles on the original clutch when we sold it, still holding strong.

I remember when the clutch went out on my last Chevy 1500, I had a broken shoulder, and so was unable to do the job myself. I took it to a local garage who had a very good reputation, but a year later it failed again. This time I pulled it apart myself and found a damaged pilot bearing in the rear of the crank shaft. You guys know the one.

I pulled it out and took it with me to the parts store, where the parts guy told me it was the factory original, easily identified because GM changed the bearing style just a year or two after my truck was built. Long story short, the mechanic I had paid for my clutch job tried to remove the original bearing, and his puller must have failed him. So he just left the original in there, but now damaged from his puller deforming it a bit. Of course it failed again within a year.

So yes, manuals are usually more trouble-free, but not always!

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

I can attest to the fact that the earlier manual transmission HD Rams do better on MPG than the autos. There were some engine changes in the 5.9 on the 1/2 year difference in our two trucks but the manual truck consistently gets about 3 MPG better than the auto equipped one.

Today they seem to have refined the autos and lock up to equal or better a manual.

My 06 would get quite a bit better mileage if it had the same diff ratio as the automatics but they need to put a short final drive in or you would never be able to back it up. It's already a little fast in reverse to back a trailer up a hill. I've always planned to put manual hubs on to I could use 4-Low for backing and put some taller gears in the diffs... Someday.

I notice the mileage drops off drastically over 200RPM and at highway speed its around 2300.

 

[Jstpssng]

Meanwhile, from the company which gave you 4 cylinder Broncos made to sound like a V-8;

Miss Driving Stick? Ford’s EV Patent Brings Back Gear Shifts—Sort Of

Ford's new patent aims to simulate manual gear shifts in EVs, enhancing driver engagement while prioritizing enjoyment over performance.

autopostglobal.com

 

[notaz3]

My 19 year old son, my 17 year old daughter, and myself all have manual transmission vehicles. Firstly, I wouldn't let my kids get their license until they learned to drive a manual. Secondly, Used manual vehicles are much cheaper than their automatic breatharian.

 

[sd455dan]

My 06 would get quite a bit better mileage if it had the same diff ratio as the automatics but they need to put a short final drive in or you would never be able to back it up. It's already a little fast in reverse to back a trailer up a hill. I've always planned to put manual hubs on to I could use 4-Low for backing and put some taller gears in the diffs... Someday.

I notice the mileage drops off drastically over 200RPM and at highway speed its around 2300.

Same, 2000 seems to be the max RPM for great MPG, the manual 03 has done as well as 24.4 MPG on the hiway full to empty, hand calculated 3.73 gears dead stock, the early 04 auto has never broke into the 20 MPG range when I drive it.

 

[Jstpssng]

Same, 2000 seems to be the max RPM for great MPG, the manual 03 has done as well as 24.4 MPG on the hiway full to empty, hand calculated 3.73 gears dead stock, the early 04 auto has never broke into the 20 MPG range when I drive it.

MY first new pickup was a 1983 Ford Ranger, the first year that they made that body style. (My first Ranger was a 1973.)
I bought a 4 speed because the numbers showed it got better mileage than the 5; back then the national speed limit was 55 and I placed too much faith in their controlled testing.
A lot of it has to do with knowing your
vehicle; when to shift down as well as up, so that the engine is operating at maximum efficency. Many of not most people don't know how to drive a manual, even though they think they do.
On the old 4 speed pickup transmissions 1st was a "granny gear", not used for normal driving. A friend was driving a Dodge with the 4 speed overdrive tranny when I met him; he always started off in 2nd even though it was just a cheap 3 speed with overdrive. His next truck was an '81 Toyota 4x4; again, first gear was never used. The last time I rode with him in a manual truck we were in an F150 with the 5 speed, pulling 2 snowsleds on a trailer. Taking off on a hill where I would have been in bull low with a truck tranny; he just beat on the truck and took off in 2nd.
I don't know if he ever had a clutch changed, but riding with him could be an experience.

 

[sd455dan]

MY first new pickup was a 1983 Ford Ranger, the first year that they made that body style. (My first Ranger was a 1973.)
I bought a 4 speed because the numbers showed it got better mileage than the 5; back then the national speed limit was 55 and I placed too much faith in their controlled testing.
A lot of it has to do with knowing your
vehicle; when to shift down as well as up, so that the engine is operating at maximum efficency. Many of not most people don't know how to drive a manual, even though they think they do.
On the old 4 speed pickup transmissions 1st was a "granny gear", not used for normal driving. A friend was driving a Dodge with the 4 speed overdrive tranny when I met him; he always started off in 2nd even though it was just a cheap 3 speed with overdrive. His next truck was an '81 Toyota 4x4; again, first gear was never used. The last time I rode with him in a manual truck we were in an F150 with the 5 speed, pulling 2 snowsleds on a trailer. Taking off on a hill where I would have been in bull low with a truck tranny; he just beat on the truck and took off in 2nd.
I don't know if he ever had a clutch changed, but riding with him could be an experience.

SMH. Yep, Have had a few of the BW T18-19's with the granny Compound low. Good dependable cast iron boxes. I did have fun double clutching the 1940 IH DS 15 dump truck "crash box"

 

[jyoutz]

MY first new pickup was a 1983 Ford Ranger, the first year that they made that body style. (My first Ranger was a 1973.)
I bought a 4 speed because the numbers showed it got better mileage than the 5; back then the national speed limit was 55 and I placed too much faith in their controlled testing.
A lot of it has to do with knowing your
vehicle; when to shift down as well as up, so that the engine is operating at maximum efficency. Many of not most people don't know how to drive a manual, even though they think they do.
On the old 4 speed pickup transmissions 1st was a "granny gear", not used for normal driving. A friend was driving a Dodge with the 4 speed overdrive tranny when I met him; he always started off in 2nd even though it was just a cheap 3 speed with overdrive. His next truck was an '81 Toyota 4x4; again, first gear was never used. The last time I rode with him in a manual truck we were in an F150 with the 5 speed, pulling 2 snowsleds on a trailer. Taking off on a hill where I would have been in bull low with a truck tranny; he just beat on the truck and took off in 2nd.
I don't know if he ever had a clutch changed, but riding with him could be an experience.

All of my manual transmission trucks were 4 or 5 speeds with the granny first gear. I seldom used 1st gear unless driving off road or starting out with a heavy trailer.

 

[fidowanttobe]

I don't know if he ever had a clutch changed, but riding with him could be an experience.

I once rode with a friend that "held" his truck on hills at stops with the clutch.
I of course scolded him but he had to have a clutch put in soon after and then sold it.
What I couldn't figure was that he was fresh out of the military. And 30 years ago.

 

[Jstpssng]

I once rode with a friend that "held" his truck on hills at stops with the clutch.
I of course scolded him but he had to have a clutch put in soon after and then sold it.
What I couldn't figure was that he was fresh out of the military. And 30 years ago.

There aren't many things that smell worse than burning clutch.