sebois Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 I had to sell my 95 SE last fall, and have just started looking for a "new" one. Mine was a 5-speed and I'd like to find another, but most of the ones I'm seeing for sale have automatic trannies. What is everyone's opinion on the whole manual versus auto thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyb33 Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 both are good transmissions. if you get an auto truck just make sure you slap a big ol' tranny cooler and bypass the stock one in the radiator and you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msavides Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 both are good transmissions. if you get an auto truck just make sure you slap a big ol' tranny cooler and bypass the stock one in the radiator and you will be fine. And make sure you carry a spare in the back, for those trailside repairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 i'll take my 5 spd over my auto ANY day......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpawela Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Just my .02 here: I believe that the autos are PAINFULLY slow in terms of acceleration and maintaining speed on hills. I would get a 5-speed if you could. Gas mileage would be better and there's a good chance they will be more reliable. I've read that autos start to wear out at around 130K. Oh, and that reply should be of more significance since I have an auto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 If I were shopping for a Pathy I'd find a 5-speed. The auto sucks, especially in sand. Bogs down, doesn't want to downshift, no control over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 i'd say that i depends if this is your DD and if you actually drive a lot in traffic and if shifting would drive you bonkers I would get a 5-speed if you could. Gas mileage would be better and there's a good chance they will be more reliable. i actually find this to be the opposite. i get the best milage in town. i crank 3000+rps at 65-70. my 5sp seems to be geared for slower speed then highway. If I were shopping for a Pathy I'd find a 5-speed. The auto sucks, especially in sand. Bogs down, doesn't want to downshift, no control over it. yes but it is much easier to deal with on serious rocks. no clutch to burn. lol but my 5sp crawls (powerwise) better/easier in 4lo then the auto ever did. i seem to get stuck way less then all my buddies with powerful Xs but also all with ATs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathmaker1 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 (edited) ah just buy whatever and then convert it to what you want it to be.....just be careful cause figuring out the wiring SUCKS(ask Sean)!!!! Thats what im doing, Sammyb33, and Sean(pk.....) have done.....swapping a manual in place of there autos. you get the benefits of 4.6 gears(heard they were exclusive for the autos), LSD rear so your gears would be better(well higher ratio) than a stock 5speed i think. gas mileage may go down but power curve will be better with the option to run bigger tires w/o regearing. didnt the manual pathys come with 4.3 gears and the autos came with 4.63's?? or was that just an option? rich Edited April 8, 2008 by pathmaker1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Gearing ratio selection was optional from what I've seen. I've seen autos with 4.3's stock and manuals with 4.6's stock. Those were the only two gear ratios available in the US, though. Check the under-hood build plate for "Axle Code". HG43 is 4.3's, HG46 is 4.6's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathmaker1 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Gearing ratio selection was optional from what I've seen. I've seen autos with 4.3's stock and manuals with 4.6's stock. Those were the only two gear ratios available in the US, though. Check the under-hood build plate for "Axle Code". HG43 is 4.3's, HG46 is 4.6's. yea i got the 4.6's and love em. will be lovin them more when my 34's get here and slap em on. lovin them even more when i get my manual tranny in.......oh i got lots more to do then its time to SAS......im gonna stop thinking now!! i would look more at gears than tranny tho. you can run 33's with ease on 4.6's but on 4.3 it may be a different story. if i had 4.3's i wouldnt run the 34's i got on order. really its a preference thing but as stated if u get an auto PUT A BIG F'IN TRANNY COOLER IN THAT BEAST...like a 20K GVWR one. i overheated my pathy once and got stuck in mud once and my auto is shot....though it may be electrical or the fact that i drive the @!*% outta my truck on the trails!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpawela Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 i get the best milage in town. i crank 3000+rps at 65-70. my 5sp seems to be geared for slower speed then highway. Really? Didn't know that. My buddy always swears by manual. My auto spins at about 2700 rpm at 70 mph. However, THERE'S NO FREAKIN HP/TQ FOR THOSE HILLS! EVEN THE GENTLE ONES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Really? Didn't know that. My buddy always swears by manual. My auto spins at about 2700 rpm at 70 mph. However, THERE'S NO FREAKIN HP/TQ FOR THOSE HILLS! EVEN THE GENTLE ONES! Same here with the auto. At about 75mph (120kmh) its at about 3000, but I find my gas mileage doesn't change much no matter how "hard" i drive it (Some weeks, I'm not a pleasant person, but i never let it shift over 3500 ) I haven't wheeled my pathy much yet other than some snow exploration, but i like my auto because then i dont' run the risk of stalling it while going through somewhere that stopping would be a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 my pathy's get about the same mileage (King just a tad worse) . i don't drive king (auto) as hard as mini (5 spd)....... but i bet if he was 7" shorter, and his tires were 2" smaller........ they'd be about equal in town mini's gas mileage SUX. highway. not bad, depending on what speed i drive, anywhere from 15-18mpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 oh, @ 75mph i'm at least 3500rpm. at80 i'm close to 4k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpawela Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 oh, @ 75mph i'm at least 3500rpm. at80 i'm close to 4k I'm scared to drive mine at 80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daver123 Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 Call me crazy but these trucks can go really fast given enough road, the speedo tops out around 160 km or 100 mph and with my 5 speed i have gone past that mark toping out 5th gear at the red line. Not bad for a truck that has the aerodynamic grace of a coke machine. BC has some really long deserted hwy's FYI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerranoNZ Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 If I were shopping for a Pathy I'd find a 5-speed. The auto sucks, especially in sand. Bogs down, doesn't want to downshift, no control over it. No control? ...What's the big thing in the middle of the floor? When I 1st bought my Pathfinder I was going to rip the auto out...Now I wouldn't have a manual You always have drive @ the wheels, you can inch your way along tricky stuff with total control Mine seems to shift great, except for when I stab the gas and it goes into power mode Each to their own though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 oh, @ 75mph i'm at least 3500rpm. at80 i'm close to 4k I'm scared to drive mine at 80 I think from what I've seen, the 5 speeds have lower gearing. I don't know much about tranny's though. No control? ...What's the big thing in the middle of the floor? When I 1st bought my Pathfinder I was going to rip the auto out...Now I wouldn't have a manual You always have drive @ the wheels, you can inch your way along tricky stuff with total control Mine seems to shift great, except for when I stab the gas and it goes into power mode Each to their own though Mine drives sweet in power mode, but it guzzles hella gas My friends think my truck is fast, now who's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart68 Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 I myself think they both have thier ups and downs off/on road. I like them both and it doesn't make or break my decision on a car/truck/suv when I'm buying it I just want the best vehicle for my money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Certain situations call for more RPM's at a range that the auto simply will not allow you to put it into. Like in sand. Going up a hill, it simply peters out and bogs down until it quits moving. Pisses me off BAD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Certain situations call for more RPM's at a range that the auto simply will not allow you to put it into. Like in sand. Going up a hill, it simply peters out and bogs down until it quits moving. Pisses me off BAD. Put it in first gear? Or am I missing something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Doesn't do any good. Trying to manually downshift if it's spinning the tires will sometimes let it go down a notch but usually not. Usually it just bogs down so bad that it downshifts, bogs down again, downshifts and just goes until I'm stuck with the tires dug in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathmaker1 Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Doesn't do any good. Trying to manually downshift if it's spinning the tires will sometimes let it go down a notch but usually not. Usually it just bogs down so bad that it downshifts, bogs down again, downshifts and just goes until I'm stuck with the tires dug in. been there and done that ONCE.....in the mud. in the midst of unstucking myself i came to the realization that im going to swap a manual in place of my auto. like you said 88, more control of the vehicle. also the auto will not let you downshift to 1st if you are at a certain speed/rpm. not to mension the fact that if your auto is running hot(which it will on rock trails at slow speeds) it will cause your truck to run hot....unless you bypass the stock cooler that is internal to the radiator and mount an aftermarket cooler....but then you gotta worry about electric fans. the gear selector for an auto is a joke....IMO. i have had lots of problems with it on the trail with gears sticking and so on. but then again this is my first auto 4wd truck so i favor a manual since i have had about 6 of em . Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfortuna Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 My best friend builds automatic transmissions for a living and wont have one in his vehicle. "they are junk" he says. Standard is much longer lasting. Better Gas mileage. More control in the mud/dirt. Owning a chunk of river bottom land in East Texas where the mud gets INSANE after the creek breaks its banks even the road gets SUPER bad. I find that my vehicles with the auto have a much harder time handling it. (85 K5 blazer) where as the standard ones you can control the shifting and rpms and all that... The image is the road in front of my land. I just drove my Kaiser Jeep through that hole. It was about 4-5 feet deep and that BAD east texas gumbo blackland clay mud. Gordon, (referenced above) just barely got stuck trying to go around it. Standard in a ranger. My K5 has bigger tires and an automatic and got eaten for lunch out there that day.... Auto is more convenient. Both have good and bad points but if your buying an older vehicle find a standard. Odds are that you will only need a clutch and not a 1500$ rebuild...once they get into the auto they will end up replacing about everything because when they go bad it fubars other parts of it... Either way. I would rather have a standard.... RJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfortuna Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Another nice thing about a standard. My hydrolics went out last weekend way back in the woods. I got it started in 1st and drove it about 40 miles to where some tools were so I could put on new master and slave. When a auto is broke, its broke. RJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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