Need some help here guys. Getting ready to order a 250 with the V-10 and can't decide on the 6 sp or Auto. I lease my trucks for 2 or 3 years so the life of the compornets are not that imporant. I tow a 26' Travel Trailer 20 times a year (6000lbs max) and about 10 trips to the gravel pit for rocks, sand, etc. It won't be my daily driver but it will be my responce truck for my Volunteer Fire Dept. So it will see several fast runs a week (2 miles from my station). Also here in Northern Indiana we can see several inches to feet of snow in the winter (Lake effect off Lake Michigan is nasty). So I want to order a 250 FX4 with 4:30ls, LT265 tires, Roof Lights, and a Hitch in Wedgewood Blue supercab 4X4. So tell me the pluses and minuses of a 6 sp and Autos.
Another question 60/20/60 bench seat (I have this now in my 2002 F-150) or the Captains seats with the console??
Thanks dly

 

Well, I am a die-hard automatic hater, so you have to take that into account with whatever I say.

That being disclosed - I think one of the big advantages of the 6spd is the extremely low 1st gear. It is useful for getting a heavy load started, and it is also useful for creeping down rocks/hills/other escarpments when off road.

Also, the 6spd that Ford uses is a very heavy duty unit - I haven't really heard of any problems with them. This applies to clutches, too.

Last, a 6spd is a whole lot more fun to drive than an automatic.

Bill

 

I hated the 6 speed only because it was hard to eat and drink and drive and I am in my truck a lot. So I bought an auto and should not have. I have not had trouble with it but when towing it acts stupid, it will tow in OD fine then for no reason shift out and stay there, if I tap the gas it will shift back and might hold it for 90 miles or 90 feet. It is a real pain in the azz.

 

I am also a Volunteer Fireman. I have a 2001 F250 V10 with the automatic. I live the furtest from the firestation, I always respond to events in my truck, as I keep my bunker gear with me. When we respond to accidents on the Interstate it is not uncommon for us to leave our vechiles idling, sometimes for an hour or more. With the automatic you put it in Park and don't worry about it rolling away or into the guard rail if you forget to set the parking brake. I also plow thirty or so driveways in the winter and I find the automatic easier to plow with. Summertimes I haul a 5 ton dump trailer. I have installed a seperate transmission cooler with a thermostatically controller fan, along with a trans temp guage.
The automatic has been great for me and I would recommend it.

 

i have a 02 v10 with a auto i would kill to have a 6spd.

 

I have the 6spd with the 4.30LS axles and would not want anything else.

 

I have the 6spd with the 4.30LS axles and would not want anything else. Perfect setup if you work or play, great for larger tires. If you lease your rig though you will get a higher residual value with the juicer and any other fancy option. If you are not going to work the truck all that hard you should have no problem with the lazy man's transmission!!

 

I have an 04' F-350 XLT,SC,DRW, V-10 with the 6-speed and the 4:30s,, over 5k miles now,, not been back to the dealer for any problems, I plow, tow my equipment trailer, skid-steer, lumber,its been a great truck I get between 9 and 10 mpg on average around town,,sometimes less, with cold weather,. I probobly will get the front end aligned soon, but hate to bring it to the dealer,,,,they might make it worse,,( been there done that with the last truck) I may just pay to have a reputable alignment shop do the job.

Last truck was a 99' PSD,auto ,never any engine trouble,,butthe tranny always hunted for gears, it never let me down ,,, but did'nt like the way it towed and shifted,, I vote for the 6-speed,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Later,,,,,,,,,,Mark

 

If you live in rural or low traffic areas then I can definitely see why you would prefer the sticks. I live in California and frequently make trips to the San Francisco and Southern Cal areas, in my case a stick can be a pain. Try fooling with a clutch and stick while stuck in stop and go LA traffic for one to two hours, it’s really no fun. The last truck I had with a stick shift was a Ranger and the clutch burned out while my wife and I were stuck in stop and go freeway traffic for hours going to a concert. We could hear the cheering and the music while we waited in the emergency lane for the tow truck. I would take environment along with usage as a factor in any decision I would make, that goes for the rearend too. In my case the Auto tranny with 3.73 RE was the best choice.

 

First off I am a diehard manual guy, Have owned a 5spd 5.0 Stang, 5 spd Ranger, 4spd 68 Bronco. And I Have a Auto V-10. The transmission does not hunt for gears. It shifts and stays there period. Some times I let off the gas a little trying to get it to grab a higher gear. Ford gave the SD autos a performance tune from the factory.
Damion says it would kick out of OD and then stay there. I don't think that is a bad thing. It obviously didn't need to be in od.

 

No 68 it was not that the load would not change or anything it just has a mind of it's own. I could be going down hill and it would kick out of OD but it just climbed the hill in OD. OR it would kick out of OD and if I tapped the gas it would go right back in and stay there with no problems. My dads PSD would do the same thing, with my PSD in 6th I almost never needed to drop down a gear (remember Louisiana is flat) when I hit bigger hills the OD would kick off if the gear was to high but I never let it do that because I always anticipated it. So if my PSD would pull no problems in 6th and my dads then the auto should as well but his truck was hunting.

 

daimon, I guess wer'e comparing Diesel autos to Gas autos and there seems to be a difference between the two.
Diesels need at lest 6 gears to keep them in their power band due to low RPM.
The V-10 loves to rev so the 4 sp auto work good for it.

 

No my current truck is a V10 my PSD was a 6 speed and my dads PSD is auto. The autos work a little better in the PSD but they still hunt when they should not. If you are towing a small load you might never notice it but get to around 10k pounds and it will drive you nuts. If I keep it in OD I can get 9 mpg towing but if I let it run in drive I get 7. I am not talking about overworking the thing, it pulls great in OD if it would just stay there or at least shift out when needed then go back but if it drops going up a hill it will not go back in going down without me tapping the gas or hitting the acc button.

 

i had the 6 speed in my last f250 with 7.3 psd. i hated it! shift gates were to close together. it was one of those transmissions that took many miles to get used to. my wife refused to drive it and it was painful to hear a buddy try to drive it too. mine was a 2000 perhaps there have been some changes.
i am on the brink of ordering a new f250 and it will be an auto for sure.

 

Damion, you describe hunting as shifting out of OD and staying in 3rd unless you tapped it. I would describe hunting as shifting back and fourth between gears when I wanted it to stay in one gear, except the SD auto don't do that.