Had a 73 Chevy three on the tree, in '95 I watched a guy get in it, push the clutch in and start it. Then just stare at the column. He turned it off and got out.

 

Look at a 1999 or newer F-250 through F-550 with a manual. The trans has a small pump that sends the trans fluid to a cooler.

 

I guess many do not look as Nascar... True not a production item

belt driven pump for final gear fluid off the driveshaft.
could do the same for a manual transmission.

I am a manual transmission FAN... 48 Years... this F 250 is first automatic since the mid 1970's.... but it is a very nice automatic.
just another reason I switched to Ford... when I needed a Work Gas Truck to tow 10k....

 

Your right, I for some reason did not think of them.

 

Many of todays big trucks DO have coolers in them. Friend runs a KW T800 and it has a cooler built into the transmission. It runs coolant through it from the radiator. This is more meant for heavy hauling. Your typical old school 10-13 spds didn't have the need. Most times the truck did have temp gauges for the transmission and rear ends to monitor them.

Manual transmissions do get hot, but they don't build heat like an automatic partly due to the fact an automatic has constant slippage(especially if it does not have a lock up converter).

 

I don't know of an automatic transmission made in the last 20 years that didn't have a lockup converter. When the converter is locked up there is no slippage. With the converter locked the efficiency of an automatic trans approaches that of a manual trans.

 

Agree, but when towing it likely gets unlocked a lot more then locked unless you live in the midwest plains where there is not a hill for 1000 miles.

 

Not true. In the higher gears it's locked most of the time, including loaded on grades.

 

I though torque converters only lock up in top gear..?

and why don't we just call them "fluid couplers"..? They don't convert torque- they just transmit it smoothly and comfortably and allow some low rpm "waste" so we can hold the brake down at stop lights.

 

On some transmissions (the 4R100 for example) it can lockup in ALL forward gears.

They are called torque converters because they convert RPM to torque. They are not just a fluid coupling. You can put 100 lb-ft into a torque converter and get 200 lb-ft out of the torque converter. Here is an explanation of how it works: Search Results | HowStuffWorks

 

I remember my new 96 F350 460/E4OD, it would shift into 2nd, then lock up the converter just a second later. It made it real DOG when pulling my 40ft trailer. I bought one of those transmission controllers back then which didn't do a THING to help. But back then this stuff was still all new and the aftermarket hadn't got it figured out yet.

Today you can control everything to your liking. Converters and transmissions have come a LONG way in the last 20 yrs.

 

my 2004 f350 with 4r100 does the same thing! Hits 2nd and then not ten seconds later tq converter locks up....if I'm going easy taking my time the truck is a DOG if I'm driving "normal " like I wasn't pulling my enclosed the truck is fine. I miss my old manual transmission EVERDAY

 

I dont think ford would "lose" any money from sales, if anything they would gain. I know a ton of guys who will only have a manual truck and have left ford and GM and went to dodges because they still offer a manual trans. I will say ford looses money because manuals last nearly forever with nothing more than a clutch after 200k....where automatics go out all the time and cost anywhere from 2 to 6k to rebuild. And what hurts to have an option for a old school manual? People are paying 70 plus thousand for lariat king ranch and platinum Ford's just so they can have sun roofs, fake chrome all over, intouch radio or whatever it is....so why not charge 1500 or 2000 for the manual option? I'll say if ford offered the manual I'd order one tonight!

 

And like mentioned countless times, you'd be in the vast minority.

I could not give away my last F-350 private party because of the manual trans.

Killed me to trade it in.

Regarding Ram:

Ford could not care less at the couple thousand (hundreds???) of "lost" sales due to not having a manual.

Brought up by our expert Mark, the multiplication of the torque converter not only matched or exceeded the low (higher numerical) gearing of a manual, if memory serves, the auto had higher tow ratings over the manual on similar equipped trucks.

 

Go back 20 years and the only thing I'd want is a manual. Today's autos are hard to pass up...handle the load nice and smooth, work with exhaust brakes, etc. Though they still have their quirks...like a recent thread in the superduty or maybe the 6.7 forum about the hard shifts from 2-3. That's something I'd be getting straightened out or looking for a bow tie until Ford straightened it out.