In my neck of the woods I is more GMs in commercial use than Ford. Although the Ford is not a rare bird by any means.

 

I know someone who has a 6speed manual in a crew cab dually. A 2004 chevy Duramax with an aftermarket chip. He likes it. But he has had 3 clutches replaced in about 50,000 miles. That could be because of abuse because I have seen him laying down the rubber when he leaves a job site. He is just rough as hell on a truck. And he has diesel storage tank on the bed.

 

If you look at a trailering guide, the Allison is rated for two tons more than the manual. I guess we can presume the clutch is the weak link. It rarely pays to try to out-think the guys that designed the truck in the first place.

 

Well polar, is'int that exactly what everyone who chips their truck is doing? I mean, gas, diesel, V8, I-6, I-4, V6, V10, you name it - there are owners in every group who are looking for more power. The dual mass flywheel in the transmission is definately the weak link in the manual drivetrain. It's certainly not the internals of the ZF 6 speed transmission - rest assured.

In fact, look inside one of your sales brochures for F series trucks. You will note that with a few exceptions when mated to the 6.0, Ford gives the automatic a higher rating than the manual in the F250 and F350 themselves - usually by a few hundred pounds. Now look inside an F450/550 brochure. The ratings are almost always exactly the same - why? Solid flywheel in those ZF's.

Lordabbotts friend's truck has the problem of failing clutches because of enhanced power upgrades that the dual mass flywheel is not designed to take. Not because he tried towing more than it is rated for - the truck will easily tow what any auto will. It is'int becuase the ZF is weaker in anyway than the Allison is either - quite the contrary, I'd bet my money on the 6 speed anytime in an out and out durability contest.

And apparentely Dodge has much faith in it's new G56 truck which also uses a dual mass set up. The 48RE has proven to be a pretty stout auto so far, yet according to Dodge, you actually need 4.10's with it to have the same rating their 6 speed gets with 3.73's.

Like it or not, Dodge is closest to the truth, all these manufacturers rate their autos equally or even slightly higher, but the simple truth is - a stick will outpull an auto all day long, and it will last a whole lot longer doing it too. It actually costs a manufacturer less to build an automatic in house than it costs them to pay for an outsourced manual gear box to put in your truck. You pay more for the convenience the auto offers, and especially for the anticipated warranty claims they are expecting when it breaks down.

For me, once you go stick, you never go back.

 

I think GM may be the 1st to kill off the manual tranny altogether. They have allmost done it in the 1500 series. In the 1/2 tons manual is available only in what? The Reg cab short bed.

Yeah the clutch seems to be the weak link. What is the point of a dual mass clutch setup? Less clutch pedal effort?

 

I'll ask the next time I see a Chev engineer. Again, we sell so few sticks the whole issue is moot. On the Ford side, this isn't quite as true- but sticks are still about 10% of the business- barely enough to justify the mega-dollars required to get the combo certified for emissions.

 

I forgot to add, I used this analogy purely as it is my only example for reference.
The Australian market is nothing like the American market.

How many developed countries have a brick shaped 4x4 trucks with regular cab only, engineered in the late 70's, powered by an anemic 6-cylinder diesel, and available exlusively with a manual (Toyota Landcruiser Trayback) outsell a 350hp V8 luxury All Terrain Wagon by around 15:1 (Jeep Grand Cherokee)???

How many of SuperDuties in the states look like this?
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...=73491&width=2

Our market is well... Demanding, and unique.

 

The snorkel is a nice touch...

 

Unique is right. I'm not sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or not but it looked like that thing had a dually set-up on the front???

 

Yes, it did... For "flotation" in soft ground.

As for the snorkel, that is a very popular genuine accessory over here on all 4x4's.
My SuperDuty has one fitted now. In the "wet" it sometimes has to ford through water up to 5' deep...

 

"Anemic six cylinder diesel"?

What's the motor? No turbo? I suppose if a NA diesel's low speed torque and mileage is needed, maybe speed ain't that important. I've often thought some of own own preferences in vehicles here in the States aren't all that sensible. I'm a stick shift man myself.

 

More details on the duramax-

1. Reduced compression ratio
2. Higher-spooling turbo (now goes to 120,000 rpm)
3. 250 HP, 460ft/pounds version going into the full size vans

the introduction of the duramax into the vans will be very interesting, especally for school buses and ambulances, which around here are 98% ford e350 diesels.


Press release: http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/...ur_030305.html

 

That derated Duramax is getting the 4L-85 tranny instead of the allison in the vans. I wonder if that combo will finally make an appearance in the Suburban?
Or maybe it's called the YukonXL. Whatever.

 

Not in this bodystyle- maybe the next one, since it's around the corner. The big question being kicked around is where the market would be, since almost 90% of 'Burbs sold are 1/2T's- the 3/4T is a real thin market, something Ford found out 1st hand with the Excursion.

 

4.2l inline 6 diesel.
Only recently fitted with a turbo.
Used to be 100hp, now arond 150...

0-60 takes around 20seconds empty.
Top speed is around 80mph.

It does have reasonable low down torque, but nothing more.
It will however travel amost 1000000miles before a rebuild is required...