Manual trany = theft deterrent ---??

Our family has used the f series for ranching and farming for decades. It hurts now to have to go to Dodge for heavy duty work trucks. Sometimes a standard transmission is the best for the job. You do have to have a skill and a brain to use them properly.

None of my children, grandchildren or great grand children can drive a stick shift. They say they will bury me with the 4 speed from my 90 HP flathead 39 Ford Coup, 52 8N Ford tractor, pre ww2 bug wtih NO gauges, 5 speed from my 95 F150 4x4, the 5 speed from my 93 Escort Pony and the wooden prop from my Dad's 450 HP cotton duster biplane. Someday we all may become treasures found at an Ozark Mountain Archaeologist Dig.
Oh yeah I have the spot already picked out next to the water well dug buy the sawmill oak lumber barn built over a 100 years ago.
Glad I won't be on this earth for the "modern" era, when everything will be cookie cutter alike (including the genetic engineered people that won't need arms or feet. ). so long....
Stick Daddy,

PS. Forgot to include my response to "Why Are Newer Trucks So Hard to Work On?" also in the newsletter.
I have rebuilt, engines, manual trans, most drive trains and running gear on all the above. Some under a shade tree, some in the barn (see above), some in my shop, (museum to the family). How are you moderns, x gens and beyond gonna do that? Only the rich will survive (isn't that the Oligarchs Plan? as they watch from their new planet.)
SD

It's the book in the glove box. All trucks have them.;):-X04

Been there, rebuilt that. Whooptie doo.

Your same song has been sung for hundreds of years....

Sent from my Telegraph using IB AutoGroup

so?
 

whats your point?

I miss my stick shift vehicles and being able to work on anything, anymore...

It is what it is... I actually am looking for a 5-speed, new car right now... Having trouble finding it.

I love sticks.. but I do agree with some people on here.. they are a pain in traffic..

I've been a truck driver for 10 years now.. 99% of my driving has been with an eaton/fuller or a ZF Meritor 10 speed..I would not want an automatic semi truck..yuck...

Even manuals in Class 8's are getting very rare, they mostly come w/ AMT's now - Automated Manual Transmissions AKA: Allison, I-shift, Etc..... essentially an automatic for a 60000lb+ vehicle, sad, so sad... I learned to drive in an old GMC w/ "3 on the tree" and all the bigger trucks I drove all had 16spd manuals - was an art to driving in hilly terrain, now anybody can hop in, put it in "D" and go.. so much for driving skill ;)

Transmission technology has progressed so much in the past 15 years, that it is no wonder manuals are going the way of the dinosaur. Don't get me wrong, I love manual transmissions in trucks:-X06.

Our current truck is a 2002 F-350 Crewcab, dually, XLT, 4x4 with the 7.3PS, 6 speed ZF, and 4:10 gears. We bought the truck brand new on 09/14/2002, and looked far and wide for a six speed equipped truck. I had an 01 Lariat that was almost identical except that it had a 4R100 auto. That trans took a dump at 3K miles. Ford swapped it out for a remanufactured unit. I sold the very clean truck that only had 3400 miles on her to the new owner and told him the entire story. Bought the 02 and have never regretted the decision. The truck currently has 51K miles on her:D.

We have daily drivers so this truck is only used when we need a truck. When we bought the truck we towed an 88 Holiday Rambler Imperial 5th wheel. The trailer was 36 feet, no slides, equipped with a generator, washer, dryer, and GVWR was 8800 lbs. The 01 crapped out while making a 465 mile trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway towing the RV on mountain grades with a speed limit of 45 MPH. Most of the time the 4R100 was in second gear. We have made the same trip with the six speed truck and it handled the conditions much better than the auto equipped truck did.

We sold the camper a few years ago. We tow a dump trailer, a 24 foot enclosed race car trailer, an 18 foot open car trailer, and a 22 foot sport boat. The car trailers haul a couple of vintage Trans AM show cars. We live in the Smoky Mountains so no matter where we are going we have to deal with steep grades for a 100 or so miles to get out of the mountains and onto flatter roads. I love the control that the manual trans gives me.

Fuel economy is good with the six speed. Highway driving bob-tail will produce 20 MPG. Towing usually costs about 5 MPG for an average of 15 MPG. The truck is all stock.

I enjoyed the theft deterrent observation. That might have been the case for us last year. We attended a car show at Myrtle Beach SC. Sometime during the night someone broke into our car trailer and ransacked it. They thief also started breaking into the truck, but stopped for some reason. The police and the insurance adjuster both stated that the thief might have realized that the truck was a stick shift, and could not drive it:-jammin.

My winter beater is an Expedition AWD with the 5.4 and a 4R100. It currently has 103K miles on it. Actually, it is not much of a beater. The old Expy is a real cream puff, that is dealer maintained and in nearly perfect condition. Except for the 4R100 auto trans... It has a blown coast clutch that will require that the whole transmission be removed and rebuilt to repair it. For those not familiar with a coast clutch, it is a plastic barrel looking part that provides engine braking when descending a hill. The 4R100's used behind PS and V10 engines have an aluminum part, however any truck that are equipped with a 5.4 has the wonderful plastic piece. Failure of the coast clutch is an indication that the trans has been overheated at some point, probably from towing some large RV. A trans with a failed coast clutch is on it's last leg, and it will fail without further warning soon:-arrgh. Rebuild costs with upgraded metal parts = $2700.00. I actually considered retrofitting the Expy with a ZF 5 speed, however that will costs 6K. The Expy has a resale value of between 5 and 6K, so it will get a rebuild and I will hopefully drive it a few more years.

my nephew will be getting his learner's permit this time next year, and I will offer to teach him the ways of the clutch, in my diesel beetle. I have to try, anyway.

Used/Foreign
 

My 1999 diesel F350 6 speed is getting rebuilt, since the manual is not available. Even the used ones are getting hard to find. Body parts aren't.
I used to go with Ford for my cars, but have gone to the dark side, buying European cars that came with stick shifts. Some of them have dropped them, too. They aren't on my "look list" any more.

I am trying to sell a 5 speed Kia . No one can drive a stick anymore.!

You'll pull my entirely mechanical manual transmission out of my cold, dead hands. Sure the auto is 'nice', but when things go wrong, you've got a hunk of expensive junk on your hands.
I suspect I'll be driving a late-80's vintage diesel truck with the zf 5-speed for next few years anyway; unlike the more modern trucks, it's nice having something that's entirely mechanical, from the motor on back. Sure, it might not be the best for emissions or power, but reliability is important in my mind. And when the engine doesn't work as expected(say a V8 running on 4-6 cyls, or with an extra 50-100HP from a turbo), a stick can compensate. An auto cannot, not without expensive modification.

Somebody wrote "how can you say they aren't selling when you won't make them? Ford makes more money off of manual transmissions due to maintenance" Yeah that's Ford's business strategy. They make a lot of money on maintenance. They have been spending a lot more in labor than other companies due to unions, but this has changed recently as wages are equalizing between American and foreign auto makers. But Ford has made up for it by having a lot more repairs than normal. Hopefully they will start to shift their business strategy. If you want something cheap that will last a long time- Japanese makers. Something a little higher quality that will last a long time- Dodge. Something that will last a long time if you are willing to regularly take it to the garage and fix all the little things that keep going wrong- Ford.