Auto or Manual trans

[^VooDoo^]

I need some opinions as Im resurching a possible future runner.
I personally have always had a manual in all my 27yrs of driving, I know some auto's have been improved and I see more and more auto's for the trail.
Im prolly going to look into a 1st gen but I want the 3rd gens opinion as well even though there engine turns the auto so much better.
What Ive seen of most runners of 1st and 2nd gen is that better power to ground from best to worst is V6-Man, 4-Man, V6-Auto and 4-auto last, But I also know you can build a really good 4cyl and get more horse and gas milage over the V6 but still a little lower on the torque.
The reason Ive never had auto's is I hate the slippage feel and the delay that when an auto cant make up its mind to shift up or down in alot of moments and there always dog from to low of a powerplant.
Also personally what do you think of the differences between the early 1st and the later auto used in the 2nd gens.
I think Im getting tired of the shifting of a stick but when I had to drive an auto I still like to work the console shifter (Not to confuse with the collumshift or treeshift).

Edit,, Nvm on the 1st and 2nd gen versions autos, I thought there was a difference but the tech sheets I just found show only 1 mdl was used from 88-95, Could have sworn I had seen a 87 V6 before, My bad.

[paddlenbike]

I much prefer a manual transmission. When I became interested in 3rd gen 4Runners I went to dealership to drive one. I was suprised that the 3.4 auto had identical performance to my 3.0 5-speed pickup. I thought surely something was wrong with the truck I drove, so I tried another one and had the same result. Decided to keep my '94 truck. Four months later I came across a 5-speed third gen, took it for a spin and bought it on the spot. Makes a huge difference in acceleration, driver control, fun and fuel economy.

There have been a couple of times that I wished I had a Marlin crawler (or to temporary have an auto) on really ugly obstacles. I would spend the $1800 on that before going back to an auto...

Ken

[elripster]

One thing you should know you will not be able to build a 2.4 to have the power and no chance whatsoever the torque of the 3.0 on up V6's. I mean with enough money anything is possible but to accomplish that you are talking big dollars and serious engine building. You'd be better off with a newer model truck like a 3rd gen.

With the pick up, people seem to be Ok with the 4 cylinder in the older model. The pick ups are a fair bit lighter than the 4runner. 4runners, well take them for a spin and see if you are ok with the performance with the different engine/tranny combos. Everyone has a different idea of what is Ok. I can't deal with the 2.4 in a 4runner, too much truck and too little engine.

I'm an on the fence between the auto and stick. My first 4runner was a 3.0 5 speed. This one is a 3.0 auto. The 5 speed is faster and that tranny I think is much better mated to the 3.0's torque characteristics. The 5 speed gets better mpg. The auto can crawl though. Two footing it make is very easy to negotiate uneven terrain very slowly. Now whether or not it's better than a Marlin'ed 5 speed, probably not but I have not had an extra low range transfer case 5 speed yet so I can't speak from experience.

2nd gen trucks are largely 3.0 auto's so you might find you don't have a lot of choice there. I, for example had the choice between a not so nice 5 speed and a few nice autos. I chose the auto and am happy.

Frank

[Tanto]

The 3.4 with a manual is very nice. 1st gear is almost like a granny gear and the rest works nicely. I find that the auto tends to get hung up on the hills a little too easily, but maybe I just don't accurately remember what it was like to drive a stock 3.4L/auto anymore. :D