Thinking about replacing my 1994 T100.

After looking at full size trucks I have found out that the only full size truck with a manual transmission is the Ram with the diesel engine. I just don't have any need for 800 ft/lbs of pulling power.
GM, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Dodge, automatic only.

Might need to get a used truck. Does anyone know when the last Tundra was available with the 5 speed manual trans?

I might need to drop down to the basic Tacoma that one is available with a 5 speed with the 4 cylinder motor.

To those who have a mind to convince me to get the 6 speed auto Tundra,,,,,, it won't happen. I will keep my T100 before I buy a truck with an auto trans. I can give you 10 reasons but I won't.

L

It was the first gens (2000-06), but last year for stick was 2004.

BTW, that's also the last year that the Tacoma as a small truck came off the line. My Tacoma xcab is a 2004 5sp 4x4 with the 3.4 engine. I'm glad it has cruise, or I'd be in trouble. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cyclops.gif" alt="" /> It's largely my dedicated camper rig in summertime.

I'd have to do some digging, but methinks the 2.7 stayed in the 2wd Tacoma and the plain jane Runners like my '99 4x4.

Chevy until 2006, dodge until 2003/4, ford until 2003-ish.

Nissan - never (full size)

The new tacoma's are available with a 6speed... not interested in one of those? They are about the same size/ capacity as a t100, but with (much) more power...

It is my understanding that the 6 speed manual transmission is only available on the 4 door short bed with the big V6.

For me a truck with a 6 foot bed has no use. The short bed of the 4 door is even worse. It's got to hold 4X8 sheet stock with the tailgate up or it's just not a truck.

This entire concept of luxury trucks with leather inside and auto everything else make little sense. To me trucks are for work. I want simple which will last 20 years. I want to be able to maintain it myself. No carpet, I want to be able to hose out the mud after miles of dirt roads in the rain.

It's hard to find plain trucks, most are recliners with 4 wheels. Fleet sales are about the only place to find these kinds of trucks. In the used market only about 1 of a hundred are plain trucks.

I have my doubts a heavy complex automatic trans will last even close to the time a 2 shaft manual will. When it does go, I have a feeling a rebuild of a 6 speed auto trans is going to cost 5000 dollars. Add that to the 3000 at purchase time and we are at 8000 plus tax. Not a good deal in my view.

The huge motors are silly. When I was a brick layer years ago all our trucks were 250 cubic inch GM trucks with 3 speed transmissions. We ran them for years. Our biggest truck was a 1 ton flat bed with a 200 motor. It was slow but it got the job done. Ford lists their new diesel at 800 foot lbs. Where is the small 3.0 L diesel we all need? 800 foot pounds with a 25000 pound towing capacity and 99 percent of them are on the freeway empty. I just don't get it.

What ever happened to trucks?

L

Id look into buy a pre 96 F150 or F250 with stick and 6 cylinder. It will get the job done quite well.

Sadly the only trucks you can get with a manual are HD 3/4 ton and above. I know the super duty F250 can be bought with V8 and manual trans-but you have to get the huge V8. The older F150 was also availible with the manual and 4.6L V8.

My dad has a 2006 Chevy Silverado 1500. 4.8 V8 with a 5 speed manual. Great truck, for a small V8 it has a good torque in stock form.

It now is no longer stock though. We've (he bought, I installed) CAI, cat-back exhaust, Powertrax diff, chip, pulleys, headers, and some appearance goodies!! It still will cruise nicely on the highway and it actually averages 18+ MPG and can chirp 3rd! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />


On the pre '96 Fords, I totally agree! I had a 1985 with a 300 and a 4 speed. my favorite truck!

It seems the new toyota autos are better than the manuals... maybe theyre doing this to phase the manual out?
Either way, you can get the 6 speed in the tacoma in the x-cab regular bed (6.5'), or 4 door short bed (5.5'). Or if you go 4cylinder, you can get the 5 speed.

I wonder how an automatic can be better? When a gear is locked to a shaft in a manual we have no loss in the power delivery other than a very small amount of friction at the the gear tooth contact point and a bit of moving gear oil.

An automatic is a substantially larger system and much heavier. It can almost never operate at the efficiency of a main shaft locked to an output shaft. It is true that the modern automatic does have a locking torque converter which locks out the fluid heat loss when it is engaged but, step on the gas and for a moment our speed does not change yet the RPM immediately goes up due to the unlocking of the torque converter. So, it is not possible for any automatic transmission system to equal a locked manual system due to heat generation in the torque converter when it is unlocked. I wonder what percentage of the time the lock up is in place?

A friend once told me an automatic was better for towing and that you couldn't even get the optional towing package with a manual. I didn't have the heart to tell him only an automatic needed such a thing. Going up a 10 percent grade with an automatic and an unlocked converter is generating a lot of wasted heat, power not getting to the wheels.

I will agree that the new automatics are much better but, they also cost more and now the big one, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Give us better engines and rust protections and keep what already works.

Not sure why the pickup builders continue to build newer, bigger and higher output engines, new monster expensive automatics which can handle all that power and yet they do no work on lighter efficient trucks. Take a look at the GM/Isuzzu diesel delivery trucks. They have gross loaded weight of 10,000 pounds and they do it with 3.0L diesel engines which are good for 300,000 miles. Why is this motor not available in a pickup. This is what I am after, light, simple and long lasting. The last thing I need in the new Ford 7.0L Diesel with 800 foot/lb of torque. I can say the same for the new Tundra and it's huge gas motor and 6 speed automatic. The T100 was a great truck for many of us. Light and a 4X8 bed for work.

Looks like I might just need to hang on to my 1994 T100 for another 17 years. I was going to give it to a friend and I was going to get something new but it seems what is new is not better, it's just heavier and more expensive.

L

Amen to that. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Seems like most of these purty trucks are built for the American ego. The guys who tend to try and muscle you out of the way are driving those up here. I've seen the damage done to the front end after a few of them tried to plow a moose, and it ain't pretty; they crumple right up.

If they'd take the 2001-2004 Tacoma body style, or even the T100's and gave them an 8 ft bed, I'd be on one like white on rice.