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4x4junkie

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I won't lie, I'm considering doing this to a used 2019 Ranger. With what I'm looking at spending on a 08-11 with a manual, this may be cheaper in the long run.

Yes I understand I'd be cutting up a new truck. Doesn't bother me at all. No more autos after the superdoody and chonda. I knew better, and now I have a SD that I can't drive, and a Honda that I'm fixing every third day. Enough is enough with transmission issues.

Yes I understand I won't have a warranty. I'm ok with that. None of.my other vehicles have one, either.
I like this... :)

The lack of a manual trans is the main reason why Ford lost a sale on at least one new Ranger (I'll bet the # is actually much higher).


I'll be following this one for sure, even if it's just for curiosity's sake. :cool:
 


PetroleumJunkie412

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I tweet at Ford 1-2 times a week that they would have sold three through me already: one for me and two company trucks if they'd offer a manual.

Big trucks aren't available in auto for what we do, 6, 18, and 8/13 speed only.

I'd rather replace a Ranger transmission if a new driver blows one up, rather than one behind a Mercedes 926 or international 466.

Looks like we're going Frontier for the company trucks. Drove one, really liked it. I'm determined to stay with Ranger if I can, but seriously **** this Honda, I need my small pickup that rides rough and shifts crisp every time.

Get your sh*t together, Ford.



Back on topic, this swap is a matter of time. As the trucks get older, weirdos like us are going to do weird sh*t to them like engine swaps, etc.

So, I'm just ahead of the curve. Working on rust sucks. I'm taking the easy road compared to guys in 20 years.
 

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I don't think Ford cares if they lose 0.00001% of sales because they lack a manual trans option... I'm with ya, I wish they offered it, but we are just in a tiny minority.

I don't believe ANY domestic car maker offers a manual in a truck right now. AFAIK, GM discontinued the manual in the Colorado/Canyon for 2019 MY and Ram no longer offers it in their full size trucks.

I guess I am OK with an auto as long as 1) it is built to last 200k or more and does so for the vast majority of owners, and 2) the shifter does not take up a lot of interior room. Column shifters are fine, huge consoles that take up 1/3 of the front seat make me feel claustrophobic.
 

Dirtman

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The rangers tow rating would be cut in half for a manual. I dont think they cared about the manual trans weirdos and cared more about putting a massive tow rating on it. They sell to the majority and unfortunately the manual trans weirdos are not the majority by a long shot. If you noticed ford has really streamlined their powertrain options across the whole fleet. It's mostly ecoboost/10 speed auto. Offering a 6 speed in the ranger to sell a few more trucks wouldn't be worth the time no matter how much 3 people complain about it.
 

RonD

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Hey now, its 4 people
 

Dirtman

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You can start an online petition! :icon_rofl:
 

4x4junkie

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I don't think Ford cares if they lose 0.00001% of sales because they lack a manual trans option... I'm with ya, I wish they offered it, but we are just in a tiny minority.

I don't believe ANY domestic car maker offers a manual in a truck right now. AFAIK, GM discontinued the manual in the Colorado/Canyon for 2019 MY and Ram no longer offers it in their full size trucks.

I guess I am OK with an auto as long as 1) it is built to last 200k or more and does so for the vast majority of owners, and 2) the shifter does not take up a lot of interior room. Column shifters are fine, huge consoles that take up 1/3 of the front seat make me feel claustrophobic.
I would bet the current real demand for manual transmissions is somewhere around 10-15%. Take rates are much less than that because dealers either choose not to stock them, or the automaker actually restricts their production numbers for whatever reason, so people just say f-it and buy the auto because that is what they can buy now. There are also those people who have been fed bogus lines like "no one makes them because no one wants them anymore", and then never even bother to look for one, when deep down they really do infact want a manual.

Toyota apparently restricts the manual-trans Tacoma to 5% of production. These trucks never last more than a few days on dealer lots according to several I've spoke to (which also means they usually won't negotiate much, if at all on them). On the used market, people often pay close to original sticker prices for 2-4 year old ones just because they have a manual trans. In Europe, the automatic trans is actually the minority.

My guess is the auto industry is now purposely trying to eliminate manual transmissions from the market because (at least here in this country) they've realized an increasing percentage of people, not having been brought up with them, simply don't know how to drive them. This means as the generations go on, the demand for manuals will indeed continue to wane even faster, which is unfortunate. Certainly they have an incentive to do this because it means only one transmission option would be needed for production of the vehicle.


The rangers tow rating would be cut in half for a manual. I dont think they cared about the manual trans weirdos and cared more about putting a massive tow rating on it. They sell to the majority and unfortunately the manual trans weirdos are not the majority by a long shot. If you noticed ford has really streamlined their powertrain options across the whole fleet. It's mostly ecoboost/10 speed auto. Offering a 6 speed in the ranger to sell a few more trucks wouldn't be worth the time no matter how much 3 people complain about it.
Not necessarily... If the transmission is matched well to the engine's output, there's no reason it can't tow as much as would be safe for the truck's braking system.
Back in the day Ford derated the manuals likely because the chinsy transmissions of the time (TK4, TK5, FM145/146, etc.) sincerely couldn't handle it. It's unfortunate Ford didn't revise the ratings for M5OD-equipped trucks, because there's nothing I see from a mechanical standpoint preventing them from handling the same weight as the A4LD trucks. Toyota rates their MT trucks with the same tow capacity as their AT trucks, so it's not, say, because of too many idiots who can't use a clutch properly.

As you already said earlier, Ford puts a manual trans behind the 2.3L EB in the Mustang (meaning they already have the trans and ECU calibrations for it). Seems they could've easily adapted that trans to fit a t-case (also w/slightly different ratios if needed) and used it in the Ranger. They probably didn't do it simply to keep downward pressure on future demand for them.
 

Dirtman

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We've argued manual vs auto power many times on this site. Pound for pound auto beats manual in towing. Not to say you couldn't put a manual in the new ranger that could physically tow more than any automatic. The point is, why... why build a whole different truck for a very limited group of people who still want to drive a manual? The mustang 6 speed cannot tow what the 10 speed auto can. That's physics. so they would have to build an upgraded manual, new computer, pedals, blah blah blah just to give a manual option to sell 4 of them... theres no market for a manual transmission truck in that class. Tow rating, no tow rating. There's not enough people out there throwing out 30-50 grand saying give me a mid sized 2020 truck with a clutch.

Be nostalgic as you want... the truck market is not made for the same people it was 30 years ago. New trucks are made for hippies. Deal with it or buy used.
 

snoranger

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We've argued manual vs auto power many times on this site. Pound for pound auto beats manual in towing. Not to say you couldn't put a manual in the new ranger that could physically tow more than any automatic. The point is, why... why build a whole different truck for a very limited group of people who still want to drive a manual? The mustang 6 speed cannot tow what the 10 speed auto can. That's physics. so they would have to build an upgraded manual, new computer, pedals, blah blah blah just to give a manual option to sell 4 of them... theres no market for a manual transmission truck in that class. Tow rating, no tow rating. There's not enough people out there throwing out 30-50 grand saying give me a mid sized 2020 truck with a clutch.
Yeah, because they only want to spend $15-20k on that manual truck.
 

Dirtman

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Yeah, because they only want to spend $15-20k on that manual truck.
Aka get a time machine...

THE FUTURE IS HERE PEOPLE! AND IT SUCKS! DEAL WITH IT!

You think I bought a fiesta cause I wanted to!? No... it was the garbage ford sells cheap now.
 

r1ch999999

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They claim the new Bronco with have a manual and they also say it’ll be in the T6 platform. That should mean a manual Ranger would be a possibility.
 

Dirtman

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The T6 is old. It would be stupid to design a new vehicle on such an aging platform. Chances are even the new ranger will be short lived.
 

4x4junkie

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We've argued manual vs auto power many times on this site. Pound for pound auto beats manual in towing. Not to say you couldn't put a manual in the new ranger that could physically tow more than any automatic. The point is, why... why build a whole different truck for a very limited group of people who still want to drive a manual? The mustang 6 speed cannot tow what the 10 speed auto can. That's physics. so they would have to build an upgraded manual, new computer, pedals, blah blah blah just to give a manual option to sell 4 of them... theres no market for a manual transmission truck in that class. Tow rating, no tow rating. There's not enough people out there throwing out 30-50 grand saying give me a mid sized 2020 truck with a clutch.

Be nostalgic as you want... the truck market is not made for the same people it was 30 years ago. New trucks are made for hippies. Deal with it or buy used.
"Whole different truck"... That's funny.
They already sell the truck elsewhere in the world with a manual. So they already have the pedals. They already have the transmission. AND they already have a computer. All they needed to do was mate whatever transmission it is they use elsewhere to the 2.3L EB (new bell pattern, assuming they don't sell that trans behind the 2.3 EB somewhere else already and that the Mustang trans isn't up to it), fine-tune the Mustang ECU calibrations they already have (more torque/slightly less HP), and there you go.
(it's nothing for an automaker to revise something like a bell pattern... probably as simple as a new CAD file to be loaded into whatever machine is machining them)

I already said above, Toyota makes a killing on each manual unit sold because they've purposely restricted supply. Demand for them has driven their prices up close to sticker, if not a little over sometimes (yes, it is into the 40K range that people are often paying for them).
Towing? Why do most semi-trucks still have manual transmissions? My dad has a Dodge 2500 4x4 with the Cummins and 6-speed stick... That truck will probably rip the tongue off a trailer at 60 MPH if you let it.

Believe what you want, but the market for manuals is not declining because people simply don't want them, it's because automakers are artificially pushing it down by restricting their numbers or not even offering them (and again, this is a phenomenon only occurring here in the US). The automakers probably love it when people go around stating manuals have no market anymore... That just helps their cause so that they can sell more automatics (which also have much tighter timeframes built into them for planned obsolescence, plus the fact it's often not practical to rebuild an umpteen-speed automatic transmission in a 12-year old car due to cost).
 

85_Ranger4x4

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(it's nothing for an automaker to revise something like a bell pattern... probably as simple as a new CAD file to be loaded into whatever machine is machining them)
No, no... they have to design a new engine separator plate and a special starter too, better make the trans a different length so we can fuss over different driveshafts... because Ford has to Ford.

Nissan builds manuals, Toyota builds manuals, if Jeep doesn't I bet they soon will... there must be something of a market there.
 

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With the exception of the ability to push start, automatic transmissions do the work better, period. They are also easier to work on in many cases.

There, I've stated "MY" facts without any real research to back them up. If Nissan, Toyota or any other manufacturer restricts their production of a manual trans, 4wd, single cab, LWB or any other option, it's not solely to drive the price up for that option. It's because they don't want a bunch of unsold vehicles. Sure, restricting production may cause a premium for a vehicle equipped in a certain way, but you can bet if they thought they'd sell twice as many they'd build them. The big automakers make their real profits on the number of units sold, not so much the price they put on the sticker.

I'll concede that most automakers probably prefer to build and sell vehicles with automatics because it's much easier to them through the programming, but I'm also of the opinion that the vast majority of buyers, prefer automatics, even in trucks.
 

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