Blair

I'm SURE I've seen this thread, but I did a search and I can't find it, so....

I'm looking for a new 2nd gen and I need it yesterday I've looked at about 20 so far and they have all been 5spd manuals. I really like one or two, but each of those has a couple of warts, mostly being noises where noise don't belong. Now I'm thinking about looking at the auto trannys and I was wondering if each of you might ring in with what you like about your choice, and also what you don't.

If this has been posted before, I will delete it, otherwise, I'd really appreciate the collective input of everyone here,
Thanks,
blair

Vato Loco

From what I read on these boards, the 3.0 and auto is a bad combination, its very sluggish.

fooddude

i have had a 3.0 auto and 5-spd. My 5 speed was nice i enjoyed it a lot and they are easier and cheaper to get body lifts for.

My auto has 4.88 gears and i dont notice much power difference in town, but once i get on the highway it doesnt keep up like the 5-spd did. Overall i still wish i had my 5-spd.

Blair

THAT'S exactly what I've heard, too! Which is what led me to run this poll. And fuel mileage, too. But I want to hear it from the people who've got 'em.
I'm partial to the 5 spd, but I do mostly highway miles, so it's an easy trip for me.

PoBoy

Can you still push 70-80 mph in the auto w/o destroying your mpg...what RPMs do you hit at those speeds?

Robinhood150

Oh sure, I get about 16-17mpg doing 75 all day.

PoBoy

Good to hear. I'll stick with the auto then Looking at one tomorrow!!! DOWN WITH THE HEEP!

Edit: Have any of you guys with 2nd gens driven a 3rd gen or ever owned one. All this talk of power makes me a little worried about making the switch from 3rd to 2nd. I thought the 3.4 was pretty bad, but I wasnt geared propperly with 33's plus the SL & BL. Add the fact that Ive been driving a 4cyl wrangler for the past 6 months...the 3.0 doesnt seem bad at all. But we all know how much a test drive tells about a car - not much.

Blair

My 91 had he 3.0, and aside from the head gasket issue, I never had any complaint about power. It could do 140kph (85 mph) all day long. Lost a little on long hills, but I never had to row through the gears like I did in my 4.0 Cherokee

AgRunner06

Here's my advice to anyone who is going to buy a 2nd gen.

Get a 5 speed.

I wish I had.

Ok, I guess I can explain. Well, here's my situation. I'm running 31s and geared for the 225s. This is a very bad combo on top of an already slow vehicle. This is why I'm doing my exhaust soon to hopefully pick of a few more ponies. The auto doesn't do well on the interstate, hills and wind in particular. When my tranny unlocks on the highway (which can easily happen) it will go to about 3K or maybe a little higher. If it happens to downshift to 3rd (which doesn't happen often) the rpms shoot to about 4K. My cruise control is useless. It will come up on a hill, begin to slow, and then downshift and send the rpms through the roof. When I'm driving I usually speed up a little before hills that way I don't lose too much speed. Maybe I'm making it sound more worse than it really is. I can still accelerate up some hills, just nothing too big (also depending on the wind). That's not much acceleration I'm talking about either. Maybe a few to 5 mph depending on the hill. A headwind (depending on the strength) can pose a real problem when getting on the highway and even maintaining speeds. I've found that I can accelerate faster by turning off OD so that it locks up in third and then turning OD back on at about 50 mph. If I just let it stay unlocked in OD it won't accelerate as fast. Passing power is almost non-existent unless you get a run at them. When accelerating in OD it's all about pushing the gas just hard enough so that it doesn't unlock. Don't get me wrong, I can usually keep up with traffic once I get up to speed. It's just it seems to take forever with the auto. I try not to drive my 4runner all that hard so maybe it's just me.

It seems to me that you lose a lot of power in this auto (through I've never driven a 5 speed). This is just based on my observations from driving in Drive as opposed to OD. You have more useable power with the 5-speed (or so I've heard). I have towed (2 4wheelers on a 16ft trailer with 5 people inside) with my 4runner and I'll admit it did ok. But I didn't get on the highway either.

That's all I can think of for now. Take it for what it's worth.

PoBoy

See, I had the same issues with my '96 as far as hills and acceleration. But I blame that on the gears, 33in tires, and bodylift. What gears do you have with your 31's?

Juggalo

You're really not. My truck is geared for the 225's and I have 33's... imagine my mpg and how long it takes me to get up to speed

I've driven a 95 auto Runner with 31's (stock option) and it wasn't really that bad

I just prefer the 5 speed for the fact that I would be embaressed to tell someone that I have an automatic, plus the fact that I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT! (no offence to anyone)

Robinhood150

I got to drive Tom's auto after he lifted it and put on 33s. I thought the acceleration was similar to mine with 32's (31 original with 4.88). I think it took the hills better though. However, I didn't get a thorough test drive, only about 30 miles on the freeway...that wasn't enough.

AgRunner06

I'm almost positive it's 4.10s. I'd say your tires are what really killed you. If I went with tires that were any bigger, I would regear ASAP.

Jugallo, you really should consider a regear. The only reason you can accelerate any now is because of the 5 speed. If I went to 33's I would probably have to drive in 3rd on the highway and then probably still have trouble.

3.slow with the auto is the .

Tom

I really dont see how you guys can be complaining about your v6. now a 4cyl with 31 (stock 225) 5speed, now thats a slug. everything slows me down. every hill, wind gust and so on makes me shift. im going up the a moderatly steep hill in 3rd at 3000 rpm and going 60km/h and thats it. but put her in 4lo and she goes which to me is all that matters.

PoBoy

It may be the devil, but Im not going back to a manual for a while. I am really sick of my TJ's stick. It's a pain on dates (my fiancee likes hand holding lots), driving while doing anything else is dangerous, AND I drive in 30 mins of stop and go traffic every day. Im not going to do it again...not in my Daily Driver at least.

I really liked my 96's auto, but if I want a 3rd gen again...its gonna cost $$$. Plus I love the 2nd gen body and mechanics better. I am sick of hearing torn CV boot and rear axel leaking. Sure, the 2nd gens have their own problems...but at least they will be new challenges instead of old ones

Robinhood150

Your 4cyl 5speed has about the same perceived power as my V6 auto (at least at high altitudes). This one long steep grade in the mountains keeps my top speed to 35-45mph, the same as my brother's 2nd gen 4cyl 5speed.

AgRunner06

Yeah, I've heard that the 4 cylinder 5 speed is about the same in power as the V6 auto. Tom, the good thing about the 4cylinder is that there are many different power upgrades out there that don't cost an arm and a leg. And they aren't too difficult to install too.

Poboy, my sis has a 97 4runner 2WD auto that's running 265s and it feels like it has twice as much power as my 4runner. I do understand what you mean about driving in traffic with the 5 speed. That's something I wouldn't want to do either. Plus it's not too good on the clutch either. Also keep in mind that the 3.slow is much more expensive to fix/replace as opposed to the 3.4L. I guess it really all depends on personal preference and what you want.

Good luck with everyone's decisions.

amusement

My preference is the 5 speed R150F transmissions mated to 3.0 engines.

I am biased cause I have both

Juggalo

I could be complaining a lot because I'm used to a turbo Eclipse (with mods) a 5.0 Fox body Stang (with mods) and a V6 MX-6 (with mods+nitrous)

Try going to the 3.slow from those cars and you might understand how I feel :cry:

PoBoy

What makes it so much harder to work on and more expeinsive? I was under the assumption that they were very similar engines, just one was larger and more powerful. I guess so many of you guys got the factory rebuild paid for by Toy that I havent seen many bills for rebuilds.

Ugg...why do you guys do this too me!! I was totally set on a 2nd gen The cruise control issue I had with my '96 modded sticks in my head though. I drive a lot and hated it constantly dropping into 3rd on the slightest incline. Now, Im gonna have the same issue with an unmodded 2nd gen. GRRR!!! Where is that guy that is putting 3.4Ls in 2nd gens?