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.

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).

 

Stick with the manual trans. There is a reason why none of these trucks had auto's in japan

And to build up a 4cyl to beat a 3vze (power wise) would require ALOT of work. You would be better off just swapping in a 3.4L

the 3.4L + auto is pretty good, I was surprized when I rode in one, but I would also go with a 5sp.

 

22re vs. the 3.0 is so close in power plus the 22re is more reliable. i would definetly go with the manual over any auto yota

 

i have the auto with the 3.0 v6 and after riding in a manual with the 3.0 i wish i had the manual. 5 gears is just alot better to play with then 3 with overdrive. With the auto you really feel like you racing the engine alot even though your just keeping up with traffic

 

Manual only for me.

 

the 3.0 auto tranny takes away so much power over the manual. I would always go manual over the auto 1st and 2nd gens and when it comes to the 3rd gens i would still go manual if you could find it but the autos are still nice. 3rd gen definetly go 3.4. 1st and 2nd gen go 22re 5spd and if you can find the 22re turbo that would be sick.

Plenty of people will vote no go on the 3.0, some will say its fine. personal experience with both, Get a manual 22re older gens and 3.4 newer

 

auto's for lazy

 

For 1st/2nd gens:

If you're gonna put bigger tires on it and drive it on the highway, you CAN NOT have an auto. The overdrive is too damn tall and the gas mileage will kill you. The heat generated by the torque converter not being able to lock up will necessitate a tranny cooler or you'll smoke the tranny.

For 3rd+ gens, this isn't such an issue because the motors have so much more power (esp the V6).

 

I run the auto and am much happier with it offroad(and on) then I was with my same truck with the manuel... You can get up to an obsticle and get on the gas without trying to pop the clutch and not stall. With the www.inchwormgear.com auto adapter you can mount a t-case with 4.7, dual cases with stock gears or the crawlbox to the trans and that will desimate all.

 

Have you wheeled with a truck with a crawler and an auto?

Might want to before making such statements - they certainly have their issues too. Namely, that you are "stuck" with starting in first always. You really only have 4 gears with an auto with dual cases, where you have 20 with a manual, so you can better select the exact wheelspeed necessary for a given obstacle.

It all comes down to personal opinion, but if you're throwing crawlers into the mix, it becomes an even wash, as stalling is pretty much a moot point with dual cases.

All of that only applies if it's a trail only truck. The fact remains that the engines available won't pull the overdrive in the auto and performance, gas mileage, and transmission longevity suffer because of it.

 

Good info, Thanks peep's

 

Its all personal preference. The auto manual debate is ENDLESS!!! Each has its advantage and disadvatages. Choose what you like not what some else likes.

 

old thread but it answered some of my questions but im still wonder about the durability of the older toyota automatics compared to say a gm auto wich compaired to other domestics are excelent in my opinion. My situation is that this weekend im hopfully picking up an 85 22re auto as well as 2 87s which are both 5 speeds all for 500 bucks. im planing on building a modest trail rig out of the whole heap and considering using the auto. i know most people dont run them because of the power it wastes but this isnt a concern for me. ill be using the truck mostly for playing on rough old logging trails and some mudding i plan on runing 33s ,the 4.30 gears out of the 85 with welded rear and open front for now.