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Who off-roads a manual?

Do you off-road with a manual or automatic tranny?

  • Manual (4spd ect.)

    Votes: 113 62.1%

  • Automatic Th400 700r4 ect.

    Votes: 69 37.9%
  • Total voters
    182
38377k5 said:
Hydraulic clutches are on most vehicle from the 80's to present. They aren't power assist, they just use hydraulic lines to route pressure from the pedal to the clutch fork (rather than a mechanical linkage).

I don't know why everyone loves the hydro clutch stuff so much, my mechanical linkage works just fine :dunno:
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my trans mounts went missing.. not sure why.. but when I took a turn one day.... my pedal went to the floor when I pushed it down.. then I heard a clunk.... the rod fell out of the socket as the trans shifted a bit.... and I was stuck in gear... had to pull over and shut the truck down in gear.....

now I am on a 1985 hydro setup (from a 1985 fullsize jimmy i got for $100!!!!)
and LOVE IT....



when I first bought my truck...
1989... I pieced it together from a junkyard... can ya tell?
notice the different bed sides...
17yearsold1.jpg

passengerside.jpg


1979 chevy 3/4 ton
350/turbo400/np203/d44/14bff/3.73
was ok... ran good... offroaded good... really not too many problems... I put the b&m stage II shiftkit in and it was nasty... a good nasty...

however in 1991 I found a
1978 chevy 3/4 ton camper special...
350/smc465/np205/d44/14bff/4.56's!!!!!

so I swapped my body to it.... then another body swap down the road a few years...

here is the drivetrain... oh yeah... $500 for it!!!!
rebuildtime.jpg

framed1.jpg

465000plus.jpg

rebuildtime2.jpg



so now I have wheeled my truck with 33's and the new smc and LOVE IT.. will never go back to auto... I thought my auto was nice.. but this sucker is saweet.... the only thing I would do over again is go with a nv5600......
that is my future plans....


anyhow... I did the auto cab swap to manual back in 1994..... without the help of the internet or anything.....
 
awesome seems like I'm going with manual right now.. I might be getting a 465/205 both with hurst shifters and the full clutch setup.. which will be sweet :)
 
I really like a stick.. the 4L80E in my 'Burb is nice for the highway but I'd rather an NV4500.. I can dream :crazy:
 
viperrgh2 said:
awesome seems like I'm going with manual right now.. I might be getting a 465/205 both with hurst shifters and the full clutch setup.. which will be sweet :)
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good choice:thumb:i love my 465.if i put it in low and mash on the brakes,it still has enough torque to pull the truck forward past the brake power.i have a 88 to 1 crawl ratio i believe it is now.i have never had problems getting over anything with it.big tires manual are not a problem as long as you know how to use the clutch correctly and have the axles gears correctly for the size tires you run.if you are undergeared you can srart to burn up the clutch from slippage.i run 4.10 gears and 35's.i had 3.73 and i could smell the clutch once in awhile then.it is much more fun with the manual.happy wheelin'
 
My Ranger had the Mazda 5 speed. Took me a while to get used to just putting it in 1st and letting it go but it was great after that - and it's 1st was like half what a 465's is.

Unfortunately fate, and my wife, have conspired to leave me with three auto equiped 4x4's right now. Give me time and I'd love to have a stick 4x4 again. Just seemed a bit better for all uses to me.
 
AJMBLAZER said:
My Ranger had the Mazda 5 speed. Took me a while to get used to just putting it in 1st and letting it go but it was great after that - and it's 1st was like half what a 465's is.

Unfortunately fate, and my wife, have conspired to leave me with three auto equiped 4x4's right now. Give me time and I'd love to have a stick 4x4 again. Just seemed a bit better for all uses to me.
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my wife hates that I have converted the truck... however the truck is picky.. so not sure if id want her driving it anyway....
 
Yeah, the wife has stick issues. Years ago she burned up the clutch in her brother's XJ when he was teaching her how to drive a stick. I tried to get her back up to speed on the Ranger but she was so defensive about it we got no where.
She's only driven Big Ugly twice though...and only once on surface streets and even then it wasn't a two mile trip.
If a stick ends up in it she probably won't care.
 
With the low gearing of 4 speed and low range tc, there is really no problem starting off on any grade at idle so there is really no problem balancing brake and clutch when starting off.
 
viperrgh2 said:
I plan on doing mostly light off-road like simple dirt trails and inclines ect. and the most extreme things would be like mud bogging which seems manual will be fine. I don't really plan on doing any serious rock crawling cause the rest of my truck isn't really good for it and I don't live near any serious rock crawling... Def considering the manual as a better option now.. Can anyone explain the "hydro clutch"? Thanks... I personally like manual over automatic as far as choice but Ive always though off-roading with a manual and big tires would just be almost impossible....
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Your choice then.

I have always had a manual for off roading and recently gone to an auto. I don't like it. I had more control over the manual espespecially in the rocks and hard stuff. But I guess there is a learning curve too.
 
im converting my jimmy to manual after breaking 2 auto tranny cases-1 th400 and 1 th350- im running a big block and 44s also.my other 2 wheelers are manual also.
 
38377k5 said:
Hydraulic clutches are on most vehicle from the 80's to present. They aren't power assist, they just use hydraulic lines to route pressure from the pedal to the clutch fork (rather than a mechanical linkage).

I don't know why everyone loves the hydro clutch stuff so much, my mechanical linkage works just fine :dunno:
Click to expand...

MaxPF said:
Probably because the hydro clutch compensates for clutch wear, and it tends to have a bit less pedal effort.
Click to expand...

Well, mechanical linkage is adjustable, your supposed to get under there every couple of oil changes and adjust the linkage. No biggie, it's a simple procedre. I thought the main reason people like hyrdo is if you have a rusty/loose/weak bodied truck, loose body mounts, etc, the mechanical tends to have more or less push when you really twist it up on the trails. I've never experienced the problem, and my K5 used to be pretty darn rusty, bit I've heard other people complain.
 
I too have never had trouble with my clutch linkage. I guess when I get to the level of wheeling where i do I will source a hydro setup. I love having the manual transmission of road. I really like when going down hills or tight spots in the trail I can put it in L for power control and use the brakes to keep me in a straight line. press on the brakes with some autos and and the thing disengages! I would like to have an overdrive though.
 
its an auto for me since i HATE to shift...i like the convience of just putting it in gear and going but if u want reliability AND strength, then a manual is the way to go...but the 465 is VERY STOUT...
 
I had a 56 Chev p/u with a 327 and the 420 4speed. Worked great, with careful clutch work, I could start in 3rd and run up to 70mph without shifting into 4th. My Jimmy, however, has a 350 turbo and I like it fine. Of course it's been 35 years between the two trucks.
 
I prefer manuals overall. Mud racers always give me a hard time and say I should rip out my manuals and go automatics. So I reverted back on my Orange Blazer and tried to lighten it up, and put in a small block with TH350/205, 4.56 gears and 37" Boggers. I hate it. For some reason it's lowest gear in the deep stuff isnt low enough. I'm going back to a manual.

My Truck Blazer has 44" boggers now and 5.38 gears. It's a manual, and despite some thought to going to an automatic and mud racing it with the low enough gearing, I'd still prefer a manual, since I dont just "race" it in mud.
 
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