22re with Auto Transmission vs Manual

[JoeMegeddon]

So I sold my 86 5spd DLX because my wife wouldn't go camping with me if she couldn't drive to the store while I was fishing...women.

I had hopes of buying another 1st gen with an automatic transmission so that my wife could drive it. Been doing a little research and I want to stay with the 22re for reliability and gas mileage. I have had many people tell me to stay away from the Automatic trucks because the transmission were no good. Is there any truth to that? I am going to go off-road from time to time but by no means looking to rock crawl or anything, just want to get to the lake and back. Any opinions or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[dorton]

I had a 22RE w/Auto. It was no power house. One time out wheeling, I had stopped on a hill in 4wd. When I tried to restart, it didn't have enough gearing/torque multiplication to go. I had to shift to 4 low to get it moving again. That was with 32x11.50s, but still expected it to be able to take off. Mine had about 200k on it when I sold it on original transmission.

 

[KidVermicious]

The a340 series transmissions are way reliable. People don't like them because the chain-drive case is a horrible slushbox. Look in the dictionary under "gutless dog" and you'll find a picture of a 1st gen with an auto.

You're in a sticky place - teach your wife to drive a manual or drive a crappy truck. You never should have sold your '86.