Scramble
New member
No I dont but I didn't say anything against them except that's it's easier to install a locker than a manual swap. I plan on installing a locker but I want a whole new axle housing/bearings etc.
What's more desirable Rear Diff Lock or Manual Trans.
- Thread starter ToyotaSan
- Start date
No I dont but I didn't say anything against them except that's it's easier to install a locker than a manual swap. I plan on installing a locker but I want a whole new axle housing/bearings etc.
When I bought my 4Runner. It was auto factory. I then swapped it to a 5speed. From the gecko off roading in a manual is much harder then auto. Especially on HILLS!!! If you stall going up a rocky hill. It sucks. You kinda lose your brakes. But the challenge is fun. Now just yesterday I went off roading with a guy from Tacoma forum. He had Tacoma, newer with 35 and manual transmission but no locker. He was definitely better at off roading then me. Then we bumped into a young kid with a fj cruiser again, manual but he had a LOCKER. And let me tell you something. This fj was one stock beside general grabbers at2 but stock tire size. He made up every hill the Tacoma on 35 did. And some hills that me nor the Tacoma guy could make it up. I was jealous!
rkntoy
New member
There are still wrong lines when you have a locker or lockers. They do help greatly though.
PWD4R
New member
I think that was just a slight exaggeration but the point is still present.
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BoomSticks
Member
This.
From the time I started researching I saw a kind of machismo surrounding manuals. You're somehow 'better' if you use a manual.
What I've seen it come down to, is bragging and ego. Maybe back in the day there was an advantage to manuals, but anymore it's just a matter of preference and everyone wants what is more rare.
I've always had a stick vehicle since I started driving almost 20 years ago, and I love them because they're more fun to drive. For off road and camping, I don't want to have to worry about the clutch in addition to everything else.
Easy operation and the most capability possible is what I want for my adventuring rig.
pluton
Senior Member
I've had MTM 4WD Toyotas(FJ 60's, 4WD Truck) without lockers since 1998. I never got stuck because I didn't have a locker.
In '13 I wanted a 3rd gen 4Runner. Because I was buying a vehicle that was going to be up to 17 years old with 100K miles+, I elected to go with another MTM, because old ATMs can fail without prior notice, and MTMs usually give notice long in advance of failure.
It happened to come with a locker.
In '13 I wanted a 3rd gen 4Runner. Because I was buying a vehicle that was going to be up to 17 years old with 100K miles+, I elected to go with another MTM, because old ATMs can fail without prior notice, and MTMs usually give notice long in advance of failure.
It happened to come with a locker.
19994Runner5spd
New member
Maybe I misread the OPs question and as people stated it varies person to person.
I got a manual w/o locker because I couldn't find one with. Had I found a clean one with both, absolutely no question I would ha e gotten it. As I said before, easier to swap on a locker than the transmission at least for me.
To the member who posted wanting a manual to be macho/ego/bragging etc I don't think that's why people get them.
I got mine because just like another member posted, you usually the autos fail sooner than the manuals. My 4Runner has 230k and runs like a top. I expect it to last over 300k. The 96 accord I had with a manual lasted 366k before I sold it and ran/shifted smooth. You don't see as many autos with that many miles that are trouble free.
Another pro about the manual is being able to pick your gear and not have the transmission searching for it. I just got back from a 3 day 900 mile trip through the blue ridge parkway mountains. Having the 5 speed made the drive fun and easy on the truck. Put it in 3rd and ride down the mountain without hardly touching the brakes.
Off road, my 1990 auto 2nd gen was easier to drive. Sucked power wise though with the 4 cylinder
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I got a manual w/o locker because I couldn't find one with. Had I found a clean one with both, absolutely no question I would ha e gotten it. As I said before, easier to swap on a locker than the transmission at least for me.
To the member who posted wanting a manual to be macho/ego/bragging etc I don't think that's why people get them.
I got mine because just like another member posted, you usually the autos fail sooner than the manuals. My 4Runner has 230k and runs like a top. I expect it to last over 300k. The 96 accord I had with a manual lasted 366k before I sold it and ran/shifted smooth. You don't see as many autos with that many miles that are trouble free.
Another pro about the manual is being able to pick your gear and not have the transmission searching for it. I just got back from a 3 day 900 mile trip through the blue ridge parkway mountains. Having the 5 speed made the drive fun and easy on the truck. Put it in 3rd and ride down the mountain without hardly touching the brakes.
Off road, my 1990 auto 2nd gen was easier to drive. Sucked power wise though with the 4 cylinder
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daniresch
New member
Yes, 100% true. But OP questions was, "what is more desirable?" For me personally, 5speed.
Clearly the OP would prefer BOTH. So now the question becomes which is easier to install? Well, a locker is much easier to install than doing a 5speed swap. Which is exactly what I did to my 1997.
Rockdawg84
New member
I may have a different perspective both are desirable and I agree with everyone that a rear locker is much easier to install. I also agree that you should look for the best, cleanest and lowest milage Runner and buy it. Auto or Manual you will have a great rig that will wheel better than most other stock 4x4's you can buy.
Now on the subject of what is better off-road MT or AT, it isn't as simple as one is better than the other. It depends on several factors the biggest of which are driving style and where you are going to wheel. If you are from the west and wheel where you have the chance to have a tire bind up, like rockcrawling, I believe a manual Transmission holds an advantage because you can feel when things are beginning to bind and can put the clutch in and try another line. With an auto you can't feel that binding in the drive train and so often you will give more gas and result in a broken axle or worse.
If you wheel in a place like most of the rest of the country where there are long climbs that are often muddy and need momentum then I believe that an Auto gives an advantage as there can be a smother application of power to keep going and shifts are much faster than I can shift manually.
So find the best rig you can and if you have a choice pick options that will fit your style and area of wheeling.
Good luck in your search.
Now on the subject of what is better off-road MT or AT, it isn't as simple as one is better than the other. It depends on several factors the biggest of which are driving style and where you are going to wheel. If you are from the west and wheel where you have the chance to have a tire bind up, like rockcrawling, I believe a manual Transmission holds an advantage because you can feel when things are beginning to bind and can put the clutch in and try another line. With an auto you can't feel that binding in the drive train and so often you will give more gas and result in a broken axle or worse.
If you wheel in a place like most of the rest of the country where there are long climbs that are often muddy and need momentum then I believe that an Auto gives an advantage as there can be a smother application of power to keep going and shifts are much faster than I can shift manually.
So find the best rig you can and if you have a choice pick options that will fit your style and area of wheeling.
Good luck in your search.
