Why do you love (or hate) your manual trans.

[gamefreakgc]

Lol all you 3rd Gen crowd are so spoiled, the "pink milkshake" is a preventable issue and pretty rare at that. You have to neglect your coolant for ages to get the radiator to fail.

Your predecessors had to deal the 3VZ-E with a host of issues including the most troublesome head gaskets possibly ever out of any modern engine (steel block with an aluminum head was a BAD idea). Even with the recall these would still fail...

Anyway, to stay on topic I'm a big fan of a 5-speed on a 4x4 truck. You gain so much control and like others have said, it's great in snow. I've never been rock crawling but I could see that being a downside. I just love the control of the engine you have with a manual transmission, the auto seems to have a mind of its own and not really in sync with how I'm driving.

I'm really, REALLY bummed I could not find a 5-speed 3rd Gen in my area in decent shape. So I settled with a supercharged Auto

On a side note though, I own a 2011 Nissan Altima with a CVT transmission. I actually really love it. It's a little slow from a complete stop but you get constant power almost instantly, since it doesn't shift it stays in the "power band" the whole time. Even with a 200 HP 4 cylinder engine it puts out!

 

[Angryclown5]

Love/Not Love

4 months into owning my first 4 Runner, a '99 SR5 3.4 5 speed. Have owned manuals and automatics over the years. I drive over Vail pass often, and love the 5 speed for mountain/winter driving.

However, and i'm not sure if this is typical or not, but I'm not really liking the clutch that grabs really hard very low to the floor. Are they all like that or is it adjustable some way?

Just last weekend was caught on the pass as all lanes were closed due to snow-caused accidents. Had to sit for 1 hour near the top as snow continued to fall. The 4 wheel drive worked great, and the handling was confidence inspiring. Exactly what I was hoping for.

 

[snow junky]

i hate how i cant eat a cheeseburger while driving in the city:hungry:

,the blow off valve between shifts makes up for that tho

 

[Panda96]

I'll agree the floor dropping clutch isn't too much fun. I've read where several people have upgraded to a Marlin clutch. How does that clutch compare to the stock??