Is this even a thing??

I have a 99 taco with the 3.4 v6 and manny 5 speed. I do alot of highway driving as an escort for oversized semi trucks and am curious to know if anyone out there makes a 6 speed manual trans conversion for these trucks. Also (disregarding the 6 speed) what brand /type of clutch should I use that'll hold up nicely for a long time?

 

Not heard of one. What are you trying to improve with a 6 speed?

 

There is none for the 3.4. The 4.0 has one though. No conversion kits that I know of but doesn't mean there is not. An entire 4.0 drivetrain with 6 speed could probably be done but typically I have seen the auto in the swap. Would be sweet though as the 1st gens weight less than the 2nd gens the 4.0 comes out of.

 

Never heard of it… but I always thought it would be cool to turn a 1st gen DCSB into a manual trans. Now this thread has me thinking about a 4.0/6 speed swap.

I should probably lay down until the thought passes.

 

Welcome to the Forum!!

4x4/Prerunner or 5 Lug 2Wd?

What size tires do you run going to a taller tire will drop your rpm.

The life of the Clutch has more to do with how you use the clutch your driving style.

The major difference on a more performance clutch is being able to recover from being hot more often.

It seems quality has changed in the last few years in the downward direction .

In the past I had Good Luck with Aisin, Luk, and Marlin Crawlers clutch kits . All going strong for the past few years.

With Supply Chain Issues it seems many clutch kits are out of Stock

 

Why?

 

I was hoping to get better fuel economy from the higher gearing of a 6 speed. Also it'd just be cool af

 

It's the sr5 4x4. I actually haven't thought of doing taller tires. I'll have to look into it

 

How often would you need 4x4 on your escort trips? Do you just do local escort work or over the road ??

2 Extra wheels and taller tires in the rear just a thought I have used in the past.

 

Are you looking for lower RPM at high speeds?

Get taller tires
Or
Change gearing in the front and rear differential (i don't know if you can find taller gears, people usually gear the other way...)

 

What differential gearing do you have now?

I went to taller tires because I have 4.30 gears, gas mileage isn’t much different, but it’s quieter on the highway now.

 

Some truck owners are just plain weird!

They want their truck to get 50mpg or go from 0-60mph is 4 second. It's a effin truck, use it like it's built for.

 

Change your gearing to a taller ratio, like somewhere in the 3.x range. You'll get better highway MPG's but I suggest sticking to stock size tires or even smaller than stock.

 

Would love a 6 speed for my '04

 

If you know how to use excel, make a fuel spread sheet related to MPG and pick a number for fuel costs.

Apply various % increases in MPG and calculate actual $ savings over a 10,000 mile period.

Pick an MPG mod and an estimate of cost to accomplish that. What you are doing is calculating ROI or return on investment.

Taller, skinner, slightly over inflated highway grade tires and reduced vehicle weight will be your cheapest options with hopes of breaking even before the tires were worn out.

But if you just want to be cool, do it for that reason. Just don't expect it to pay for itself in MPG savings.

 

It all comes down to what kind of mileage you drive in a year .

Just what your escorting for Mobile Homes lots of miles in a day .

Wide and High plus heavy some loads 100 miles in a day is out standing .

How many dead head miles do you need to drive ?

Been there done this .

A 4x4 would not be my first choice for a escort vehicle.

Good Luck No matter how things play out.