What is more reliable: Stick vs Automatic

How so? My experience on AT is that the engine doesn't kick in to slow down the car unless I brake a certain, inefficient, way.

For my money, I actually think that MT is better for suburban driving when you factor in the ability to use the engine to control speed. The intervals at which you hit traffic and traffic lights is perfectly suited for MT.

Any other MT people do the whole press down for clutch to start car....o wooops not my car it's an AT.

 

Or drive next to a cooperating truck leaving a wide space between you and the vehicles ahead insanely stopping and starting, while all the time you never once have to touch your breaks!
I love it. Why is this not common sense for most drivers?

 

Oh the joy of smoothly downshifting and then accelerating through a corner under power...
Or the expertise of moving forward from a dead stop on a steep hill without slidin backward.
Nothing like mastering the simple challenges of life to make it more enjoyable.

BTW Indy, how smooth are these new transmissions downshifting?

 

I feel MT makes you a more attentive diver..

 

Ive always enjoyed the security that even a dead battery wont leave me stranded in my manual, but that is only a small part of a trucks total reliability.

 

There's more positions in the shifter than p r and od. Just put it where it needs to be, no different in that aspect than going 5 to 3. No brakes needed. I extreeeeeme cases I've been in 4 low, 1st gear with 8k behind me and down a steep trail, no brakes needed. It does take some getting used to though, but for a to of people saving your brakes is a foreign concept. It got a lot easier for me after I started towing more and spending time in the mountains.

 

The beemer, very nice. It's a 6 spd though. My 3sp Mustang, not so much. I can only imagine what the 8sp granny's are like. I haven't had the pleasure of the new hybrids though. My 09 is leaps and bounds the best ride I've owned, twin turbo...

Slip the bmw into sport mode and it holds gears longer, downshift at partial throttle easier. But the paddle shifters switch everything into manual mode, instant shifts up/down. The only thing it does is keep you from dropping low enough to damage the engine. If I'm doing 90 and try to hit first, it's not going to let it happen.

I personally enjoy that I can run pretty much anything on land, water, and a few things in the air. It gives a nice perspective to most sides. It really comes down to preference in tranny types. Learn the both and dont shy away from either.

 

How do you rev match when doing that in a AT though?

 

Too many variables and differences in maintenance regimes to really give an actual answer.

Both are generally bullet proof, so it's really just down to personal preference.

 

It's a Toyota, you will be fine either way

 

I MT has a manual clutch. A DCT is not a MT but an AT that can be shifted manually. Using a computer controlled clutch in place of a torque converter is still automation.

 

3RZ:

Pros: lightweight, MPG, easy to work on, timing chain.

Cons: valve adjustment every 60k required or you'll burn exhaust valves, susceptible to cracks around the valve seats, less power.

5VZ:

Pros: power, no valve adjustments required, stout heads.

Cons: more difficult to work on, will lift a HG if overheated, timing belt changes required, coil on plug ignition can be finicky.

I've owned a 300k 5VZ and a 350k 3RZ and had great experiences with both. I would opt for a 3.4 if possible because the heads are better. No messing with valve adjustments is nice.

I had to rebuild and weld cracks in the head on my 3RZ at 325k and by 350k all the bearings were roached. Still had oil pressure but there was a ton of being material in the pan. My 5VZ was humming right along at 300k

W59/R150F:

Pros: Old as dirt, proven design, generally good to 250k+

Cons: Old as dirt, notchy shift action, 3rd gear synchros can be weak, throwout bearings make noise with time, manuals bring the suck rock crawling with a single tcase.

A340F:

Pros: Old as dirt, dead reliable if you keep coolant out of them, nice in the rocks with a single tcase, easy to stuff a Dana 300 or Atlas behind one since it is very similar to an AW4.

Cons: Susceptible to coolant entering the trans via pink milkshake, higher driveline losses than manual.


Short version....I prefer the V6/Auto but I own a 4 cylinder/manual currently... so you can't go wrong either way.

 

At what mileage do the 2.7L crack heads ?

Anything to do preventative maintenance wise?

I have a 207K mike AT 2.7L and I would like to see 500k miles out of this

 

Depends, mine probably cracked around 315k before I fixed them at 325k. Keeping the exhaust valves in adjustment is the biggest thing to help prevent cracks. When they get tight, the heat can cause the exhaust valve seat to sink further in the head and cause cracks between the valve seat and spark plug hole.

 

Thank you

I have 0 skills to do that

I will do some research and see if I can find a shop to do exhaust valves

Any idea how much to pay ?

 

It's not terribly hard but it does require measuring and lifting a cam. I'd expect a full adjustment to run a few hundred bucks. 2-3 hours of labor plus shims.

 

Thank you

 

Am I lucky or what? I have checked valves at 302k when replacing head gasket. All were in specs. Never ever did valve adjustment job.

Damn, I feel I'm cheating all 1st gen owners. But the fact to the matter is that after 318k miles and 22 years my truck feels and looks like new when the only thing I was doing to it was just a regular maintenance - regular oil and filter every 5k and coolant plus plugs at 100k interval. And of course some TLC .

I did never change transmission or differential oil and it still shifts like the day I bought it. The truck still has original water pump, LBJ (actually all ball joints are original) all bearings, seals, rubber and plastic parts etc. Yes, I bless California for for not eating the metal, and myself for having other hobbies than banging my cars on rocks and drowning them in a mud . This truck just as a daily driver seems to be indestructible. It doesn't mean the maintenance free. There are parts I expected to go out like brakes, shocks, clutch, belts or tires. So yes, blown head gasket was a shock to me. But I was not surprised by cracked washer fluid bottle or broken spark plug wire. But that's it. Now when I drive much less than in California (less than one tank a month) I hope to keep it in good shape for the next 10 years or more .

I had bad observations (not personal but friends and family) with auto transmissions from other brands (Ford, Pontiac, Chevy, Buick, Jeep) that were jerking off just after 100+ miles. So for Tacoma I wanted manual in the first place. I did not know that Toyota auto transmissions are quite reliable in comparison to other "national" brands. I had 2001 Sienna with auto which I sold at 170+ k miles with zero problems. I have the same hopes for my 2012 4Runner now at 50+ k miles .