Buying a "new truck" manual concerns

Looking to upgrade from my 2001 pathfinder to a 2009-2015 tacoma. I'm stuck on owning a manual transmission and have been waiting along time to make this purchase.

Figures I wait till I'm about to buy before hearing the sad truth the manual transmission is poorly designed. Throw out bearing issues, ect.

There's enough of you on the road, am I going to regret this purchase when my ol pathfinder shifts smooth and true and no growls or chirps? or have some of you had better experiences?

I Like camping down fire roads, but hate getting stuck.. Especially due to mechanical issues

 

I have a 2014 with the V6/6MT and less than 70k miles. I have a love/hate relationship with the truck and it stems from the clutch/transmission.

The 6 speed is OK, but nothing special. I feel the gear ratios are slightly off. First and reverse feel a little too tall. I would prefer slightly lower gears for getting the truck moving from a stand-still. Effort and feel are OK. I haven’t had any mechanical issues yet.

Most of my issues with the truck center around the clutch and clutch hydraulics. I have never been happy with the clutch pedal feel in the truck. I prefer driving manual, but I have stalled this truck more times than any other vehicle due to a numb clutch pedal. I replaced the clutch pedal bushings and re-lubed everything in an attempt to improve pedal feel.

A lot of these pedal feel problems come from the use of plastic in the pedal assembly and scant lubrication from the factory. The pedal design lends itself for the pivot point between the pedal and master cylinder running dry on grease. This pivot point on the pedal is like a ball-and-socket joint. The clutch pedal has the socket with some grooves formed in the plastic to trap some grease. The clutch master cylinder clevis has the ball end of the pivot.

In my case, all the grease had dried up and worked into the grooves, leaving plastic-on-plastic at the pivot. This dry joint sounds like a creaky barn door every time the clutch is depressed and increases the effort in the pedal. Some good photos of the clutch pedal and lubrication are in this post: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ultimate-fix-for-squeaky-clutch-pedal.389145/

If you can find a manual truck locally, I would recommend finding one to drive and see for yourself. The 6MT does have a completely different driving feel compared to the automatic trucks. At least the problems are well known and documented here.

 

OP, if you can find a lower mileage 6-speed closer to '15 the better as that was when the final iteration of the RA60F was made (there were 3 versions) and most of the issues resolved. I have a '14 6-speed and would not have it any other way. Make sure you drive it as mentioned above.

 

Such a bummer to hear, I still might pull the trigger but it was a 2013 that popped up for me most recently.

 

I had an ‘05 6 speed manual/4.0L Tacoma, first year for the maligned 6 speed. It was annoyingly not-smooth to drive sometimes, even for a lifelong manual transmission snob like myself. I found that most of the clunking jerky clumsiness was axle wrap from the flimsy stock leaf springs. Once I addressed those, it shifted a lot smoother.

The other Achilles heel on the 2nd gen Tacomas is fuel economy, especially the manuals. Sometimes I got as low as 12 MPG in mixed driving. Talk about small truck power with big truck fuel economy.

 

I own a '13 Access Cab 6-speed manual. Bought it used with about 30k miles on it four years ago, it's sitting just under 100k now.

I have a squeeling throw out bearing, and occasionally some bucking and jerking when letting out the clutch in first gear. That could be on me though.

The first and reverse gears are a bit tall, especially if you're towing something and trying to start from a stop on an incline, or reverse uphill from a stop.

Otherwise it's great. I love being able to engine break on downhill sections (especially while towing), coast in neutral to red lights to increase my mpgs, and they're supposed to last a looking time. I've never had the squeaky clutch pedal problem that others have

 

Don’t ever empty out a beer when there is some left.

 

ClutchMasters HydroTOB claims to improve pedal feel
As well as accumulator delete that it comes with

 

I have a 2013 6 speed and i absolutely love it. It's not a sports car trans by any means, but with a short throw shifter, it really is a lot of fun to drive. I'd say go for it if you're on the fence. I havent had any TOB issues, but i replaced mine with the URD sleeve/oversized TOB at 48k as preventative maintenance. Now at 75k still no chirp. I bought mine used with 24,500 miles though and it had been babied

 

Dad?

Haha absolutely will be hard to let the pathfinder go but I've been burning oil for four years now at about 1liter a week (design flaw in engine) . It's time.

 

tbh, if I had a Pathfinder I knew was going to be mechanically sound for many more miles, and didn't need the utility of a truck bed, I'd just stick with the Pathfinder.

 

When you find a sample you are interested in, the first thing is a frame inspection if it's lived in salt country. If it fails that, doesn't much matter what the rest of the truck is like unless you have some new frames sitting around in your barn.

The next thing is a good test drive with the vehicle. Not around the block. Up and down some hills, in and out of 4wd, lots of in traffic shifting to see how it responds and how you like it.

It's the only way to know about an individual truck. They can vary considerably based on several factors. But buying used the condition is more on the previous ownership / use / maintenance than anything.

 

There is no practical purpose to choose a manual anymore. In fact when coupled with modern engines that develop torque at much higher rpm's manuals are at a distinct disadvantage especially off road, or when towing and hauling any weight. But I fully understand that the driving experience of a manual can be fun. That is really the only reason Jeep and Toyota still make manual transmissions anymore. To me a truck is too practical to be handicapped with a manual. If I just had to have a manual I'd buy a Jeep Wrangler. Or a sports car designed around a manual transmission.

 

Manual can engine brake downhill,
does not need expensive services every 40k
and prevents you from falling asleep while driving
you can also control it better
manual can tow a load pretty simply

not sure why you mention a modern high power engine regarding the 2nd gen Tacoma which uses a weak V6 dated 16 years old.

automatics react to throttle demand
manuals are controlled by the driver who reacts to looking far down the road
despite new cars having front cameras, those are for adaptive cruise, and not used with transmission shifting
aka automatics, at least old ones, are dumb
with their TCM ("brain") often performing badly and not to driver expectation

The Tacoma auto is a 5 speed. A 5 speed auto in most passenger cars comes with the reputation of "old", "slow as shit", and "mind of it's own"
Leagues behind the modern more-speed transmissions (7 speed, 8 speed, etc.) of any modern vehicle.

Not everyone will want it though
some people enjoy spending an hour in an Autozone parking lot trying to figure out why their car has a torque converter fault code that costs thousands to fix

 

I have a '14 6 speed with a little over 100k miles. I've had the throwout bearing squeak/chirp for a couple years now. It's super annoying and I always have a worry about the throwout bearing shitting the bed in the back of my mind, whether or not that worry is warranted. It also bothers me that it sounds like a squeaky shitbox, if I let it get to me. I take good care of the truck, mechanically, so I don't like it that I have this issue, even if it never causes any real problem. if

If I had to do it over again, I would probably have gone for the auto, even though I really like driving a manual.

 

2013 6spd owner here owned since new. Definitely needs a short shift kit - mine is a TRD. Reverse could be lower but overall I like the truck. With the V6 on level ground, I can run in 6th at 35mph without lugging the engine. I drive up and down hills and having a manual in the winter gives much more control versus an automatic. This is my 4th 4WD truck and have owned both automatic and manual over my 40 years of driving. Race car? Nope. I don’t expect it to be either. But tune it with an HP Tuner and the truck does move a lot better (I’m biased as I came from a 1000ft-lb modified Cummins prior to this truck).

 

Main reason for swap is a small camper for the bed. I'm a heavy duty mechanic so looks like I'm just getting a cummins. Thanks everyone.

Thanks for info I'm going to pull the trigger and go for it. I'm a heavy duty mechanic my self so you can imagin a cummins swap is the long term future

 

The Toyota manual trucks I have owned the combined mileage is some where around 600K. My 2011 has 150K on it same clutch same throw out bearing yeah the TO bearing rattles a little when cold but has since new. I tow a 17' camper and utility trailers. The only thing I can say about the 6 speed you need to be smarter than the transmission. After 59 years of driving manuals you do kind of get good at it. You want to really drive some thing with a dodgy transmission try a Mack triplex you'll love your Toyota 6 speed a lot more.

 

I have an 07 6 Speed and as some others mentioned it's not the most refined gearbox in the world but it's fun to drive and offers a lot more flexibility than an auto. My girlfriend who drove many manual cars in the past but none recently enjoys driving it and agrees its easy to drive.

I can't speak to the longevity of it because I'm still under 60k. If you go for a manual definitely upgrade to a short shifter (love my URD) and a larger shift knob.

 

I'm running an 08 4banger 5 speed (with the squeaky clutch peddle) and love the hell out of it. Picked it up in 2015 with 5600 miles on it. The truck is sitting at 80k now with no issue other then basic stuff. Living and working in the Colorado Rockies with crazy grades can get interesting but with good gear control, slot and ported rotors you can really get a lot of life out of your brake pads. I'm still on the OG set with plenty meat to spare. Now about fuel, I know this is a 4banger/5speed but for comparison sake I can get an average of 18.5 WITH 10 ply larger tires, 3/4 ply sleep platform, recovery gear, camper shell with rack, steel armor and those heavy ass sound deadening mats lining the cab. Overall that is a lot of weight for a single cab 4 cylinder. Those little engines can run mid to high rpm ALL DAY LONG.