5-spd,or 6-spd manual trans. in a Dodge-diesel;what are the pros & cons of each.

dtilleson

I'm not sure which manual-trans. is the best in the Dodge-diesel.Is the 5-spd better all-around,or the 6-spd.? Does one get better gas-mileage,than the other?Is one more durable?

quadrunner500

Both good. The 6 has a little better highway gear.

jwhaelen1

Actually, the 6er has the advantage over the 5 speed. The gears on the 6 speed are perfectly spaced to keep the engine in it's sweet spot more effectively. The 6 spd also has a lower 1st gear ratio, 6th being an overdrive gear for highway cruising(idling).The truck I tried out is a Ram 3500 with this setup. Mine is a 2500HD with the 5spd, and there is a difference between the two as far as gear spacing goes.Other than that,both have the same durability.I think the 6 will give you approx.2-300 rpm less on the highway.I didn't get a real chance to verify this during my test drive,Only what I've seen or heard from other sources. I wish I had a sixer in mine(LOL)! Hope this helped you out.

ezshift5

A great powerplant - big time torque, the potential to last forever and the smallest displacement unit available in a truck, I think.

With the 6-speed, (not loaded) using cruise @60 is the dealer putting me on to claim 24 MPG?

(It's getting to the point where I need to think about a replacement for my 50MPG small diesel truck) Thanks in advance. F

lariat1

I had a 98 ram with the 24v and an automatic. On a long trip ~500 miles I could get around 23 MPG and that was through the mountains up here in Alaska. It was nice cause I didn't have to fill up between places.So I would think 24MPG with the 6 speed is pretty accurate.BTW if you get a 24v there are two things to remember one is it takes about 30k-40k miles to get the engine broke in and the other is that you must drive it during break in like you are going to drive it all the time.If you follow that your engine will last almost forever.