I picked up my truck on Friday and found out that all 6 speeds are not the same.<br><br>I test drove two different 6 speeds and one 5 speed. Mine is not as smooth as any of the others I drove. It is harder and slower to shift. And reverse is very hard to find. I now have 1054 miles and it is getting better and I am sure it will be fine but the first day I was not happy.<br><br>You will never win a race with the 6 speed. It is made to tow. The truck is fast once you get to 5th gear but that takes a while. <br><br>The only other problem I have is trying to keep this stupid smile off my face.

 

My six-speed was super-smooth straight from the dealer - it really helped me get back into rowing my own after 12 years of automatics! And the lady at the truck cap dealer said it was the sweetest-feeling tranny she'd ever shifted, just getting it into their garage to put the cap on.

 

I think that this one will break in and things will be fine. I was shocked at the difference between the different trucks. <br><br>I read a few threads where guys were saying the six speeds where hard to shift but the two I test drove were easy. I can see what they were talking about now. Time will tell.

 

Mine shifted fairly easy from the start. Getting smoother all the time. The one thing that did surprise me was how long it takes the engine to unwind during a shift. You just have to take it easy and slow down during the shift before releasing the clutch. No speed shifting. :P :P Love the ratios when towing. Running solo I start in 2nd most of the time, go straight to 4, then 5 and 6. Sometimes if traffic is running slow I will start in 3rd and ease it out. <br><br>

 

Mine was good from day one. It was also 20 ounces shy of fluid from the factory. Something to check but be warned, Dodge is very proud of this fluid. <br><br>Good luck

 

My 6 sp was very tight when I picked it up. 5th and reverse were hard to find. It takes practice. I think you need to let the sinchros engage before pressing the shifter lever all the way home. Definately a heavy duty gearbox!

 

Mine was stiff and noisy initially but fine now.<br><br>Casey

 

Waiting for my sixer. Can someone draw me the shift pattern, and where the devil did they put reverse?

 

It's a &quot;boxed&quot; 6 pattern - 1, 3, 5 on top and 2, 4, 6 on the bottom. Reverse is up on the right.<br><br>Like mentioned, once broken in this tranny gets smoother. If I'm running unloaded and I'm up to operating temps, I just use 2, 4, and 6th gears.<br><br>Best to y'all<br>Bill

 

I started one of the earlier topics on 6 speed gear clash. Mine has also improved with mileage. I'm at about 1200 mi. now and I really only have some clash remaining on the 2-&gt;3 shift.<br><br>Kris

 

I was amazed at how much smoother mine was compared to the six shooter in my 01.5. If it gets better with age like the last one did, I'll think I have an automatic.

 

[quote author=FiverBob link=board=20;threadid=10828;start=0#103512 date=1045013356]
Mine shifted fairly easy from the start. Getting smoother all the time. The one thing that did surprise me was how long it takes the engine to unwind during a shift. You just have to take it easy and slow down during the shift before releasing the clutch. No speed shifting. :P :P Love the ratios when towing. Running solo I start in 2nd most of the time, go straight to 4, then 5 and 6. Sometimes if traffic is running slow I will start in 3rd and ease it out.


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I did notice the &quot;unwind&quot; time as you called it. I didn't like that either when I drove the 03 last Saturday. The six speed was hard to shift on that one too, very tight. I believe that when everything gets loosened up, that will be one awsome truck. I do like that computer controlled idle setting too.

 

Should I be feeling a bit of grinding in my stick as I shift my 6 speed? I don't believe this is normal. It seems to occur when I shift from 2nd to 3rd, 3rd to 4th, and sometime 4th to 5th. It is not bad and I don't hear anything with it. If I let the rpm back down a bit I don't notice it. It has done this since I picked it up new. It has about 3500 miles on it and I was thinking it was possibly a break-in thing, but it's not getting better. I don't like going to the dealer unless I have a real problem.

 

Ronster,<br>I believe it is a product of this &quot;spool down&quot; (for a better way to describe it) that we are talking about. You have to be a little slower in your shift and let the engine rpm come down. It definitely decreased rpms slower than I remember the older engines doing. If you put one finger on the shifter when moving it and a gentle pressure on the stick, it will tell you when it wants to slide in. Once you get the feel of it, you will adapt. Just can't rush it. I am wondering if it is a byproduct of the idle thingy of these new ones.<br><br>Bob