No regrets here either with the 6 speed. I just wish my dealership would quit telling me there's nothing wrong with the clutch/throwout bearing and fix the damn thing once and for all.

I love driving it though. I had an '04 QC with the 4.7 that had less than 22,000 miles when I traded it on the '05. I really liked the '04, and the ONLY reason I traded it was because the '05 came with a manual.

As far as the gearing, I didn't think it was terribly low. I typically hit 15-25 before shifting to 2nd, like Frenchy said. And 6th definitely isn't an overdrive gear. I'm turning the thing close to 2500 r's doing 75mph on the highway in 6th gear. That's not an overdrive in my book.

 

I have no regrets either. I don't mind the gearing,though I rarely use first anymore. I just start out in 2nd and it works just fine. I'd usually shift to 2nd at 10 mph anyway, so I've just not been using first anymore.

 

Our gearing is different, 6th is definitely an overdrive gear, it just revs higher...

I average about 21 - 23mpg at 65, which is right around 2200rpms...

I've hit 97 in 4th and only reason I slowed down, is cuz I missed the offramp I was supposed to take... hahah

 

I just thought a true overdrive would be geared a lot higher, and turn a lot less rpm, than what our trans does. 2500 RPM at 70+ MPH is pretty high from my way of thinking. Just dropping the revs a few hundred like a true overdrive would do wonders for highway mileage.

I think the sticker stated 18 or 19 highway when I bought my truck and there's no reason that a 4X4 with a 285 CID engine couldn't be getting 3-4 more MPG highway. Hell, I know guys with new Chevy and GMC 1500 series trucks who are averaging 18 with a 6.0 engine and auto trans. That's average too, not just highway.

Just wondering, what are you guys that have the AWD Dakota getting?

 

I have an 06 QC SLT 4.7 6spd 2wd. I'm at just over 10k miles, my MPG has been between 16-18mpg. 16 around town, high 17s low 18s on the highway. I don't regret buying the manual one bit. Having a 6th gear took a little getting used to.

So you can't get a manual w/ the V8 in a Dakota any longer? I know when buying mine I had to search a bit to find an SLT 2wd 4.7 6spd, but there were quite a few 4x4 manuals out there, especially STs.

 

It's a high revving engine in general...

But trust me, it's OD. lol

 

That must suck for racing. What final drive do you have? 3.55?

 

I wish I could have found a V8 with a 6-speed SLT but Im happy with my V6, also if anyone wanted the specs.

TRANSMISSIONS
GETRAG 238 - MANUAL 6-SPEED OVERDRIVE Availability:
Std. – 3.7 and 4.7 standard outputDescription:
Synchronized in all gearsGear Ratios:
1st 4.23
2nd 2.53
3rd 1.67
4th 1.23
5th 1.00
6th 0.79
Reverse 3.84
Overall Top Gear 2.54 with 3.21 axle ratio, 2.80 with 3.55 axle ratio

 

I stumbled across this on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/73-05...QQcmdZViewItem

 

I located an '06 2wd cc slt w/ 4.7 and 6-sp manual but it's in Illinois and I'm in Ca.
There are others, one in Texas and one in Va.
They are rare, but they are out there.

Looks like the 6th gear is an OD.