Manual Transmission Gladiator to be revived

[Joosed]

But, I don't think either of those look like a Wrangler.

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[Gvsukids]

But, I don't think either of those look like a Wrangler.

What's a Wrangler look like- seven slot grill and four doors?

 

[DanW]

I've got the manual in my 2018 JLU Rubicon. I re-geared with 4.56 gears and 35's. It's GREAT. I don't think my crawl ratio is 100:1, but it's probably around 90:1 and it is amazing. It makes precise wheeling effortless, and as much as I love my Gladiator and its automatic, the manual is just a bit more fun on the trails and much more fun on the road.

The only reason I went with the auto on the Gladiator was to get more towing capacity. If it were the same, I would have found a manual.

I've had no issues with my JL transmission. It's had 3 recalls, but mine never exhibited problems and the third one gave me a new clutch, for free, at about 100,000 miles. It's a nice and smooth transition with a VERY short first gear that in low range could pull a house off its foundation. 6th gear is really tall, so that's why I went with 4.56 gears. With 4.10 gears and 35's, 6th gear was barely usable. With the re-gear, 6th can not only hold speed on inclines, but it can even pass people. I'd only go with 4.88 gears if running 37's. It'd be too noisy and RPM's would be too high for my taste at 70mph and above.

Just my 2 cents.

If I hit the lottery, I'll order a JT Rubi with a manual so fast your head will spin. (And keep my current auto, too!)

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

I saw this yesterday on FB and thought it was an April Fools joke....That said, if it's real, I'm excited. I'm sure it will be limited to certain trims like it currently is in the Wrangler.

The only trims you CANNOT order a manual are the "aesthetic" trims (85th ann, Willys '41, and Sahara). Every other trim I just checked comes STANDARD (pun intended).

6MT JT is a great option, unless its like the 6MT Mojave my cousin had that spent more time in its first year in the service bay than on the road or trail. It was lemon lawed.

He's got a Willys JT now.

Details to the lemon issue he had?

Hopefully this is true and even better if they offer the 4.88 option with the Manual trans like the wranglers. If they do, I will order one.

Even 4.56 as an option would be nice at the dealer. They only seem to be able to find 4.88s at the parts counter, unless you provide the wrangler 4.56 P/N :sigh:

Would have loved a manual behind my 3.0 diesel. An NV4500

The only other reason I didn't get a diesel, that and the emissions BS.

I had the manual gladiator, the gearing sucked and the tow rating. You'd think engineers could figure out a decent solution for the price of these trucks. It's not new science, manuals have been around a long time and have backed high power motors and towed high weights.

Tow rating is limited by the shit/cheap clutch design. Most twin plate clutches hold well over 500hp without batting an eye. FCA/Stellantis are just cheap and greedy.

Who would want it with there soft ware to protect the clutch from over heating putting it in limp mode when you need it

The same people who think they should be allowed to use their phone while behind the wheel. The same people who think we NEED all these "safety" systems to take over when they aren't capable. The same people who think we need gun control, Age Verification on Operating Systems (windows/mac/android/etc), and that marijuana doesn't have any place in medicine.


EDIT: Typo

 

[WilldWilly]

It is Jeep. So one of two possibilities will take place.

1. They put the manual back in and charge you double while making it a limited edition thingy.

2. They put manual transmission decals on the outside with some bright new paint color, and charge you double.

Either way, it is jeep, so it is not going to be just a run of the mill no cost option. It was once the base transmission, now you will pay extra. Enjoy!!!

 

[BourbonRunner]

@Dilly’S Willy

I'd have to follow up with him since it's been a couple years but IIRC it was something screwy with the transmission not playing nicely with the electrical system.

 

[Jteakus]

The only electronics a manual transmission should have is a (defeatable) starter interlock and reverse light activation.
In my humble opinion,

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

The only electronics a manual transmission should have is a (defeatable) starter interlock and reverse light activation.
In my humble opinion,

And those are the only things they do have, the limp mode is algorithm based so if someone like @jmccorm wanted to, they could pull the CANBUS data during one of these events so when can see the data needed to reprogram the ECM. Might need to pull the HEX code too since that's generally how the data is stored in the ECM when reflashed.

 

[Blade1668]

Before I got my Gladiator I test drove one with M.T. I immediately thought the clutch was already failing as it was so.light. That automatically made it a hard pass for me. Then I started reading about all the clutch problems with them, I wasn't surprised. Time to change transmission fluid in my Wrangler 's M.T. again too.

 

[guntrust]

Happy with mine, with 5.13 regear and 37's.

 

[JerseyMark]

A lot of the manual trans hate is due to the factory gearing. I had a 2021 JT Mojave manual and it felt wrong with the 4.10 gears and stock 33s. Gaps between gears were to big and 6th gear was not usable without over lugging the engine.

Now, in addition to my Auto JT, we have a JLU rubicon manual with the 4.88 gear option and stock 33s. The 4.88 gears match really well with the manual gearing and 33s. The 6th gear overdrive is enough to still allow for good highway speeds too.

 

[six_speed_sarge]

This is excellent news. I love my JT Sport with the MT. I wanted to upgrade eventually (i have the tiny stereo in the base sport from 2021 and really wanted to upgrade so i could get CarPlay and the bigger screen), but didn't want to forego the MT, so was starting to look at a Wrangler instead. If they actually bring the MT back, I'll definitely upgrade eventually.

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

This is excellent news. I love my JT Sport with the MT. I wanted to upgrade eventually (i have the tiny stereo in the base sport from 2021 and really wanted to upgrade so i could get CarPlay and the bigger screen), but didn't want to forego the MT, so was starting to look at a Wrangler instead. If they actually bring the MT back, I'll definitely upgrade eventually.

Just swap your radio, $1k is much cheaper than $48k. That's what I plan to do with my 7" screen when I go 8.4"

 

[Bayrat]

Hopefully they fix the damn clutch and software first.

 

[KX L]

This would be great to see. MT’s are a rare breed anymore.

I love my MT Gladiator. There is definitely room for improvement though. The clutch is too light sometimes, and if it thinks you’re slipping the clutch too much it cuts power which immediately results in killing the engine. It makes it a bit tricky.

All that being said, I would buy another MT. The open air experience while rowing through the gears is well worth dealing with the shortcomings in my opinion.

I put in the Centerforce dual friction clutch and it's a total game changer. Not cheap but fantastic on street and trails.

You'll still have to deal with the weird gear ratios but you don't ever need to slip the clutch.

If you just let the clutch out slowly, never touch the accelerator pedal, it will just go---without the shuddering and jumping like you have in first gear now if you're moving slowly. Thankfully I rarely ever have to drive in stop and go traffic, but when I do and the traffic is barely moving my JT just crawls along and I'm not constantly clutching.

The same is true on the trails. 1st gear is great for following and fantastic for deeper sand and narrow trails. Just drive by the accelerator.

Also it's perfect for teaching newbies how to drive a clutch---they only have to start learning by letting it out slowly. No two pedal movements that blow their minds resulting in so many sudden stops when the engine dies. As we all know once the vehicle is moving it's much less likely to die when they learn to shift using both pedals.

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