No, the 1st gen trannys aren't better than the 2nd gen. Early 2nd gen ('94 and '95 i think...) have the 47rh auto, which is a fairly common swap for people. The advantage this tranny has over the 727 or A518 is mainly the lock up converter. People who do a lot of heavy towing and either don't want or weren't able to find a 5spd, usually do this swap.

As for staying away from autos... it depends on how bad you want a truck. I got sick of searching for a 5spd, 2wd, dually, so I settled for an automatic. In my 2 1/2 years of searching for a truck I had never seen one in as good of condition as the one I bought, so the tranny isn't that big of a deal. If in the future I can't stand the auto, I'll either swap one in, or buy an old beat up truck with a 5spd.

But if you're worried about one letting you down, that isn't a reason to stay away from a truck. If you treat the tranny right, and don't abuse it then you'll have no problemns with it.

 

The 47RH in 94 and 95 sucks when its stock. We got a 95 2wd 2500 here witht the 47RH in it and the truck has under 80,000 original miles and you have to drop it in neutral and let it idle, before you can drive away. And It slips once you get going until its hot. So 94 and 95 have crappy autos when there stock. As for the 96-2002 second gen 47RE i have never heard anything bad about them but i know they can not handle much power when stock with out sucking up power, and they also cost big cash to beef up.

First gen autos- 727 is a bulletproof awesome trans. I've seen a local 91.0, put down 300HP on the dyno with a stock 727. And we just sold a modded 727 truck and love the trans. The 518 is a 727 with O/D. It can handle power but not pure ABUSE. Just a sold a 93 518 truck that was modded slightly with 250,000 on the original 518. It had the factory super cooler package under the bed. A converter goes a long way on both transmissions.

Second gen autos- ok but could use a little help... $$$$
first gen autos- non lock up, but cheaper to beef up. $


Hope this helps you alittle bit . We have enough trucks laying around we can tell you about every auto tranny ever made. lol

 

the second gens. just don't have that ready for anything look the first gens have.

 

Turning your head so the puke goes out the window.
You don't see many first gens cause they are junk.
Cheaper is not always better.
J/K I love a good looking first gen. just not many of them cause there junk

 

At least our dash's don't have a reputation for cracking into large pieces and falling to the floor.

 

You might want to post the same question on a 2nd gen forum, and a 3rd gen forum. You are probably getting a pretty biased opinion from most of the guys here. I love my first gen, but i still want to get a '98 12 valve. They ride better, they're quieter inside, they have nicer seats, they have more than 2 speakers, but the doors do rust. Good luck finding a nice 2nd gen with nice doors. A wise idea on any clean truck, is to have line-x do the rocker panels and lower doors with black, or they can match your paint colors.

 

if you dont want rust get a southren truck,i just picked up a 99 dually ex cab 6 new tires and 2 years left on atran warr $3400 for truck.i have a 89 no comparison in ride ,noise ,aftermarket parts,burns 2x the fuel of the 89,has too much elec.for my liking.89 never left me standing.long drive from Manitoba but worth it for lack of rust.

 

Not to turn this into a 1st Gen. vs. 2nd Gen. war, one more case against the 2nd Gen.s, especially the 4x4s, the front ends EAT TIRES, they dip out, scallop, cup, whatever you want to call it, and soon start dogwalking and vibrating terrible, REGARDLESS of tire brand/type.

This seems to be the worst in the 94-98 years, but has not been completely cured in the later trucks.


I am a first hand witness to this fact on a day to day basis.

 

I see the same thing every day on my dads 01. Terrible front end, really eats tires bad. In my mind that is the big advantage of my truck, that and the 205tc. The 01 has a really nice frame, much stronger than my truck, better rear end, better tranny(5600), but the body is garbage, at 103k it is falling apart.

 

I like my brick with wheels.