wow, that sucks that only the 3.0l come in manual, with all the extra power the 4.4l has, I would love that in manual

Manual 3.0 got very short gearing and almost as fast as old V8 4.4 auto. However it tops at 128 mph. Last week I had to let go at 125 few times and let MB 200k and BMW 530 Diesel drivers pass me on a highway. From the dig 3.0 manual is a good competitor to many SUVs. From my personal experience: RX300, Yukon 5.7, Toaureg 3.2, Allroad 2.5 D all were left in dust

The diesel also came out as a manual. From 04, the diesel had a 6 speed manual with 150kw (201hp) power and 480nm (354lb ft) torque. This can then be "chipped up" to 180kw (241hp) and 560nm (413lb ft) about a 20% gain. This is more grunt (torque) than the 4.4L V8. All this and delivering a fuel economy of approximately 7.5L per 100km (32mpg US). The acceleration from 100kph (62mph) to 140kph (87mph) is astounding, and is great for passing.
Colin.

The extra power wouldn't make a difference with a manual unless you ditched that stupid clutch valve they put in the slave line.

The 5 speed is great, except on the higway. It pushes 3000rpm at 65mph..that is just awful. 6th gear would be great, but I am sure they regeared every gear so it has more gears in the lower range and is still awful up top. For reference, a v8 LS1 car (like a corvette) makes about 1200 RPM at 65 in 6th. Even my v6 firebird does much less than 3000 on the highway. Lower revs means better milage. I bet this thing could make 28 or so highway instead of 23 if it weren't for that stupid 5th gear.

At 65mph, in 6th gear, the diesel is sitting on 2,000rpm (right in the middle of it's max' torque band) and is very quiet. Have just purchased a modified clutch valve from Zeckhausen in the States, and am looking forward to puting it in.

Colin.

If the money's spent, it's spent, but the modified valve appears to be unneccesary. I simply removed the old one from the circuit and all is well.

Agree, but am still under warranty, so took heed of this disclaimer at the end of their website.
By the way, did you notice much of an improvment/difference in shifting after the modification? In other words, was it worth the effort?

* An alternative to replacing the CDV is to eliminate it entirely. However, there are two reasons why you might not want to do this. On some models, the steel hard line needs to be bent to a new angle if the CDV is deleted. The bend is slight and there is little risk of damaging the line. The problem is, if the line is not bent just so, it's difficult to get the threads to line up without cross threading them. This is made tougher by the fact that the fitting is slippery with brake fluid.