You know how often to change your engine oil; but what about the gear oil in your standard shift transmission? Here’s a short guide, from Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River.  Unless you’re lucky enough to own a car with a transmission dipstick, inspecting the gear oil in a manual transmission is a lot more inconvenient than doing so with an automatic, or checking your engine oil. The car must be jacked up, supported, and the oil checked from underneath. As a result, you may just want to change it when the time is right. But how do you know when that time comes?

Your car, truck, or SUV is equipped with various filters that keep the air going into your engine clean, the air you breathe in the vehicle, the fuel that supplies your engine, and the oil that keeps it going. How often should you have them replaced? It depends on the filter, the vehicle, and the environment. Here’s what you need to know, from Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL.

“Tire rotation” is a term you hear frequently in the realm of vehicle maintenance, but what does it actually mean? How often should you have it done? Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River has the answers you’re looking for.

At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, we understand that big trucks mean bigger risk on the road. Here are some tips to remember, to reduce the likelihood of an accident resulting in large repair costs next time you're on the job.

Foggy headlights are a problem that has arisen in the past couple of decades, as we have moved away from glass sealed beam bulbs and into an era of plastic lenses with bulbs inside. While modern headlights are superior to the sealed beam headlights of years ago, they do tend to fog up after years of use. It’s a good trade for far better illumination and easier replacement, but an issue nonetheless. Hours and hours of heat, sunlight, and age eventually cause them to cloud up, which can reduce visibility at night in addition to worsening the appearance of your car, truck, or SUV. From Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL, here are some tips on taking care of your foggy or cloudy headlight issue.

At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, efficiency is a concept that interests us. While your fuel economy is largely dependent on what kind of car, truck, or SUV you drive, there are a variety of tips and tricks to get the most bang for your buck. We’ve provided a few of our favorites here.

If you drive a performance or luxury vehicle, there are important points to remember in preserving not only your car or SUV, but it's resale value as well. Luxury and performance vehicles depreciate more quickly than other cars. Many who own these cars like to have the newest and the best of the best. In that way, the odds are stacked against you when trying to get a good price for your car. Fortunately, Dirk’s Auto Clinic has some steps you can take to ensure you get the most for your car when it’s time to sell. 

Eventually, the time comes to replace your car, truck, or SUV. Often, you’ll decide to go used to save some money. This can either be a great financial decision, but it takes a little more groundwork to make sure you’re getting a good deal and a reliable vehicle. From researching, to test driving, to inspecting a used vehicle, Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL has a few tips to help you get there.

Ride quality is an essential part of your driving experience. At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, we strive to keep your car, truck, or SUV as smooth and comfortable to drive as the day it came off the lot. Your shock absorbers play a huge role in ride quality; here’s what you should know.

If you drive a luxury or performance vehicle, you’re an owner of a reliable machine. Still, occasionally problems do arise. On vehicles like these, with so many electronics, a dead battery is a common issue. At Dirk’s Auto Clinic we want to keep our customers informed, here’s how to jump-start your vehicle safely. 

At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL, our main goal is to keep your car, truck, or SUV always performing at its best. Valve adjustments are an integral aspect of that goal.

At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, we know that a key aspect of taking care of your transmission is understanding how it works. Here’s some info on transmission fluid types, in case you’re having trouble finding yours.

If you own or operate a fleet or commercial truck, you know it’s hard to keep everything working perfectly all the time. You have to choose what to give priority to, and what can wait. However, some small problems are indicators that a bigger issue is on the way. At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL, our goal is to keep you and your fleet going.

Something will go wrong with your car, truck, or SUV eventually. The important thing is knowing what to do, and how to deal with it. Just knowing what to do in a situation often means the difference between a quick repair and thousands of dollars worth of work. If you see steam coming from under the hood, it’s important to deal with it appropriately and quickly. Here’s what’s going on, and what to do, from Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL.

At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, we believe it’s important for you to know how different systems in your car, truck, or SUV operate. Whether you want to know what to watch out for, or you’re just curious about how things work, we’re here to supply the answers.

At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, we see a lot of dirty filters. Oil filters typically get replaced with each oil change, but air, fuel, and cabin filters last a long time. As such, they are often neglected until well after they’ve run their course. Here’s why you should care:

You don’t have to buy a new, fuel-efficient car to get great fuel efficiency. No one wants to trade a fuel bill for a car payment, so take a look at our top 5 ways to save on fuel and you may just be able to pocket a little extra money at the end of the month.

1. Change Your Driving Style- If you’re the kind of person who enjoys the rush of hard acceleration, typically runs 10 mph over the speed limit and brakes abruptly, we’ve got bad news: you’re hurting your vehicle’s fuel economy, and your wallet, in a big way. Depending on the kind of vehicle you drive and just how extreme you are with the throttle and brake, tempering your driving style can up your vehicle’s fuel economy by more than 5 mpg. That’s a serious bump. Scaling back the speed by just 5 mph means you’ll also see an increase in fuel economy.

Getting into the habit of saving on fuel now will mean you’ll be ready when prices start hitting the $4.00-gallon mark once again. You don’t have to buy a new, fuel-efficient car, either. No one wants to trade a fuel bill for a car payment, so take a look at our top 5 ways to save on fuel and you may just be able to pocket a little extra money at the end of the month.

Brake pads are important - you don’t need them to go, but you do need them to stop. At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL, we like to keep your vehicle stopping exactly as it should - it’s less dangerous, and it keeps insurance premiums low. So, how do you know if your brake pads are going bad? How do they work? What even are they? We’ve got the answers!

“Water pump” is a term you’ve most likely heard in conversations about vehicles. But what is it, what does it actually do, and how do you know if you need a new one? At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, we know the answers to these questions, and soon you will too.