Automotive News & Information - Dirk's Auto Clinic

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?

At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, we understand the importance of proper transmission maintenance. Commercial trucks are heavy, and they rack in a lot of miles. With this combination, it’s essential the transmissions in your trucks are always performing their best. Here’s a few things to watch out for:

At Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL, we know that hearing you need a new transmission is a dreaded affair. Here’s some advice from the transmission experts on how to prevent that day from coming.

Whether you’ve never had any trouble out of your transmission, or you are all too familiar with transmission issues, you may wonder how often a transmission requires repair. In truth, it really just depends. There are hundreds of different transmissions, some more reliable than others, with different levels of stress demanded of them. Age, mileage, type, and usage are all aspects of the transmission condition.

If there’s one thing we know at Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL, it's the importance of a transmission. While engines get a lot of the spotlight in conversations about vehicles, we know that the transmission is the unsung hero of your automobile. We want you to know just how important it is, too.

It makes sense that a car that is rarely driven will last longer, right? It may seem counterintuitive, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Vehicles are meant to be driven, and various issues can arise if they aren’t stored properly or driven fairly regularly. If you have a car, truck, or SUV that you only drive occasionally, in the summer, to car shows, etc., this one is for you. Here’s what you need to know, from Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL.

If you’re ever in a situation where you must remove the battery from your vehicle, it’s important to know what you’re doing. It seems pretty straightforward, and it is. However, there are some important things to remember when disconnecting the battery in your car, truck, or SUV. Here are some tips on disconnecting a car battery, from Dirk’s Auto Clinic in Crystal River, FL.

Prevention is better than cure. You've probably heard that said plenty of times. The phrase is most often used to talk about health and medicine, but it is just as valid to apply it to vehicles. It's great if your problem can be sorted without much trouble, but even better not to have a problem in the first place. This is especially true when it comes to your vehicle's transmission, as this can be one of the more specialized parts to repair. Not all transmission problems require an extensive overhaul, but they will all cause at least some trouble and inconvenience. Avoiding transmission problems is clearly preferable to even the problems that are quickest and cheapest repair. This is why it is important to ensure you take good care of your transmission. This will help prevent problems and keep it working smoothly. Ideally, it will mean that it doesn't develop any faults at all. Even if it does eventually go wrong, however, it is entirely possible that good care will mean the fault is less serious and easier to repair than it would have been otherwise. Here's some insight on how to prevent problems from our team here at Dirk’s Auto Clinic.