Do you love the feel of driving your manual transmission? Keeping it shifting smooth is important for the experience, but there's another factor to consider: having your transmission rebuilt is second only to having your engine rebuilt in terms of cost. In many cases, the cost of transmission repair is more than the car is worth; many unfortunate car owners have sent their cars to the scrapyard because they failed to properly maintain their transmission. Thankfully, good driving habits and regular transmission service will extend the lifespan of your manual transmission to its maximum.

Practice Good Shifting Habits

Pay special care when backing out of parking spaces; it's tempting to quickly shift back and forth from drive to reverse, but shifting between them before your car comes to a complete stop will cause excess wear to the transmission.

Similarly, it can be tempting to use the clutch pedal as a brake when driving in stop-and-go traffic, but it's much better for your transmission to use the brake pedal instead. This also causes your transmission to deplete its fluid more quickly than usual, so you'll end up replacing the fluid more often.

Keeping your foot on the clutch pedal, also called "riding the clutch," makes driving a manual transmission much more convenient but also slowly damages the transmission.

Have Your Transmission Serviced Regularly

Your car's owner's manual contains guidelines for how often the transmission fluid needs to be flushed and replaced. This is a routine maintenance task that can be done quickly by any transmission service company.

Similarly, the clutch is a component that wears down over time, much like brake pads, and will need to be replaced one or more times during the lifespan of your car. Your owner's manual will also have guidelines for when to replace the clutch.

Watch for Signs of a Failing Transmission

Burning smells when you are shifting signify that your transmission fluid is getting dangerously low and that you will need to have it flushed and replaced as soon as possible. If you don't, you drastically increase the chance that your transmission will fail completely while driving.

If your car jerks or emits a loud grinding noise when shifting gears, or if your car is slow to switch directions when you shift from drive into reverse, you will need to get your transmission inspected by a transmission-service company.

Your clutch pedal is an important source of information too! If its resting position is lower to the floor of your car than it used to be, or if it suddenly requires much more force to depress, you should get it inspected.

Not only is a transmission rebuild incredibly expensive, but a malfunctioning transmission is a massive road-safety hazard. Transmissions that are on the verge of failing have been known to suddenly shift into neutral while on the roadway, causing a sudden loss of control. Of course, there's also the possibility of your transmission failing suddenly on the road and leaving you stranded!

Visit sites such as http://www.budgetautomotivetucson.com to find a transmission service.

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