Shop News - Dennis Road Automotive

Your pickup truck is heavy and hard working, whether it’s a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge. If you add towing to the mix, it’s even heavier and has to work harder. Your brakes are one of the most wear and tear prone systems on your diesel pickup, but at Dennis Road Automotive in Dallas, TX, we can help you keep yours in good shape.

Car enthusiasts would argue that "those were the days". Everything you drove was built like a tank and had the chrome on it so you enjoyed washing it but NO power steering. For most of us, it is hard to remember life without power steering – cranking those great big steering wheels? It was a pretty good workout. Now power steering is standard. The heart of any power steering system is its pump. The pump pressurizes the power steering fluid that provides assistance for steering. Most pumps are driven by a belt that is run by the engine – a few are electrically powered. A high-pressure hose passes fluid from the pump to the steering gear. A low-pressure hose returns the fluid back to the pump. Here at Dennis Road Automotive in Dallas, TX we know that you depend on that power steering and check your fluid & hoses religiously!

Antifreeze is a fluid that’s just as important as oil to the engine in your car, truck, or SUV. You probably already know it’s essential to keeping your engine cool - but it’s important for more than one reason, and does require maintenance besides keeping it full. From Dennis Road Automotive in Dallas, TX, here’s what you need to know about antifreeze.

When a vehicle has trouble starting, many people initially blame the starter. What is the starter, and how do you know if yours has called it quits? At Dennis Road Automotive in Dallas, TX, we want to keep you informed, and telling you what to look for will prevent further damage when issues arise. The starter is essentially just an electric motor; a gear at the end of that electric motor engages the flywheel, which turns the engine over, allowing it to start. How do you know if yours is failing?

Have you always wondered what a spark plug does? Our team here at Dennis Road Automotive is here to help you out. It's simple in theory but does quite a lot of work for such a small piece of equipment. Your spark plug forces electricity to arc across a gap like a bolt of lightning at high voltage and fits into your engine's cylinder head, where it “sparks” to ignite the fuel and creates combustion within your engine. Without it, you wouldn't be able to drive your car or truck.

Here at Dennis Road Automotive in Dallas, TX when your vehicle has a problem we know you want answers, and when it comes to information on pistons or engine building, most of our drivers know little about it. However, there’s some practical information regarding modern engine design that helps you better care for your vehicle, and keep it going strong. Here are some important aspects of modern piston design, and what it means for you that we felt might come in handy.